Beowulf Discussion
Preparation & Practice

What are we doing?
• Preparing for discussion
– Reviewing & Rereading text
• Practicing sentence structures
– Incorporating quotes into sentences
• Potentially using in application essay
• Definitely using in research paper
– AKA graduation project

Two Discussion Prompts
• 1. Discussion Square
• 2. Characteristics of a Classical Hero
– Write on the back of your square.
– Each row gets a different characteristic
• Bell Ringers from last week

Discussion 1
• Within Beowulf, there are many religious allusions. How does this influence the central theme of good vs. evil?
• Quote focus = God or Bible

Discussion 2
• In what ways does Beowulf resist wyrd? Do you believe he is changing or creating his fate?
• Quote focus= heroic feats

Discussion 3
• The monsters resist attacks by man-made weapons. What real life dangers could they, the monsters, represent?
• Quote focus: battle scenes

Discussion 4
• Using the character Beowulf as a model, what characteristics did the Anglo-Saxons idealize?
• Quote focus: Beowulf’s personality

ROW 1
• The suffering of the character is physical.
• Write “suffering” as key word.

ROW 2
• He must perform extraordinary feats.
• Write “feats” as key word.

ROW 3
• The epic hero needs some form of a crisis, war, or quest.
• Write “quest” as key word.

ROW 4
• He is almost perfect; there is always a fatal flaw.
• Write “flaw” as key word.

ROW 5
• Death must occur in an unusual way.
• Write “death” as key word.

Option 1: Royal Birth or Superhuman
• For example, “…” (#).
• For example, “My lord, the great king of the Danes, commands me/To tell you that he knows of your noble birth…” (127-128).

Option 2
• Character name + verb “…” (#).
• Beowulf grabs “the best of all weapons/But so massive no ordinary man could lift/Its carved and decorated length” (635-637).

Option 3
• Plot paraphrase clause, “…” (#).
• When Beowulf arrives in Herot he introduces himself to the
Danes,“Higlac is my cousin and my king…” (142).

Preparing QUOTES for discussion
• Write in present tense
– Literary present = text is “ongoing”
• Copy the quotes EXACTLY!
– Use line breaks (/) as needed.

Preparing QUOTES for discussion
• Use ellipses as needed.
• Record the line numbers in the parenthetical reference.
• Use context to determine commas before quotation marks.

Example “For Example”
• Discuss how intention influences motivation in the epic poem. How does this determine the victor?
• For example, “Grendel came, hoping to kill/Anyone he could trap on this trip to high Herot” (394-394).

Example “Name + verb”
• Beowulf vows, “…this dragon’s treasure, his gold/And everything hidden in that tower, will be mine
/Or war will sweep me to a bitter death!” (681-687).

Example (Paraphrase)
• Struggling against Grendel’s Mother,
Beowulf fights valiantly “only for fame…” (606).

ASSIGNMENT
• Find three different examples (lines) per discussion prompt
– Discussion Question= 3 sentences
• (For example/Name + verb/Paraphrase)
– Characteristic = 3 sentences
• (For example/Name + verb/ Paraphrase)
– 6 total sentences/examples

Discussion 1
• Within Beowulf, there are many religious allusions. How does this influence the central theme of good vs. evil?

Discussion 2
• In what ways does Beowulf resist wyrd? Do you believe he is changing or creating his fate?

Discussion 3
• The monsters resist attacks by man-made weapons. What real life dangers could they, the monsters, represent?

Discussion 4
• Using the character Beowulf as a model, what characteristics did the Anglo-Saxons idealize?