First Week Info — English 137: Survey of English Literature to the Late 18th Century
Instructor information:
Jason Wohlstadter
[email protected]
260P Founders Hall (office)
575-6180
Course Website:
http://wohlstadterj.faculty.mjc.edu
If you're absent from our first class meeting (for whatever reason), it will be assumed that you’re
not interested in taking the course, and you may be dropped to make room for students who may be
waiting to add the course. Also, if enrolled students attend day one and then decide they no longer want
to attend, they themselves need to process a drop through the Admissions Office or PiratesNet.
Monday, Aug 24: Homework (for Weds)
 Buy The Norton Anthology of English Literature, Vol. 1, 9th edition.*
o Students need the 9th edition to be able follow along easily in class.
o At MJC’s East Campus Bookstore, the textbook is $55.00 used and $78.50 new.
o The ISBN number is 9780393912470
 Read the syllabus (ask any questions about it on Wednesday).
 Fill out the student questionnaire (this handout will be collected on Wednesday).
 In The Norton Anthology (NA), read “The Middle Ages” pp. 1-10, 24-25, and read Beowulf
pp. 36-55 (lines 1-661).
 As you read Beowulf, think about questions #1-5 on back of this sheet.
 Check out our class website at http://wohlstadterj.faculty.mjc.edu
o Browse especially “The Anglo-Saxon Age” links.
Weds, Aug 26: Homework (for Mon)
 Read Beowulf pp. 55-88 (lines 662-2200).
 As you read, think about the second set of reading questions on back of this sheet.
 Type a ½-1 page (double-spaced) reading response to the following prompt: “Compare and
contrast Beowulf with absolutely any other hero. What are some of the heroes’ traits and
what might they suggest about the conditions and/or values of their societies?”
o Reading responses should be brought to class each week, but they will be collected in
two batches—at the midterm and the final. Ideally, they will help you prepare for
these exams. Each reading response receives credit if it’s satisfactorily completed or
no credit if it’s not, and reading responses are factored into one’s participation grade.
For more details on reading responses, see our class website.
* Note (especially for students not yet enrolled): Our textbook is on two-hour reserve at the East
Campus Library. Also, under “The Anglo-Saxon Age” link on our website, a free online
translation is available, though the free translation does not exactly match with ours.
ENGLISH 137: Questions to Think about When Reading Beowulf
1. What are some of the things we know about the authorship and original manuscript of
Beowulf?
2. Give at least one example from the poem of each of these Old English poetic devices:
alliteration, kenning, litotes, and poetic epithet. Explain the meaning and relevance of those
poetic devices.
3. What is the role of poets (scops) in the poem? What is the purpose of their songs? What can a
grand heroic poem (or epic) such as Beowulf do for its audience and its culture?
4. What appear to be the qualities of the ideal hero in Beowulf? What do these qualities suggest
about the values of the culture?
5. In what ways does the speaker of the poem seem somewhat apart from the culture he
depicts? Identify one or two passages in the text that seem to conflict with the overtly stated
Christian values of the text, and explain the reason for the critical distance of the speaker.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1. What seems to motivate Beowulf’s heroism?
2. What is the relation between a warrior (a thane) and his king? What does each owe to the
other? What are the traits of a good king? What is the significance of gift-giving in the
poem?
3. What seems to be the main--that is, the ideal--role of women in the poem? Consider
Wealhtheow and Grendel’s mother.
4. On a related note, what happens to Hildeburh in the “Finnsburg episode”? What is the overall
message implied by all the stories of tribal feuding?
5. How might our modern-day familiarity with problems such as gang violence and terrorism
add to our appreciation of an ancient poem such as Beowulf?