Beowulf Day 3

Anglo-Saxon Boasts and Beefs

We began with a quick review of kennings and alliteration, discussing a few of the kennings from the beginning of the poem, including "hall-watcher" (line 142), "swan's road" (line 200), "word hoard" (line 258) and "corpse-maker" (line 276). I also handed out a study guide about Anglo-Saxon history, outlining what students will need to know on that subject for any Beowulf quizzes and tests.

We spent the bulk of the period talking about Anglo-Saxon boasts. We discussed how common boasting and insults are in a popular modern art form -- hip-hop. I asked students to describe some of the great hip-hop beefs. I pointed out that the macho posturing that goes on in rap was just as common in Anglo-Saxon poetry.

A student stood in front of the class and performed Beowulf's boast in lines 407-455. We discussed the passage briefly, talking about the alliteration in lines 420-422, the violence in lines 442-450, and students initial impressions of Beowulf.

Then students wrote in their journals for five minutes on this prompt:

What kind of man is Beowulf? How can you tell? Why has he come to fight Grendel, do you think? Compare Beowulf's motivation to that of Luke Skywalker and/or Sir Gawain.

After the students wrote, we discussed their answers.

Two students then performed the trash talk between Unferth and Beowulf (lines 499-606). We discussed it, including the kenning "sleep of the sword" (line 566). Then students received a homework assignment, to write a Beowulf-like boast about themselves.

HW: Write a one-page boast about yourself, Beowulf-style. The boast must be connected to something you've really done, but you can feel free to exaggerate your accomplishments. (Don't you think Beowulf does?) The boast must be at least one page long and written in non-rhyming verse (like Beowulf). It must contain at least two kennings and at least two lines with heavy alliteration. Due Friday, 2/11. (Extended to Monday, 2/14)