Due Thursday, June 13th - All I Really Needed to Know I Learned in Mr. Pellerin's Survey of British Literature Class.

Overview:  Go back to our first blog, and walk through the 2018-2019 school year.  Revisit the books we read and our class responses.  Look on Turnitin.com and review your past essays.  What did you learn this year?  What are the life lessons?  Think about the "All I Really Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten" posters.  Use that format here, and expound on how you will take the wisdom of Survey of British Literature with you into the great beyond.  Please follow the format and rubric below:

1)  Review the following works and experiences:

• "Introduction to Poetry" by Billy Collins
• Mr. P. Goes Global (Website)
• "The Danger of the Single Story" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
• Global Goals for Sustainable Development 
• "First Hour" by Sharon Olds
• Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen
• Pride & Prejudice (1995)
• Petrarchean Sonnets
• English Sonnets
• Shakespearean Sonnets
• Metaphysical Poetry and Works of John Donne
• Persuasion by Jane Austen
• Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (2016)
• Sense and Sensibility (1995)
• Becoming Jane (2007)
• Love and Friendship (2016)
• "Where are You Local?" by Taiye Selasi
• Who Am I?
• Macbeth by William Shakespeare
• Freaky Freedom by Denice Yao Pomary
• To Walk Invisible (2016)
• Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
• Jane Eyre (2011)
• Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
• The Tennant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte
• Beowulf (Translated by Seamus Heaney)
• Thor: Ragnarok (2017)

2)  Select a cross-section of five of the works above, and make a list of the five substantial quotations that mirror life lessons you obtained from our class.

3) Using the bullet list, compose a fat paragraph for each one, using direct evidence from the text and other texts.  These paragraphs should look like comprehensive blog responses or body paragraphs for a formal essay.  Make personal connections to the characters and your own experiences.  What will you do in your life now that you have been touched by these works?

4)  Include a conclusion where you describe your overall experience in class.  You may even choose a paraphrased quotation from Mr. P. as your heading.  What books were your favorites?  What were your favorite units?  Lessons?  Projects?

4)  When all five paragraphs and your conclusion are complete, post them to the blog.  Make sure to keep the quotations.  It will most likely need to be spread out to 2-3 posts, as it will be a lot of words.

5)  On exam day, we will spend half the class reading other's responses and responding.  The second half we will have our final discussion and say our temporary goodbyes.  We will also discuss the summer reading list and some British Literature suggestions by Mr. P.

Due Tuesday, June 11th - Beowulf Fights the Dragon

Directions:  1) Read Beowulf, pages 149-213 (32 pages) – Fighting the Dragon

2)  Compose your final reflection using direct evidence from the text.  Please use elements of Joseph Cambell's 17 Stages of Monomyth in your response.  See the image below.  I look forward to your responses.

Due Thursday, June 6th - "Beowulf" - The Battle with Grendel and Grendel's Mother

Directions:  1) Read Beowulf, pages 3-top of 57 (27 pages) – Fighting Grendel

2) Read Beowulf, pages 89-113 (12 pages) – Fighting Grendel’s mother

3) Compose a blog response, using at least six questions (two from each section).  Use direct examples from the text.

Introduction and the Battle with Grendel

1. What are your first impressions of Beowulf?

2. In a few paragraphs, analyze the purpose of the prologue, or introduction, to Beowulf. How does it set the stage for the action that follows?

3. Why does Hrothgar build Herot? Why doesn’t it collapse when Beowulf engages Grendel in combat? What might its collapse have symbolized?

4. How did Hrothgar come to know Beowulf’s father? Do you think that Beowulf feels indebted to Hrothgar for his past kindnesses to the family? Explain.

5. Briefly describe Grendel. What might Grendel symbolize?

6. Contrast Beowulf and Unferth. What function does Unferth serve in the poem?

7. Based on Welthow’s actions in the poem, what role or roles do you think women played in Anglo-Saxon society?

8. Describe the battle between Grendel and Beowulf. Do you find anything meaningful in this exchange? Metaphorical? Have you seen this “battle” in other works of fiction? How is it different? Same?

9. In your opinion, would the story be better if it were written in prose rather than verse? Explain.

10. Some readers view Beowulf as a boastful glory seeker. Other readers view Beowulf as a noble, selfless man.

11. Using the author’s descriptions of Grendel, develop a psychological profile. Describe the monster’s personality and possible motivations for his behavior.

Grendel’s Mother

12. Describe Grendel’s lair. (give 3 specific details)

13. What is Grendel’s mother’s motivation for going to Herot? Be specific.

14. After celebrating Beowulf’s victory, what occurs at Herot?

15. Name 2 things Grendel’s mother carried back to her lair from Herot.

16. What do the Danes entreat Beowulf to do? What would be his reward?

Battle With Grendel’s Mother

17. Where does Beowulf find Grendel’s mother?

18. What protects him from her claws?

19. What was Beowulf’s motivation in accomplishing this deed? (lines 485-486)

20. What happens to Beowulf’s helmet?

21. How does Beowulf kill Grendel’s mother? What was the exact weapon?

22. After Beowulf kills her, what does he do before leaving the lair?

23. What do the Danes who are observing at the lake do? Why?

24. What do the Geats do?

25. What 2 items does Beowulf carry with him back to Herot?