SoSe 20: PS-Medieval English Literatures: Beowulf
Lea von der Linde
Comments
The Old English epic Beowulf is, superficially speaking, a story about heroes, monsters, and cultures long gone, and yet continues to be remarkably productive and relevant even in the twenty-first century since it raises lasting questions that reach far beyond the boundaries of its genre and presumed cultural context. In this course, we will do a close reading of the poem in translation and discuss its various themes, issues, and challenges.
The course aims at furthering the students’ understanding of the issues connected to reading and interpreting a text, especially one that is as old and culturally remote as Beowulf.
Students attending this course are expected to have read Beowulf in translation by the second week of the semester, preferably the prose translation by E. Talbot Donaldson (Donaldson, E. Talbot, trans. Beowulf: A Prose Translation. Backgrounds and Context s, Criticism. Ed. Nicholas Howe. 2nd ed. New York: Norton, 2002). Additional readings and materials will be announced during the course of the semester.
close12 Class schedule
Regular appointments