Beowulf Journal and Posting Assignment

PLEASE NOTE: This posting combines a journal entry and posting assignment

DIRECTIONS:

First, please free write in your journal for 20 minutes or so on your reaction to Beowulf. Keep in mind that your journal is your own, so you can pour your ideas out in no particular order, and without regard to spelling, punctuation, etc. Just be sure your can read what you've written. The key is to keep writing.

Once done, use your journal ideas as raw material to create and post a two paragraph response to the following, one paragraph per question.

Please remember that since this is a ‘W’ course, the quality of your writing (postings, etc.) will in part determine the points you earn. Please turn in a thoughtful, edited written response. (Directions for posting a response can be found in the Module #1 Week #1 Personal Introduction assignment.)

Paragraph #1 Topic

1. Do you find the hero Beowulf more or less attractive than Homer’s Achilles or Odysseus?

Please defend your preference by referring to specific acts, speeches, and events in the poems.

Paragraph #2 Topic

2. The poem has been described as a portrait of the ideal ruler, “a mirror for princes of the age.”

In other words, what characteristics of rule would a prospective ruler be able to derive from the poem? What advice does the poem give?