"Dream of the Rood"

1. Personification -- the bestowal of human capacities upon animals or objects -- seems to have been a fairly common poetic device in medieval times. What special perspective on Christ's sacrifice does that device offer in this short meditative poem?'

2. How is the portrayal of Christ during the crucifixion different from the accounts you might be familiar with? Focus on the behaviour of Jesus during the crucifixion.

3. What lesson about life and faith does the dreamer-poet draw from his vision?

Beowulf (adapted from the guide by Al Drake)

1. What sense of the poem's heroic values can you draw from reading the "Prologue?" Who is the implied audience, and what expectations does the Prologue create about the rest of the poem's significance for this audience? What is the audience expected to learn from listening to a tale about Beowulf?

2. What function do the poem's kennings serve? (Kennings are complex noun clusters like "word-hoard," "treasure-giver," "swan's way," etc.) What kind of world outside the poem's action do these kennings assume or create?

3. What seems to be the proper role of a king in this Germanic culture? What does he have to do to keep his people satisfied? Also, what responsibilities does the "thane" have to his lord or king?

4. What role does the Hall of Heorot play in this culture?

5. How is Grendel described?

6. “The Lament” is the speech of the last survivor of a nameless tribe, burying their treasures, which are going to be appropriated later by the dragon. What similarities can you notice between this excerpt and other OE elegies?

7. In what way is Beowulf's funeral similar or different from the one described at the beginning of the poem?

8. A wailing woman predicts the destruction of the Geat nation after Beowulf's death. Why is the king's death a possible sign of impeding doom?

9. What role does wealth play in Beowulf's culture? What problems does it cause?

10. What generalizations can you make about the values of a warrior society (i.e. the heroic ideal) based upon your readings from the Old English period? What qualities are most admired? Are there noticeable absences relative to our modern views of "heroism"? How do these ideals differ from our own?

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