Beowulf End-of-the-Unit Assignments & Reminders

Citing Beowulf in MLA: Slashes for Poetry and Verse

With poetry or plays written in verse, use uses a slash to show where each line ends in the poem. If there are three or fewer lines, the material appears within the body of the paragraph like any other short quote:

In Book Thirteen of The Odyssey, Homer writes, ". . . You must come from the other end of

nowhere, / having to ask / what place this is" (301-03).

Note that in the example above, the numbers refer to lines, not page numbers. We quote articles and essays by page number, but poetry cites book and line number. We cite plays by act, scene, and line numbers.

For citing Beowulf specifically:

There’s no known author, so your citation will simply include the line number range. If your citation goes beyond 3 lines, it should be written as a block quote, where you format it into your paper like you see it in print. Remember, block quotes are indented twice (10 spaces) and punctuation goes BEFORE the citation, unlike a traditional MLA citation.

SOCRATIC SEMINAR:Prepare questions and points of analysis in class today that you will bring after we return from Thanksgiving Break. You may wish to first read through the blog questions below, but do not copy these questions directly; rather, use them as potential inspiration for forming your own original questions. SEMINAR DATE: Monday, November 26th

Discussion Blog Post 2—Beowulf:

Post due before midnight on Tuesday, November 28. Reply to the posts of two classmates before midnight on Friday, November 30. Submit your discussion post to the weebly blog, and please also share via googledrive with Mrs. Rohlfs (). Revisit the instructions for creating a discussion post under the Assignments tab, if necessary.

Once you decide on the topic(s) for your post, begin writing your response in word processing program like Microsoft Word (this allows you to spell check). Think of writing your post like you would write a short essay. Your post should be approximately 500-700 words (minimum-- you can go above this!) and you must include citations from the text to support your insights. (Shoot for at least 3!) For your second discussion board post, you will need to respond to one or more of the following questions:

  1. What is it that makes Beowulf a true hero? How do Beowulf's deeds, words, and beliefs come together to create the "perfect" medieval warrior?
  2. Why are boasting and storytelling so important in the medieval warrior culture of Beowulf? What function do they serve in the epic?
  3. How much control do the characters in Beowulf have over their fates? Are skilled warriors any more likely to succeed than cowards? Who does the narrator remind us is calling all the shots?
  4. What role do women play in Beowulf? Consider Queen Wealhtheow, Queen Hygd, and the various unnamed daughters of kings. How do women function in medieval Scandinavian society to reinforce alliances and solve blood-feuds?
  5. Why does Beowulf have to die at the end of the epic? How would the epic be different if it ended with Beowulf alive, triumphant, and still king of the Geats?
  6. After reading Beowulf, what sense do you have of the relationships that existed between different early medieval tribes, such as the Danes, the Geats, the Swedes, the Franks, and the Frisians? Don't worry about the petty details of historical politics and dates; just think about the culture and the way these groups interact. Is life pretty calm and consistent, or full of unexpected catastrophes? On what does the safety of each tribe depend? Why are some tribes in constant conflict with each other? How can blood-feuds be solved – or can they?
  7. Several times in Beowulf, we hear the same story narrated twice, often because something happens, and then we get to hear one character explain what just happened to someone else. For example, at the end of the epic, Wiglaf witnesses Beowulf's fight with the dragon and death, and then he describes it to the other Geats. Why do you think the author chose to repeat parts of the story in this way? What effect does it have on you as a reader?
  8. One important poetic device in Old English is the "kenning," a compound word in which one thing is described by a fanciful two-word metaphor. For example, the sea is described as a "whale-road" (10), a king is described as a "ring-giver" (36), and a murderer is described as a "corpse-maker" (276). What effect do these kennings have on you as a reader? How do they add to the poetic atmosphere of the epic?