There is more than one "woman-type" in this literature, and few are recognizable as 20th-century stereotypes; consider Norse parallels to warrior goddesses, queens, sooth-sayers, and so forth. How do women overshadow and outperform men like Hrothgar and Unferth? Consider the spectrum of morality displayed by both women and men--can we reduce this poem to two teams, the Men and the Women? What role does formality, ritual, and order play in these scenes? (See John Hill's book, The Narrative Pulse of Beowulf.) And what role does the implicit critique offered by Christianity play (blessed are the meek, and so forth)?

Consider also battles in halls. How does Grendel's Mother compare to Weahltheow? Is it the case that a female who acts like a brutal man is more "liberated" than one who acts within the confines of law and tradition? How can one be free outside the law?

OE Language: Weak Verbs

A) kA, chs. 11-14; OEA § 7