We had a great class this week. Even with a small group of students, we had a good discussion. We're reading Beowulf, the earliest known piece of literature in the British canon. Written by a poet in the 700's, the story is assumed to have happened in the 500's. One of our discussion points dealt with the tension between the events of a pagan society and the overlay of Christian thoughts. When this story is to have occurred, the Anglo-Saxon population had not yet been introduced to the gospel. By the time it was composed, that part of the world had been Christianized. That fact is the cause for some of the tension -- we're reading about how God is helping people kill monsters.
The book from which we're reading is a prose version of the story. Since we're only spending 2 weeks on this book, we're not going overly deep into the book. For a sense of comparison, I showed the students the Old English version, which really is a foreign language. We also read a portion of a translation in poetry form.
In order to discuss the culture of the people of the book, we first listed what we thought were the key points of any culture. Basically, this list includes how people lived (all those practical things that make up our day to day lives) and how people thought (all of the abstractions that deal with thoughts, values, religion, etc.) With regards to life in Beowulf, they adhered to a strong Heroic Culture. Key aspects include a strong patriarchal ancestry, strong warriors, personal fame and glory, vengeance, blood feuds, fighting to the death, and rewarding valiant men.
For next week, we'll continue reading and will finish the book. I have on the syllabus that the students are to write a short paper. Instead, I'd like them to list with evidence (specific references from the book) of the heroic culture in the book.
Blogs for this week:
Class Notes
Have a great week,
Mrs. Prichard
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