Beiwolf, My Friend

One of the most important lessons you must learn from the beginning of this year, to be applied to everything you read, is to substantiate your answers, your opinions, with specific textual references from the book. This support should be in the form of line numbers, quotes and specific incidents or episodes from the work.

Your answers to the questions below will be the basis for our discussion and so may be simply in “list” form. However, you MUST support every one of your opinions with several incidents from the book; I will be looking for abundant evidence in your written responses as well as your class discussion that you have textual support.

Section I:

1. Find and cite line numbers where there are Christian references. When/in what situations does the poet refer to Christian theology? Explain why you think this might be significant.

2. Characterize the 3 monsters. What do they have in common? What might they represent?

3. What might the 3 monsters represent in today’s society? Give thoughtful and distinctly separate answers for each of your three “contemporary” monsters! Make sure you are tying today’s monsters back in some way to some of the qualities of Anglo-Saxon murderers.

Section II:

1. How important is a human being in this world? How can you tell? Give numerous and specific examples.

2. Some see Beowulf as a parallel to Jesus. Defend or deny with substantial support.

3. What qualities did these people admire? Give examples and lines.

Section III:

1. How does the poet feel about the person, Beowulf? Give many examples.

2. What impression does the poem leave with you: hope, despair, depression, futility, positiveness? Again, cite line references and examples.

Section IV:

1. Someone has said that the subject of Beowulf is alienation, just as alienation is the most significant characteristic of our civilization. Defend or deny with examples.

2. Explain the differences in the 3 battles. How do you account...