Beowulf
Notebook Activity
Arizona State Standards
Reading 2.1.1:
Evaluate the author's use of setting.
Reading 2.1.3:
Analyze a writer's word choice and imagery.
Reading 2.2.3:
Analyze culturally or historially significant works of British literature.
Quick View
Explain
what each setting detail tells us about the people in Beowulf.
Objectives
When you are done, you should be better able to...
Evaluate how setting details contribute to a story's meaning, and
Analyze an author's use of word choice and imagery.
Rubric
I will grade your paper on whether you...
Understood the literature well enough to discuss the
settings, and
Made reasonable inferences about the people (Danes, Geats,
monsters) based on each setting detail.
Copyrights
Lesson, Background, Layout, and Source Code were designed by me,
Mark Greenberg. Use them as you wish; don't sell them.
Image from the movie "Beowulf" by Paramount Pictures
is used by me to teach under the "fair use" provision.
Setting Details
Setting details are descriptions of the place in which a story is set. The poet
who wrote Beowulf provides a fair amount of setting details. Each detail
tells us something about the places in the poem, but these setting details also
reveal a lot about the people in the story. For each of the setting details
listed below, tell what they reveal about the people in the story of
Beowulf. The first one is done for you as an example.
- The benches in the mead-hall Heorot had gold fittings. —
This reveals that the people in the story (the Danes) place a high value on
expensive decorations.
- The mead-hall Heorot was surrounded by a strong fence. (the bawn)
- The mead-hall is described as "handsomely structured, a sturdy frame braced
with the best of blacksmith's work inside and out."
- Heorot the mead-hall was so well built, the only way it could be destroyed is by fire.
- Heorot the mead-hall was decorated with the horns of animals, like deer and elk antlers.
- Grendel's bloody arm hung from the rafters of the mead-hall.
And do the same for what these setting details about Grendel's home reveal about
the two monsters.
- Narrow footpaths lead to Grendel's home. —
This reveals that Grendel and his mom live in seclusion far from people.
- The water around Grendel's home was protected by sea serpents and various reptiles.
- The entrance to Grendel's home is a water tunnel you have to swim through.
- In Grendel's home there was an armory of ancient weapons.
- Grendel's dead body lay in the corner of his home.
All of this should be in your own words. Turn in the answers to these questions with this file name:
E7YourNameBeowulfNB
