MEDVL 6120

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  • Course Catalog - June 14, 2017 7:15PM EDT

MEDVL 6120
Beowulf

Course information provided by the Courses of Study 2016-2017.

In recent years, Beowulf has received renewed attention in popular culture, thanks to the production of two recent Beowulf movies and riveting new translations (eg. Seamus Heaney). The poem's appeal lies in the complex depictions of its monsters, accounts of heroic bravery, and lavish portrayals of life in the Meadhall. Through close readings we will also explore the "dark side" of the poem: its punishing depictions of loss and exile, despairing meditations on unstable kingship and dynastic failure, and harrowing depictions of heroic defeat and the vanities of existence on the Middle-Earth. Attention to the poem's literary heritage (in Latin and Norse) and its layered pagan and Christian perspectives reveals an amalgamated Christian heroic ethos. [Readings in Old or Modern English]

When Offered Spring.

Prerequisites/Corequisites Prerequisite: one semester's study of Old English, or the equivalent, is recommended.

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Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: ENGL 3120, ENGL 6120, MEDVL 3120

  • 4 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  8223 MEDVL 6120   SEM 101

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