WARM UP:
- The poet describes Grendel’s mother as “war-thirsty” (1497). Consider how the scop describes Finn when he comments, “[a]nd thus in his turn to war-minded Finn / came fierce sword evil, in his own home,” and what we said in class about this moment as an example of the poet’s criticism on war and the heroic code (115). Is Grendel’s mother being describes a “war-thirsty” a good thing? Explain why or why not? THEN, look at how the poet describes Beowulf and the Geats on page 139 and provide analysis of why this description is meaningful, and in what way? In other words, analyze the diction the poet uses to describe Beowulf and his people in this moment, and answer the SO WHAT? Question.
- Looking at the description of where Grendel’s mother lives and consider how the setting is described. What might these descriptions suggest in terms of Beowulf and the warriors’ decision to go to where Grendel’s mother lives? What parallel to another setting in the text can you identify? So what? How might this function as poetic commentary on the battle itself? On Grendel’s mother? On Beowulf and his men? On the natural/known world versus the unnatural/unknown worlds?
“Then the troop of nobles climbed up high into stony hills, the steep rock-lands, / through narrow files, and unknown way, / dangerous cliffs over water-snakes’ caves” (1408-11)
“Soon enough she … held / the kingdom of waters for a hundred winters, / fierce and kill-greedy, saw that some human / came to explore the water-devil’s home” (1497-1501)
“strange sea-creatures / with word-like tusks thrust at his armor … The noble prince then saw he was [in] some sort of hall, / inhospitable, where no water reached; / a vaulted roof kept the rushing flood from coming down; / he saw firelight, / a flickering blaze, bright glaring flames. // then he saw the witch of the sea-floor, / towering mere-wife” (1510-9)
“They then left that place by the narrow path. / They marched glad-hearted, followed the trail, / reached familiar ground” (1632-4)
