English 205:
Discussion Question 1

Beowulf

Directions: After reading the lecture, answer one of the two questions below. This answer is due no later than Thursday, Sept. 8.

Your responses to other students' answers are due by midnight on Sunday, Sept. 11. Remember: in order to get the full 20 points, you MUST respond thoughtfully to at least 2 other people's postings.

This set of discussion questions is worth a possible 20 points. Late answers receive 0 points, so post early :)

More details, with sample questions and answers, can be found on the Discussion Board itself, under the heading "Info on Discussion Questions." Please read this carefully so you know how to get the most points for the discussions.

We will be using the Canvas Discussion Board for this class. Click on the link below to get to the LACCD portal, sign in, and then click on the link for Canvas in the right column. This will take you to the Canvas dashboard. From there, click on the square with the name of our class. Once you've entered the class, you will find the "Discussions" link on the left side of the screen:

LACCD portal


Just answer one of the following questions.

1. Does the poet who wrote Beowulf intend us to think of Grendel and his mother as evil? Explain why you think he does or does not, using evidence from the story. Do you think of Grendel and his mother as evil?

2. Do any of the themes from Beowulf--the sacredness of vows, courage, fame, the Heroic Ideal, for example--appear in movies or television shows we see today? If so, have the concepts changed at all? Give specific examples to support your statements.


For further information on this work, see the Links page.