Tips on the Essay for English 2120
Some essay topics for English 2110
Topics for Essay # 1 due around mid-quarter (check syllabus for exact dates)
1. Discuss Caedmon’s Hymn and Dream of the Rood as dream visions.
2. Discuss the above texts as representing certain aspects of Anglo-Saxon culture.
3. In what ways might the above text counter some views of Anglos-Saxon culture?
4. Discuss Beowulf as an epic-heroic poem; focus on some subtopics.
5. Discuss the role of women (or one woman) in Beowulf.
6. Discuss the mixed religions of the poem.
7. Write an interpretation of the last line of the poem in light of the rest of the poem.
8, Discuss the important of narrative of story telling and memory in Beowulf.
9. Discuss SGGK as a medieval romance.
10. Discuss SGGK in light of typological or allegorical considerations.
11. How if Chaucer’s General Prologue representative of his culture and time.
12. How does the above text fit or not fit the general understanding of this period’s culture?
13. How is romance treated in Wife of Bath’s tale?
14. How does is her narrative influenced by her persona as created by the Prologue?
15. The Wife of Bath has been read as both modern and anti-modern. Discuss one of the transhistorical readings.
Topics for Essay # 2 due around the end of the quarter.
Topics on the Renaissance, Shakespeare, 17th-century poetry, Donne; Milton and epic and protestantisim; neoclassical literature, romantic literature, later 19th-century literature, and modern literature.
GENERAL NOTES:
The essay should be about 2-3 pages typed (double-spaced with one inch margins,
12-point font). It does not need any research work; you need only the text and
your own intellect (of course, you may also use your class notes and the
introductory and glossary material in the textbook).
The essay does not need any footnotes. You simply need to cite in
parentheses the page number(s) or line number(s) of the text that you are
writing about. For example, "That time of year thou mayest in me
behold" (line 1).
Every essay should include short, relevant quotations from the primary
material.
Every essay should have a thesis, a clear organization, and be written in
Standard English (grammar,
spelling, and mechanics count).
[Sample Essay: Should be double-spaced]
Student Name
Professor Crafton
English 2120
February 28, 2001
Beowulf’s Depiction
of Anglo-Saxon Society
The
Old-English or Anglo-Saxon era extends from about 450 to 1066. The Germanic tribes from the Continent
who overran England in the fifth century, after the Roman withdrawal, brought
with them a language that is the basis of modern English, a specific poetic
tradition, and a relatively advanced society. All of these qualities and spirit are exemplified in the
eighth-century epic poem Beowulf.
To
begin with, much of the Old English poetry was probably intended to be chanted,
with harp accompaniment, by the Anglo-Saxon scop. In Beowulf,
the scop entertains warriors at Heorot, also known as The Hall of Hart. Often masculine and strong, but also
mournful in spirit, the stories emphasize the sorrow and ultimate futility of
man's lot and his helplessness before the power of fate. Beowulf,
composed in 750 A.D., was originally handed down in the same oral
tradition. In 1000 A.D. the epic
poem was preserved by monastic copyists in a written manuscript.
In
addition, Beowulf reflects
Anglo-Saxon poetic traits. The
poetry is composed without rhyme, in a characteristic line, or verse, of four
stressed syllables alternating with an indeterminate number of unstressed
ones. This line strikes strangely
on ears habituated to the usual modern pattern, in which the rhythmical unity,
theoretically consists of a constant number of unaccented syllables that always
precede or follow any stressed syllable.
Another unfamiliar but equally striking feature in the formal character
of Old English poetry is structural alliteration, or the use of syllables
beginning with similar sounds in two or three of the stresses in each
line. The first eleven lines of Beowulf illustrated the language and
versification of Old English. Only
a stable civilization could put together such a long, complicated, and
difficult poem.
Furthermore,
Beowulf reflects a society with an
advanced understanding in the value of a good king and queen. One way this respect is displayed is
through intriguing burial ceremonies.
Thus, Beowulf begins and ends
with the funeral of a great king.
The Scylding King is laid to rest "With a battle-treasure/ As the
ship put out on the unknown deep" (lines 39-40). This pattern of burial represented in Beowulf depicts the 660 A.D. burial at Sutton Hoo. Likewise, Beowulf is burned among
"the greatest of funeral fires" (line 2941). It was the ceremonial tradition of the
Anglo-Saxons to either cremate or return their warriors along with their
worldly treasures to the sea.
The
Anglo-Saxon tribal social system was founded on the concept of loyalty and
personal indebtedness. The
individual needed the strength, determination, and courage to overcome impending
disaster. The epic poem describes
the exploits of a Scandinavian culture hero, Beowulf, in destroying the monster
Grendel, Grendel's mother, and a fire-breathing dragon. In these sequences Beowulf is shown not
only as a glorious hero but also as a savior of the people. Beowulf "was the kindest of
worldly kings,/ Mildest, most gentle, most eager for fame" (lines
2973-4). Yet the individual was
not alone; he could depend upon the fortitude and loyalty of fellow
tribesmen. The Old Germanic virtue
of mutual loyalty between the leader and his followers is evoked effectively
and touchingly in the aged Beowulf's sacrifice of his life against the dragon
and in the reproaches heaped on the retainers who desert him in his climactic
battle.
Finally,
Beowulf characterizes an Anglo-Saxon
society recently converted to Christianity. The Anglo-Saxons, while living on the continent in Europe,
based their beliefs and ideals on greater and lesser deities. These deities could be personifications
of forces of nature or of the supernatural which they understood in terms of
animal or human superior strength.
In Britain they came in contact with Christianity for the first
time. A mixture of pagan or
idolatry worshipping and Christianity are evident in Beowulf. For example,
Christianity is displayed in a paraphrase of Genesis in which "A skillful
bard sang the ancient story/ Of man's creation" (lines 88-89). On the other hand, pagan beliefs are
obvious in the description of the Geats as "Boar-heads glittered on
glistening helmets" (line 298).
Although the Anglo-Saxons were leaning toward Christianity, they still
had skeletons in the closet.
Beowulf functions as a historical document to depict a collage of Germanic societies. It represents a relatively advanced eighth-century Anglo-Saxon nation recently converted to Christianity that looks on its Scandinavian past with pride. Beowulf also reflects a society with an elevated understanding of the values of civilization.