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1 Topics. This
assignment solicits an exploration of a metaphor, an image, or
an aspect of literary craft that you find intriguing. You
need not
conclude
anything. Possible topics include:
- The use of space
and distance to portray desire, ambition, or unfulfilled promise.
- How physical aspects
of a character are used to imply moral or emotional qualities.
Take a look at Lord Shaftesbury's Characteristics of Men, Manners,
Opinions, and Times ( B1385 .A2 1964),
or at medieval paintings.
- The art of tone:
by which means (lexical [i.e., words] or phrasal) do Old English
poets establish tone? Look up "tone" in the Princeton
Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics (Ref.
PN1021 .N39 1993). Then, consider shifts in tone like
those between Beowulf and Unferð, or those in Wulf and
Eadwacer.
- The effects of meter
on your appreciation of a poem.
- The use or non-use
of landscape description. How does it change your sense of realism
in poem? How does place affect a sense of character? (Irwin
Panofsky has written brilliantly on this, as has Erich Auerbach.)
- The theme of confrontation:
how is it schematized in Beowulf? Who owes what to whom?
How do you start a fight? How do you end one?
- The theme of monsters:
who are the monsters, what are monsters, and why do
they need killing?
- The theme of kingship
and rule: what makes a good ruler?
- The theme of antiquity:
why is the past important in the poems?
- The theme of trade:
exchange is central to Western culture. How do Old English poets
portray exchange--favor for favor, treasure for deed, fame for
death, etc.?
- Images of women:
how are women portrayed? Consider women-who-kill (Grendel's mother,
the young Modþryþ, etc.) and women who weave peace.
Look up the relevant topos in E. Curtius, European Literature
in the Latin Middle Ages (PN 674 .C82 1953).
- Images of men: how
are men protrayed? Consider Unferð, Hroðgar, and the
thief, for example.
- Images of swords:
how do these work as objects of trade or alliance in Beowulf?
As signals of the past? Think of Unferð's sword and the sword
at the wedding.
- Images of tales and
tale-telling. The story of Grendel is told over and over in the
poem. Why? What thematic purpose does the image of tale-telling
serve? Why are stories important in the world of Old English poetry?
Or, your own topic.
let me know if you'd like some ideas for reference works or to talk
through a topic.
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