Last week we discussed (amongst other things):
Mon:
- the question of the Christian interpolator (poet) of the manuscript narrative.
- the notion of supersession. From Grendelkin to Danes, from Danes to Geats, from Geats to Swedes, from the pagan heroic world to that of the Christian Anglo-Saxons.
- the question of the noble heathen.
Wed:
- Shield Shefing, the fatherless ancestor of the Danes, and the model of a good king.
- Grendel vs. Beowulf.
- monsters and identity construction.
- the hall vs the darkness
Friday:
- more on intimate others, on entwining, on difference and similarity.
- Grendel's mere, the other watery hall, the uncanny.
- on eating children, and how there's nothing absolutely wrong with that.
- on female monsters, and the identity work they do.
If you are interested, here is the Beowulf manuscript page.
This coming week, we'll move on to think about some more aspects of the poem, including:
- the rest of the Grendel's mother fight.
- the Dragon
- the role of women in Beowulf
- on revenge and feud as a theme
- on objects and history
Saturday, February 27, 2016
Saturday, February 20, 2016
Week 7: Beowulf week the first
We'll be reading and discussing Beowulf for the next two or so weeks.
We won't be going through the text in a linear fashion, but rather we'll be taking a thematic approach to the text.
On Monday, let's start with the monsters, and think about how the monstrous operates within the poem.
Things to consider:
- Grendel and his kin.
- Monstrousness and Heroism
- How we understand the Dragon
You might like to read J. R. R. Tolkien's 'Monsters and the Critics' essay.
On Wednesday, I thought we might look at "Kingship", from Scyld Scefing to Hrothgar to Beowulf, and the other examples of kingship along the way, i.e. Heremod.
We'll decide on other themes to discuss as we go along.
See you all on Monday.
RR
Wednesday, February 10, 2016
No Class this Friday
Remember, no class this Friday (the 12th Feb).
Have a great Reading Week.
Your 343 reading is Beowulf. All of it.
Enjoy!
Dr Rouse
Have a great Reading Week.
Your 343 reading is Beowulf. All of it.
Enjoy!
Dr Rouse
Sunday, February 7, 2016
Midterm: Wednesday 10th February
The midterm for ENGL 343 is this Wednesday, in class.
It will run from 12.05 - 12.45 (40 minutes), and is worth 20% of your course grade.
You will be given FOUR short passages from texts that we have discussed and read thus far, and you will be asked to write a paragraph or so on each passage.
The passages will be labelled with the name of the text that they are drawn from.
You should point out aspects of literary, historical, and/or cultural interest, and comment on the importance of the passage to the that that it taken from. You may also wish to mention or discuss how the passage refers to or intersects with other parts of the larger text. You may answer in bullet point form or in paragraph form.
As you will have worked out, you have 10 minutes per passage. This should be a reasonable amount of time to make a number of compelling points and / or observations.
The midterm is closed book. Just you, a pen, and your insightful minds.
Best wishes,
Dr Rouse
READING FOR SEMESTER BREAK
Read Beowulf. Simples.
It will run from 12.05 - 12.45 (40 minutes), and is worth 20% of your course grade.
You will be given FOUR short passages from texts that we have discussed and read thus far, and you will be asked to write a paragraph or so on each passage.
The passages will be labelled with the name of the text that they are drawn from.
You should point out aspects of literary, historical, and/or cultural interest, and comment on the importance of the passage to the that that it taken from. You may also wish to mention or discuss how the passage refers to or intersects with other parts of the larger text. You may answer in bullet point form or in paragraph form.
As you will have worked out, you have 10 minutes per passage. This should be a reasonable amount of time to make a number of compelling points and / or observations.
The midterm is closed book. Just you, a pen, and your insightful minds.
Best wishes,
Dr Rouse
READING FOR SEMESTER BREAK
Read Beowulf. Simples.
Wednesday, January 6, 2016
Week 5: Heroic Women
This week we will be reading two heroic poems that are centred on women.
On Monday, we will turn our attention to Helene (pp. 314-35), an account of St. Helena, who discovered the resting place of the true cross (as mentioned in The Dream of the Rood).
