Drawing Parallels

You may have noticed that The Hero and the Crown includes many characters, scenes, plot elements, themes (and more) that have parallels in previous texts we've read. For this post, identify one of the parallels and discuss its essence. This will require comparing the specific details of the character/scene/plot element/theme/etc. as it appears in each text, as well as commenting on the significance of your observations. 


Welcome back to classes. 14 more days of Great Narrative Reading to go!

Lasting Impressions

Opening lines of Beowulf in
Cotton Vitellius A.XV

Beowulf, the text, is hard to define. Heroic epic? Tragic tale? Elegaic remembrance?


Now that you've finished the poem, what are your impressions? Specifically, what is one significant thing either about or within the poem that sticks with you? It might be a specific scene, phrase, or character; it might be an overarching tone or impression; or it might be something even less tangible--a vague something-or-other that resides within, around, among, and beneath the narrative.


Either way, provide some specific textual examples of your own 'lasting impression' and then discuss why this particular scene/phrase/character/tone/etc has impacted you in a certain way.


Reminder: There will be a quiz on Tuesday, and we'll start discussing Hero and the Crown on Thursday. Print off the two relevant articles ("Welding Brass" and "YA Lit Hope") and bring them with you to class. No need to read them yet.

Fame and Glory, or Plain ol' Pride?

Helm from Sutton Hoo ship burial.

Beowulf is a bit enigmatic: He's confident - he's cocky. He's brave - he's boastful. He's assertive - he's arrogant. He's full of honor - he's full of himself.


Like Odysseus thousands of years before him, he's a bit hard to pin down.


In an era when fame and glory were every warrior's goal, Beowulf is either the most heroic of them all or the most pathetic of them all. Sometimes it's hard to tell.


Using textual evidence (line numbers) tell us which side of Beowulf's character (the honorable-fame-and-glory side or the look-at-me-I'm-totally-awesome side) strikes you as being the Real Beowulf.