Beowulf: Then and Now

What is modern about Beowulf, the Old English epic written before the end of the first millennium? What can it tell us about ourselves, our attitudes towards society, and even our attitudes toward government? We will glance at the epic’s provenance as well as its poetic devices, but the primary focus will be on the epic as a whole, with all its themes and characters.   

Reading: Beowulf: An Illustrated Edition (Seamus Haney, translator) ISBN 978-0393330106.

Leona Dufour enjoyed the challenge of engaging the interest and even the enthusiasm of high school students for Beowulf. She would like to take the epic to an older audience, some of whom might have missed this offering while in school. She has previously taught several courses at MSC and currently moderates MSC’s “Book Talk.”