On Wed and Friday we will be reading Judith (Anthology, pp. 401-23).
As you read the poem, please be alert for:
[1] aspects of heroic characterisation
[2] tensions between masculine and feminine identities
[3] the structural aspects of the word-hoard (kennings, etc.) You will be called upon to analyse these aspects of the poetic tradition in which we are working.
For those of you who want to know more about Judith, or about the many fascinating women of the medieval period, here is a useful site:
Happy reading!
Tuesday, January 5, 2016
Week 4: Heroic Christianity
First up, we have the tale of Caedmon (see Anthology). This is the record of the first known poetry in English, and acts as a form of origin tale for Christian English poetry. But it is also the story of the miraculous appropriation of OE secular poetry for the purposes of religious praise, and one can see the continuity of social use, or purpose, in this narrative.
Next, we will be reading The Dream of the Rood (see Anthology), which will be the centre-piece of this week's reading (and is one of the most beautiful of OE poems).
We will also examine some of the material and multicultural contexts of the Dream, by looking at the Ruthwell Cross and the Death of Baldr (see Anthology, pp. 527-33)). Also read Bede's tales of The Conversion of Edwin and of Caedmon (pp. 454-65, Anthology).
Ruthwell Cross images
Franks Casket images
Monday, January 4, 2016
Week 3: The Heroic Poet
For Monday, please read:
Widsith and Deor (both in the Anthology).
If you fancy some interweb wormhole fun, take a look at the Ƿikipædia entry for Widsith.
For Wednesday and Friday, please read:
Lay of Wayland, Eulogy on Ragnar (pp. 128-33) and Atlakvitha (The Lay of Atli, 150-62)
Class discussion:
Over the week we talked about the following things:
- The Poet as Hero.
- The Role (and utility) of Poetry within the Heroic Economy
- The importance of the circulation (movement) of treasure in the Heroic System. The way that poetry and reputation also circulate.
- We also talked about the oral vs written nature of the poems. They survive in written form, but have many aspects that we consider to be oral in nature, and - in terms of their social use - must have been public and orally performed at some point in their existence.
If you would like the listen to a number of recreations of OE poetry, here are a few links:
An interpretation of Deor (thanks to Austen Erhardt for the link). This interpreter makes the poem into song lyrics, which is a choice. In contrast, Benjamin Bagby, one of the world's best historical musicians (when it comes to Western Europe, at least) takes more of a music - speech - music approach in his work: here we see his introduction to Beowulf.
Historical musical interpreters use a mix of archaeology, poetics, experimentation, and speculation. Here is a short clip on the Sutton Hoo Lyre (an instrument found in the famous ship burial at Sutton Hoo).
And, as a special tribute, there is this, from my friend Carolyne Larrington.
Widsith and Deor (both in the Anthology).
If you fancy some interweb wormhole fun, take a look at the Ƿikipædia entry for Widsith.
For Wednesday and Friday, please read:
Lay of Wayland, Eulogy on Ragnar (pp. 128-33) and Atlakvitha (The Lay of Atli, 150-62)
Class discussion:
Over the week we talked about the following things:
- The Poet as Hero.
- The Role (and utility) of Poetry within the Heroic Economy
- The importance of the circulation (movement) of treasure in the Heroic System. The way that poetry and reputation also circulate.
- We also talked about the oral vs written nature of the poems. They survive in written form, but have many aspects that we consider to be oral in nature, and - in terms of their social use - must have been public and orally performed at some point in their existence.
If you would like the listen to a number of recreations of OE poetry, here are a few links:
An interpretation of Deor (thanks to Austen Erhardt for the link). This interpreter makes the poem into song lyrics, which is a choice. In contrast, Benjamin Bagby, one of the world's best historical musicians (when it comes to Western Europe, at least) takes more of a music - speech - music approach in his work: here we see his introduction to Beowulf.
Historical musical interpreters use a mix of archaeology, poetics, experimentation, and speculation. Here is a short clip on the Sutton Hoo Lyre (an instrument found in the famous ship burial at Sutton Hoo).
And, as a special tribute, there is this, from my friend Carolyne Larrington.
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