A Few Questions On Beowulf?

Question: A Few Questions On Beowulf!?

1!. Who said in the story!.!.!.,"fate has swept our race away!.!.!.and now I follow them!."!?
2!. How did the poets (scopes) pass along tribal history!?
3!. How does Unferth show his friendship and loyalty to Beowulf after Beowulf has killed Grendel!?
4!. Right after Beowulf has killed Grendel's mom, what does the bright light represent!?Www@QuestionHome@Com

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:

1!. This sounds like part of the passage sometimes called "The Lay of the Last Survivor" It's in the digression about the treasure hoard guarded by the dragon!. It's one of many examples of the theme of transitoriness in the poem!.

2!. Scops (no e) were like griots!. They memorized and recited orally the history of the tribe, in their case in verse, much as Homer and the bards of his time did the ancient Greek epics!.

3!. Unferth lends Beowulf an heirloom sword to take when he goes into the mere to fight Grendel's mother, and the next day as Beowulf prepares to return home, "he gave him the sword!." That's how the Old English puts it--no clue as to which of them is "he" and which is "him!." Does the poet mean that Beoswulf returned the sword to its owner, or does he mean that Unferth upgraded the loan to a gift!? We just don't know!. Even if it's only the former, however, and Unferth merely LENT Beowulf the sword, the value of that sword (emphasized in part by the fact that it has a name, Hrunting) indicates what a magnificent gesture his doing so is!. One can imagine Unferth rather shyly, sidlingly making the offer--unable to bring himself to say in words, "I'm sorry I spoke to you the way I did the other night" or "I admit that you're a better man than I am," he says in effect, "Here, wanna borrow my sword!?"

4!. I hadn't thought about this one, but evidenlty the light represents the end of the evil personified by the Grendel family!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

http://www!.enotes!.com has a fantastic Beowulf study guide! way better than sparknotes!Www@QuestionHome@Com

maybe sparknotes!.com can helpWww@QuestionHome@Com