For Friday: Beowulf, Part I

Close Reading Questions:

Beowulf, (pages 3-57, Heaney translation; for other translations, read to the conclusion of Beowulf’s fight with Grendel)

Answer 2 of the following questions in a short paragraph response (a few sentences).  These questions are not meant as busy work; rather, they are to be used as a ‘guide’ to help you through the maze of difficult readings or to give you something specific to respond to or look for.  I don’t want you to skim readings or just read for the plot.  A work of literature is made up of the small moments, powerful phrases, or sudden revelations that occur in the most unlikely places.  Read slowly and carefully, even if you don’t get to the exact end of the reading assignment.  Better to read well than finish poorly.

1.         This poem was written sometime between 700 to 1000 A.D, when most of England had accepted Christianity (though odd areas, including Scotland, held out).  However, the events of the poem take place in the ‘pagan’ world of Scandinavia before Christianity had been introduced.  How does the poem graft the Christian tradition onto the world of pagan monsters and folklore?  Can the two worlds co-exist within the poem, or are there moments of confusion or contradiction?  How do you respond to this as a 21^st century reader?  Cite a specific passage to support your answer.

2.         In a famous passage of the poem (from line 499), Unferth, another warrior at Hrothgar’s court, attacks Beowulf’s claims of heroism.  Why is this passage important to the poem?  How is what he says—and how Beowulf responds to it—dramatically compelling?  You might also consider what this episode says about the culture of the Dark Ages and its heroes. 

3.             Examine a short passage (10-15 lines) and discuss why this passage would be difficult to translate from poetry to prose.  What makes these lines poetic?  How did the poem use the devices of poetry to create a work of art that does more than simply tell a story?  In other words, help us ‘see’ the poetry in these lines (and consider how they might be read!). 

4.         One of the most celebrated words in the poem is “wyrd” which  is often translated as “fate” or “destiny,” as when Beowulf says “Fate goes ever as fate must” (31).  How might we understand what the Anglo-Saxons meant by fate in this instance (and others in the poem)?  Is fate “God” and His decisions?  Is fate related to a Norse/Greek conception of destiny?  Or is it simply luck or random chance?  Discuss a passage that might help us read this elusive word.