Beowulf

Despite its records of superhuman heroics, Beowulf is deeply concerned with mortal weakness. Why might the poem juxtapose these two aspects of humanity?

The meaning of good kingship is a major question in Beowulf. What, according to the poem, makes a good leader? What hampers good leadership? Why does leadership matter?

Beowulf defeats many monsters, but a dragon finally undoes him. Why do you think this dragon in particular is Beowulf’s downfall? What significance might the dragon carry?

Write a short parody of a scene from Beowulf, trying to imitate the style (heavy downbeats, strong caesurae, kennings, alliteration) as well as the events. What do you learn about the shape of the poem from mimicking it?

Pick a few of the poem’s kennings (for instance, “word-hoard,” “bone-cage,” “ring-giver,” and “swan-road”) and explicate them. What do these images tell us about how the writer of this poem and the writer’s wider culture saw and understood the world?

The poet of Beowulf is fascinated with death. How does the poem interact with the idea of mortality? What does death mean, and how does the poet conceive of it?

Reread the passage known as “The Father’s Lament” (starting on page 165 in the 2000 edition). How does this vivid evocation of grief speak to the rest of the poem?

Many of the events in Beowulf are repeated, retold either by the poet or by one character to another. How do these repetitions fit in with the poem’s larger structure and themes?