Class 8 - October 18

This week we launched our discussion of Beowulf.  Welcome to Old Scandinavia! What contributions will this enduring classic make to our conception of the hero?  Lets compare Odysseus with Beowulf, and both of them with Christ as we strive to separate that which is good in man from that which is chaff.

As you read, notice the problems/decisions that the characters face.  What do they do to overcome them?  Ask yourself whether they should take the courses of action they take.

*Should Beowulf and the Geats have traveled across the channel to help the Danes?

*Should the coastgaurd have asked Beowulf and his men to reveal their identity before entertaining them? (compare with the customs of hospitality in The Odyssey) And should he have have required them to leave their weapons behind in order to visit Hrothgar?

As you read, be on the lookout for poetic devices that are characteristic of this work.  We enjoyed the imaginative epic similes of Homer.  How does the scop of Beowulf draw us into his song artistically?  Note kennings (creative compound words) and alliterations (repetition of consonant sounds in a line) when you come across them.  What else other devices do you notice?  Can you incorporate some of this artistry into your own writing? 

And what about those universal proverbs?  Our Anglo-Saxon poet would not have us overlook timeless maxims.  He has his characters speak truths that connect his tale to a body of universal and ancient wisdom.  How do these sayings stand up in the light of scripture?  Consider these examples from the lines we discussed this week:

"Fate goes everywhere as a must." - Beowulf

"Behavior that's admired is the path to power among people everywhere." - the scop as narrator

"Anyone with gumption and a sharp mind will take the measure of two things: what's said and what's done." -  coastgaurd of the Danes

Mark any similar sayings as you come across them.  Do they remind you of others that you've heard - perhaps even in the Proverbs of Solomon?  For instance, compare the coastgaurd's remark with Proverbs 20:11.

For next week:

• Review Beowulf lines 1-1650. 
• Mark at least 2 blues in this first section
• Be prepared to narrate any section in this first half for the class
• Prepare for a mock trial of Poseidon.  He sunk Odysseus' raft.  Should he have done that?  Make an ANI chart to explore this issue.   List reasons that he should have sunk the raft in the A(affirmative) column.  List reasons he should not have sunk the raft in the N(negative) column.  List any other interesting information that pertains to this issue in the I(interesting) column.  You should have at least 10 points listed in each column.  Use questions from the "5 Topics" page to help you discover points for your chart.  Remember that ANY answer to ANY of those questions when asked about this issue can go in one of the three columns.  
• (Note* In an earlier version of this post, I had written "ship" instead of "raft".  In the original question (Caleb's), the term was "boat".  The "boat" is  a raft, and Poseidon sinks it in book 5 after Odysseus leaves Kalypso's island. In a flashback that occurs in book 12, Odysseus recounts that Zeus sunk his ship and all his men perished.  This created some confusion, but since our issue has to do with Poseidon, we are considering the sinking of a raft, not a ship.)