Beowulf – Related Readings

1. Beowulf – Related Readings Shrink Lit, “Anger” & excerpt from Grendel

2. Writing to Learn • Please take out a piece of paper to write on which will be turned in. Put your name on the top. Label it “Beowulf Related Readings.” • Write legibly and in complete sentences. • Be prepared to share your responses in a class discussion. • Save this paper for the next class period. It will be collected later.

3. “Beowulf” • by Maurice Sagoff • from ShrinkLits: Seventy of the World’s Towering Classics Cut Down to Size • P. 155 • Answer the following questions as fully as possible in the time given.

4. Questions • 1. What is the effect of Sagoff’s use of everyday modern situations and contemporary language in this poem? Use examples to support your response. • 2. Literary Concepts: Pun and Parody A pun is a play on multiple meanings of the same or similar-sounding words; for example, “The octopus went into battle well armed” plays with armed meaning “having limbs” and armed meaning “having weapons or armor.” Identify the puns in this parody (a literary or musical work in which the style of an author or work is closely imitated for comic effect or in ridicule; a feeble or ridiculous imitation). How do they contribute to the tone of the poem?

5. “Anger” • from The Seven Deadly Sins by Linda Pastan, a series of poems about the seven types of human behavior that the medieval church condemned as the seven deadly sins: do you know them? • anger, pride, envy, lust, gluttony, greed, and sloth • P. 177 • Answer the following questions as fully as possible in the time given.

6. 3. Why do you think the speaker is afraid or unwilling to let her anger out? • 4. How does the anger in described in the poem differ from or resemble the various forms of anger described in Beowulf? Explain. • 5. Making Connections: In your experience, is it better to hold strong emotion inside or to let it loose? Cite examples in your response to support your answer.

7. Grendel • by John Gardner, an American writer • Told from Grendel’s point of view, first person • As you listen to the audio version of the beginning of the book for as far as we get today, respond to the following prompt: • 6. How does this story affect your feelings about Grendel? Explain.

8. From Grendel • Take out the paper you were working on last class to finish and hand in today. • P. 149 • Listen as we read and answer the following questions, labeling them by number. (Again, write legibly and in complete sentences.)

9. 6. Continued. As you read, add to and finish your response to number 6: How did this story affect your feelings about Grendel? Explain. • 7. How does this selection portray Grendel’s personality and motives? • Consider his feelings, his shock on encountering Beowulf, his confusion during and after the battle with Beowulf, his calls to his mother, and the final line that he whispers to the animals. • Cite evidence from the text in support of your response.

10. 8. Why do you think Grendel insists that his death is an accident? • 9. Literary Concept: Point of View.Grendel is told in first-person point of view, which is a narrative told in the voice of the main character. How is this selection’s point of view significant? Explain. • 10. Do you think Gardner’s Grendel is an accurate rendition of the character that appears in Beowulf? Why or why not? • 11. Howdoes this selection reflect attitudes and values of today’s world? Use details from the text in your answer to support your answer.