Beowulf Group

Question:

risha-07
risha-07
Student
High School - 12th Grade

Based on the material from Richard Wilbur's "Beowulf" (1950), how can you start a thesis statement?

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Posted by risha-07 on Monday May 7, 2007 at 7:31 AM and tagged with beowulf.

Answers:


  1. gbeatty Teacher
    College - Freshman

    eNotes Editor

    Hmm. How can I, or what would I argue? If I were seeking to create a thesis statement for an essay about this poem, I would start by reading and rereading the poem, to make sure I had a strong understanding of it. I would use related tools, like the explanations available in the enotes study guide (see the themes section: http://www.enotes.com/beowulf-wilbur/24770 or the style section, for example: http://www.enotes.com/beowulf-wilbur/24771), to expand my understanding.

    Then, I would start sketching out loose ideas. Where they would go would depend in part on how big the paper was and what limits I had. May I, for example, compare it to the epic Beowulf? To other twentieth century poems, such as Auden's "The Shield of Achilles"?

    If I had to make an argument just about this poem, I would look at the relationship between style and content. Specifically, I would argue that the style fits the themes, and that the meaning of the poem can't really be grasped without discussing both.

    Sources:
    http://www.enotes.com/beowulf-wilbur/24770
    http://www.enotes.com/beowulf-wilbur/24771
    http://www.sccs.swarthmore.edu/users/99/jrieffel/poetry/a...

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    Posted by gbeatty on Monday May 7, 2007 at 8:19 AM