Assignments text
The Old-English text
Study the original text with the introduction in more detail.
Identify at least three instances of half lines and alliteration each.
Identify at least three instances of half lines and alliteration each.
Consider this:
The story of Beowulf is fairly simple. Still, the poem consists of more than 3000 lines. Why would this be the case?
Anglo-Saxon elements
Some important aspects of Anglo-Saxon and Germanic culture were bravery, loyalty and a strong belief in fate. Indicate at least one passage for each element in the text.
Paganism versus Christianity
We stated that Beowulf contains both Pagan and Christian elements. Indicate examples of both in the text.
Audio version
Apart from reading and watching the story, it may also be helpful to listen to part of the story being read .
One of the more recent and famous translations of Beowulf into modern English is the text by Seamus Heany. Heany is a famous contemporary poet. He is even a poet laureate. You might want to look up some of his poems; they are wonderful. For now, just listen to a part of his poem read by himself. We do not expect you to listen to the whole story, -it is quite long as we know by now-, but it will help you get a feeling for the poem, the atmosphere and the language. By the way, can you detect the Heany's Irish accent? |
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