Thurs. Sept. 15, 2016: Beowulf questions

Today, I did a check to ensure that you had read the excerpt from Beowulf actively. None of you had apparent questions, so I allowed you to get into pairs and answer the questions for this reading. If you were not here, you will have to do this on your own. I gave the class about 40 minutes in this class and will provide them with another 30 or 40 minutes in tomorrow's class to complete. If you were not here, keep this in mind. The questions are pasted below:

Questions for the Excerpt from Beowulf

1.      Summarize (in your own words and in paragraph form: 9-12 sentences) the excerpt from the poem Beowulf. Pay attention to sentence structure, grammar, spelling, capitalization, etc.

2.      What do you think causes Grendel to attack humans? Brainstorm first before you answer this (think about his relatives and ancestors, his actions and attitudes, the warriors’ reactions to him, living conditions, etc).

3.      Locate and list adjectives which describe Grendel.

4.      Locate and list adjectives which describe Beowulf.

5.      What is the author’s purpose in providing the descriptions of Grendel as he did in the above lines?

6.      Why does Beowulf help a different clan in spite of the danger (again, really think about this. The answer may not be a “surface” one). Provide specific evidence to back your assertion up. (e.g., “in line 95, it states “…”). Use the MLA book to cite correctly.

7.      For what reasons do you think Beowulf is able to defeat Grendel? Provide evidence to back your assertion up.

8.      Based on this reading, and keeping in mind that it was popular for 300 years before it was written down, what were the ideals of the people at that time? You may have to look back on your notes to help you answer this.

9.      How do our ideals today differ from those back then? In order to answer this questions, think about how we would probably deal with a Grendel character at various stages of his life.

10.  How are Grendel and Beowulf the same? Based on this comparison, what makes one a hero and one not?