What are some possible questions concerning the opening passage of Beowulf, and how might those questions be answered?

One good way to generate questions and answers about any
work of literature is to ask yourself
how the work is written (in other
words, what stylistic techniques it uses) and
what it is about (in other words, what
themes it explores).

Take the
opening passage of Beowulf, for instance (in the Seamus Heaney
translation). This passage employs a number of characteristic themes of the poem and
uses a number of typical stylistic traits.

For example, the
very first line – “So. The Spear-Danes in days gone by” – implies a number of themes
that will be important in the rest of the poem.  The word “Spear” implies that war will
be a prominent theme.  The word “Danes” implies that the Danish people (and various
Scandinavian tribes in general) will be a major focus of the work.  Meanwhile, the
phrase “in days gone by” suggests that the past will be a key concern in this entire
poem.  Just the opening line of the poem, then, suggests a great deal about some of the
themes the poem will
explore.

The same is true of the next two
lines:

and the
kings who ruled them had courage and greatness.

We have
heard of those princes’ heroic campaigns.
(2-3)

These lines reiterate
some of the themes already implied in line one, and they add a few more characteristic
themes.  Thus, the references to “kings” and “princes” suggest that royalty and
hierarchy will be important topics in this work, and indeed throughout the poem the
author is concerned with the strengths and weaknesses of various rulers or important
men, such as the Danish king Hrothgar and the Geatish hero (and eventual king)
Beowulf.

Meanwhile, the reference to “heroic campaigns”
reinforces the theme of war (already implied in the opening line), while the use of
words such as “courage” and “heroic” implies that bravery and heroism will be major
topics of the rest of the poem.  Simply by reading the first three lines of
Beowulf, then, we can get a good sense of the thematic “flavor” of
the rest of the work.  This will be a poem dealing with tribes in the past who were
ruled by kings who ideally displayed courage and greatness as they led their people in
battle.

The next three lines reinforce many of these
themes while also revealing several
important aspects of the poem’s
style:

readability="12">

There was Shield Sheafson, a scourge of many
tribes,

a wrecker of mead-benches, rampaging among
foes.

This terror of the hall-troops had come far.
(4-6)

Thematically, these
next three lines present us with a particular king fighting particular tribes and
displaying courage and heroism in doing so.  In other words, these three lines reinforce
many of the themes already implied in the first three lines.  But notice also the use of
alliteration in these lines: “Shield
Sheafson”;
“wrecker . . .
rampaging”;
“terror . . .
troops.”  Alliteration is one of the
main stylistic traits of Old English poetry, as is the use of such compound phrases as
“mead-benches” and “hall-troops.”

Alliteration had also
been used in the first three lines in such words as
“Danes” and
“days” and also
“kings” and
“courage” as well as
“have,”
“heard,” and
“heroic.” In just the first six lines
of the poem, then, the poet has used many themes and several stylistic traits that will
characterize the entire poem from beginning to end.