View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who pledges to harm Siegfried or die in the attempt?

2. Who recognizes immediately that the minstrels are from Etzel's court?

3. What words spoken by Kriemhild pain Siegmund while he is convincing her to return to Siegfried's lands?

4. How soon does Kriemhild produce a son and heir to Etzel's throne?

5. What finally wins Kriemhild's consent to marry Etzel?

Short Essay Questions

1. What do Hagen's men say when they hear the invitation from Kriemhild?

2. What is the story that Hagen relates to Gunther about Siegfried?

3. What theme is established in Bloedelin's death?

4. Kriemhild is willing to show her brothers mercy on one condition. What is that condition?

5. How do Kriemhild's relatives convince her to stay among them when they allowed her beloved husband to be murdered?

6. What gifts are exchanged upon Folker's engagement to Rudeger's daughter?

7. By the time thirteen years has passed, how is Kriemhild regarded in Hungary?

8. How is it possible that Gernot can take Rudiger's life with Rudiger's own sword?

9. What prior connections does Etzel have with Hagen?

10. What happens after Dankwart and Folker manage to bar the doors to the hall?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Do all of the lives lost while avenging Siegfried's death testify to Siegfried's greatness, or do they make him smaller, as just one of the many dead? Is Siegfried still superior to the others, or was he just an earlier figure, from a time when magic was still available to help men?

Essay Topic 2

Write a three-part essay that analyzes Kriemhild's culpability for her husband's murder. Pick three events or situations from the poem that you think give Kriemhild culpability for the murder of her husband and explain your point of view. Then take the opposite point of view of those events or situations and explain why Kriemhild can also be considered blameless, or nearly blameless. In the final section, provide your opinion about the most reasonable assessment of Kriemhild's culpability. Provide examples from the poem to support your arguments.

Essay Topic 3

Iring identifies himself as a man who has abandoned himself to the pursuit of honor. Write an essay that explains what Iring shows the reader about honor. Write an essay to answer these questions:

Part 1: Which of his actions show that he is honorable? In light of those deeds, how does Iring appear to the reader when he runs to his kinsmen after being knocked unconscious? Why?

Part 2: Why does Iring returns to fight Hagen after he runs from the hall, wounding Hagen on the way out. Is he still exhibiting honorable behavior? Why or why not? Are his dying words honorable? Why or why not?

Use examples from the poem to support your argument.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,143 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample