Beowulf Group at eNotes

Beowulf Theme Analysis

Don't be discouraged by the difficulty of reading the text at first....

Sat, 17 Oct 2009 09:38:42 PST

Don't be discouraged by the difficulty of reading the text at first. There's a great story there. mshurn's link to eNotes's study guide is a good resource. Another helpful resources is this online guide, created by a graduate student for a university course on how to teach Beowulf: http://www.bernijohnson.com/beowulf/about.html The text is presented with annotations in italics to the right, explaining the basics of what is occurring. I...

Here's a link to one of the eNotes study guides on Beowulf. When you go...

Sat, 17 Oct 2009 07:51:15 PST

Here's a link to one of the eNotes study guides on Beowulf. When you go to this page, you will also find links to other study guide pages over Beowulf that should be helpful. Grendel is quite a monster indeed. Stay with the story and you will find lots of excitement and adventure in it. http://www.enotes.com/beowulf/summary

beowulf is translated by burton raffel and i have no clue what that...

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 19:48:05 PST

beowulf is translated by burton raffel and i have no clue what that man is talking about in need of help to under stand what he is talk about it has 7 part to it.

the wrath of grendel

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 19:45:10 PST

can some one help me under stand this text

A king is a position that is believed to bring that person closer to...

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 18:54:26 PST

A king is a position that is believed to bring that person closer to God. Grendel is supposedly the spawn of Cain (from the Bible, Cain is the first man to commit murder by killing his brother). Therefore, in religious terms, Grendel will not dare touch the thrown, because, in turn, that is too close a step to God.

Why doesn't Grendel touch King Hrothgar's throne?

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 18:22:09 PST

Why doesn't Grendel touch King Hrothgar's throne?

The poet goes into detail about the rewards given to Beowulf because of...

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 00:07:52 PST

The poet goes into detail about the rewards given to Beowulf because of the Christan conception of material greed as sinful. All through Beowulf, there is a contrast between the non-christian rewards given as a symbol of personal valor as opposed to Christian greed. All throughout history giving treasures was a common practice of rewarding valor during a war. A soldiers success in war could be seen by all the treasures he had acquired....

Why does the poet go into detail about the reward Hrothgar gives to...

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 22:10:50 PST

Why does the poet go into detail about the reward Hrothgar gives to Beowulf?

Beowulf - Novel Test

Beowulf Mock Trial

Quiz over the first Battle Vs. Grendel in Beowulf

What battles does light come upon Beowulf?

Sat, 12 Sep 2009 12:48:35 PST

What battles does light come upon Beowulf?

The compound adjectives are called "kennings." They are used as metaphor...

Fri, 11 Sep 2009 10:26:41 PST

The compound adjectives are called "kennings." They are used as metaphor to add to the elevated language that makes up a literary epic. They serve to add description without bulk, and frankly, they're just fun poetic devices. Part of the reason for the use of kennings is the way the Anglo-Saxon language developed. New words incorporated to the language from other cultures made some for some grammatical comedy and plenty of confusion. It makes...

What are the compound words in Beowulf, (example whale-roads) called?

Fri, 11 Sep 2009 08:48:46 PST

What are the compound words in Beowulf, (example whale-roads) called?

??? Anglo Saxons weren't nomadic!!

Fri, 28 Aug 2009 14:10:00 PST

??? Anglo Saxons weren't nomadic!!

The Anglo-Saxons' literature is a mixture of pagan and Christian...

Thu, 27 Aug 2009 06:56:29 PST

The Anglo-Saxons' literature is a mixture of pagan and Christian beliefs. The main ideas embodied in their culture include a belief in Fate (all roads lead to death, and it is inescapable no matter what you do), Fame (pre-Christian beliefs include that great deeds worthy of being retold in stories are the only way to remain alive after physical death), Loyalty and Valor (warriors pledged their lives to their King or Lords, and likewise the...

Why must good and bad exist in our world?

Wed, 26 Aug 2009 19:24:30 PST

Why must good and bad exist in our world?

Grendel is called the "son of Cain" in the poem, and as such, his...

Wed, 26 Aug 2009 16:57:19 PST

Grendel is called the "son of Cain" in the poem, and as such, his philosophical bent is toward "disenlightenment" rather than the usual philosophical course of enlightenment. Chapter two of the poem tells how hatred triumphed in the heart of the monster when the brave men ran for their lives. Grendel was pained by the joy of music and beauty represented by Heorot and was impatient to put a stop to it. Because he was spawned by evil creatures,...

What are Beowulf philosophical perspectives on life and the situation in...

Tue, 25 Aug 2009 18:02:34 PST

What are Beowulf philosophical perspectives on life and the situation in Denmark.