Lego Beowulf

Beowulf Midterm

For the midterm I will give you a choice of 2-3 topics (with suggested passages). You will have to write a close reading focused on one of the passages and incorporating quotes/ideas from 1-2 of the supplemental readings. On the 13th I will not loan copies of the text or supplemental readings, so bring them with you.

Sample Close Reading Beowulf 258-63

How people are named carries a lot of importance in Beowulf. When Beowulf is speaking to Hrothgar's coastguard he first tells him, "We belong by birth to the Geat people/and owe allegiance to Lord Hygelac" (260-61). The primary identity is tribal, not personal. Hygelac, who remains at home, is named, but not his followers. Beowulf gives honor to his lord in this way; at the same time, he assumes the coastguard will recognize the name. In speaking of himself Beowulf says, "my father was a famous man,/a noble warrior-lord named Ecgtheow" (262-63). Geneology is connected to names and stories. Beowulf assumes his father's reputation will vouch for his own. In addition, it is a mark of social difference not to give one's name directly to an inferior.

Sample Close Reading Beowulf 16-25

The opening of the poem establishes the standards for a good king.  As in Paradise Lost, though, there is a tension between human agency and God's power. We are told that "behavior that's admired/is the path to power among people everywhere" (24-25). Such actions include "giving freely" (21) and being ready for "when fighting starts" (22).  This all appears to be directly within the leader's control, all that is necessary for one's name to be remembered. At the same time, we are told clearly, "the Lord of Life, the glorious Almighty, made this man renowned" (16-17). Here, the hero's actions are not the determining factor; rather it is God's will. 

NB: This close reading does not resolve the issue. As you're reading the poem look for clues that might resolve the dichotomy.

Beowulf Hypertext

Here is a good hypertext Beowulf with lots of background.

PL Essay Due Date/Themes/Close Reading

The essay is due Mon 3/9; however, if you want the essay returned before break, you need to get it in by Fri 3/6.

Some themes we discussed in class:

Gender, Power, Free Will/Predestination, Temptation, Mercy, Reality/Illusion, Obedience, Deception

NB: Remember in close reading the theme is what you stress. Use specific characters/incidents to illustrate your larger point. Too much focus on characters/incidents exclusively leads to a paraphrase, not a close reading.

Sample Close Reading PL IX 816-825

After eating the apple Eve becomes like Satan in her inability to see things as they really are in God's ultimate reality. This affects her view of her relationship with Adam. She asks herself, "But to Adam in what sort/Shall I appear/" (816-7). Appearance, and the possibility of changing it, occur only after a separation from reality. This opens the door for deception. At the same time, Eve's logic deteriorates. She thinks to become "more equal" (823) to Adam, but this is literally impossible, an echo of Satan's habit of seeing unity doubled or halved, but not itself.