There is more than one "woman-type": 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 new book, The Narrative Pulse of Beowulf.)

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?

OE Language: Weak Verbs

A) kA, chs. 11-14; OEA § 7