Living in Anglo-Saxon times
Symbolism
12th Grade
Beowulf class page at 
PowerPoint of project.

3.7.  Analyze recognized works of world literature from a variety of authors beginning with Beowulf and continuing through several centuries.Students will:

a) Contrast the major literary forms, techniques, and characteristics of the major literary periods (Old English).

b) Relate literary works and authors to the major themes and issues of their eras.

c) Evaluate the philosophical, political, religious, ethical, and social influences of the historical period that shaped the characters, plots, and settings..

d) Analyze the way in which authors through the centuries have used archetypes drawn from myth and tradition in literature and religious writings.

• After reading Beowulf, students will be able to interpret the poem and identify and analyze the epic hero.
• Students will be able to identify alliteration and kennings.
• Students will be able to draw a diagram of the earth's layers.
• Students will understand word meanings through context clues.
• After viewing a short video concerning this period in literary history, students will express understanding of the literary period through writing and speech.
• Students will be able to identify several Biblical allusions used in the poem including the creation story, Cain and Abel story, and other famous passages and delineate their significance to the poem.
• Students will be able to present their findings how archetypes of the hero are used by major authors through the centuries in a Power Point multimedia presentation to an audience of peers and adults, including the World Medieval Society.
• Students will be able to write, edit and revise their findings how archetypes of the hero are used by major authors through the centuries using correct grammar, spelling and punctuation.

Student Activities
 
 

Choose any five of theWords to Own from Beowulf. For each word, construct a sentence that gives the meaning of the word from its context. Use a different type of context clue for each sentence.

A warrior's sword and shield were his most precious possessions.  A Celtic chief supposedly threw the Battersea shield into the Thames as an offering to a river god. In pairs, students solve the following Anglo-Saxon riddle: "I'm by nature solitary, scarred by spear and wounded by sword, weary of battle. I frequently see the face of war, and fight hateful enemies . . . "  What is the object?  [a shield]

Take notes on several contemporary fictional heroes from novels, films, or even comics or television. Pick one of them, and briefly analyze him or her using 4 Analysis Questions. Now discuss some of the heroes you and your classmates chose. Do they all seem to qualify as hero-types, or do some of them fall short in one way or another?

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Many cultures produced poems to celebrate their heroes and to express the values and customs of their civiklizations.  These poems have been passed down by word of mouth. Thus, repetition of key ideas is essential. As students read Beowulf,  have them look for repeated key ideas that reveal Anglo-Saxon values. For five hints what those ideas might be see 5 Hints to assist your understanding.
 
 

Movies, the cornerstone of American entertainment, often rely on familiar images: Heroes face villains to do battle in all kinds of places---from the ordinary to the strange. In a brief essay, compare and contrast Beowulf with some action movie you know well. Use These Are the Hero Questions to guide your comparison.

Assessment

Use the grading rubric for the culminating activity called Being the Scop.

Results
After implementing the lesson, I found that most students, as shown as blue on chart, failed terribly on pre-test and improved somewhat as we progressed. I distributed a "think sheet" which was a summary of the students' brain-storming session. In the final assessment, all students did very well. Review Data.
 
 

.4 Analysis Questions
 
 

Read a modern illustrated version of Beowulf starring Bill Clinton and Bid Bird.

Visit Grendel's Cave:  an online fantasy game

What is an epic hero?

5 Hints

These Are the Hero Questions

Visit the British Museum and the the Sutton Hoo Collection.

View clips from the bloody, gorey (R-rated) 13th Warrior based on Beowulf. The Grendel character almost surely has his roots in the Old Norse stories of the draugar, or animated corpses, dead men of supernatural strength who walked at night spreading evil and terror. Often a draugar had a mother even more terrible than he,  known as a ketta or "she-cat."
 

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Last Revised: 07/26/2000