Beowulf the Warrior Essay & Project Ideas

Beowulf the Warrior Ideas for Reports and Papers

1. There are several other modern adaptation s of Beowulf— by such authors as Rosemary Sutcliff, Kevin Crossley-Holland, William Leonard, Burton Raffel, Stanley Greenfield, and Robert Nye. Compare the depiction of a single scene or a single character in one of these other versions with Ian Serraillier's handling of the same scene or character. Which do you prefer? Why?

2. Consider the use of violence in the poem. Is it necessary? What does it contribute?

3. Compare the figure of Beowulf with the figure of Roland in Serraillier's Ivory Horn, an adaptation of the Old French epic The Song of Roland. Is it necessary that both of these characters die?

4. Compare the "heroic" qualities of Beowulf with the "chivalric" qualities of Sir Gawain in Serraillier's Challengeof the Green Knight, an adaptation of Sir Gauxzin and the Green Knight, a famous Middle English romance....
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