Discussion Questions

Seite 1

Beowulf

1. Why would Beowulf offer to fight Grendel? How could it profit/help him and how does it tie into the theme of the importance of establishing identity?

Beowulf offered to fight Grendel to expand his list of exploits and further establish his personal reputation. He knew he could fight and possibly win against Grendel, so he seized the chance to defeat the demon for the good of the people and his reputation as a warrior. His father was well-known to many because of his exploits as a warrior, and Beowulf saw defeating Grendel as an opportunity to live up to his father’s reputation and further establish his identity for his future heirs.

2. What is Grendel and what clues does the author give us to help us picture him?

Grendel is a demon. He was described as stealthy, swift, with an outer layer of barbed steel, nearly impenetrable and his eyes filled with flames.

3. How does the idea of Christianity contradict the Germanic heroic code?

The Germanic heroic code focuses on ideals such as honor through deeds done throughout life and retaliation over mourning. Christianity focuses on the opposites of these ideals: glory and honor being receive in the afterlife and peaceful, harmonious, and forgiving relationships with others even in difficult times.

4. What do you feel is the climax of the poem, when good and evil are at the greatest tension? Why do you feel this way?

I feel like the climax of the poem is when Beowulf fights the dragon because not only is Beowulf in a physical struggle against a threat to his people, but also an internal struggle between following the warrior code and the royal code. The greatest tension is when he is fighting the internal and external battles at the same time.

5. What does the role of women seem to be in this culture?

The women had a very passive home role it seemed like. They were integral to the keeping of the home, but they also had to do all of the grieving and not participate in the avenging of their family members, like Hildeburh, who is forced by social and societal standards to not participate in the feud that took the lives of her male family members.

6. Is Beowulf an ideal hero and king? Is he lacking anything?

I think Beowulf is what the Germanic people at the time thought an ideal hero was, and for the most part, he was an ideal king until he was killed by the dragon. However, I believe he was lacking something. Beowulf was focused on glory and fame as a hero, and partially as a king as well. What Beowulf lacked was what made being a hero and a king so important: a heart for the people he was protecting and ruling. Everything he did had an agenda, whether it was for honor, glory, or recognition and setting his identity. For the Germanic codes, this system worked, but I believe he would’ve been an even more ideal hero and king had he done the things he did because he cared about keeping the people safe than for the ability to boast.

Seite 2

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

1. The Nature of Chivalry is an important theme in this tale. Gawain embodies the values and actions of this code. How does he represent the virtues embodied on his emblem, the pentangle?

He represented the virtues pretty well: volunteering to take Arthur's place in challenging the Green Knight and attempting to ward off Bertilak's wife's advances, until he refused to give Bertilak the girdle that Bertilaks' wife had given him. After that, he also misrepresented the values on the pentangle by losing his temper with the Green Knight at the castle.

2. How does the motif of the Seasons correspond to Gawain's changing psychological state?

The more pleasant the weather, the better Gawain's psychological state. The worse the weather, the worse his psychological state. This can be seen in how his manner became increasingly somber the closer Gawain came to Bertilak's castle during the winter.

3. How does the host's wife differ in character than Guinevere as relating to the role of women in this time period?

Guenevere was barely mentioned in this story, so probably the most notable difference would be that Bertilaks' wife was more publicly outspoken than Guenevere, which was pretty uncommon in this time period where women were expected to be quiet and submissive.

4. At the end of the tale, we see three reactions to Gawain's sin. Whose is the harshest? Whose is the most lighthearted? Whose is the most moderate?

The harshest was Gawain's reaction I believe because his reaction to it never really ended, he kept punishing himself internally. The most moderate would be the Green Knight's because the blow of the ax to the neck was simply following the letter of the law and fulfilling the pact that he and Gawain had already made. The most lighthearted would be the reactions of King Arthur's court. When Gawain gets back to the court, they all celebrate his return, attempt to comfort him after he reveals what happened, and decide to wear cloths that look like the girdle Gawain wears on his arm as a symbol of support.

5. What forms of love exist in the text and in what types of relationships do they appear?

I believe there are three in this text. The first one is a dutiful love of a monarch when Gawain volunteers to take King Arthur's place against the Green Knight. The second one is the seductive love when Bertilak's wife tries to seduce Gawain. The third is the compassionate/caring love that we see in the Green Knight when he goes to hit Gawain with the ax. He hesitates twice before just scratching Gawain's neck with the ax, and I believe that's because he came to care for Gawain as a friend more than his love of justice and law.