In Class Activity or Online Discussion: Beowulf Literary Quick Take
Overview
The literary quick takes are weekly discussions and in-class activities that I use to frame the text for the students. This is mostly formative and graded based on engagement.
Literary Quick Takes
I use this for group discussion in both online and in-class formats. It is intended to allow students to explore the meaning of the text in relation to themselves and to engage in meaningful discussion with peers.
In the analysis for Beowulf, we discussed the link between leadership, generosity, and how the text is concerned with what it means to be a good leader:
This text, at its heart, is about what it means to be a good king, which juxtaposes Agamemnon and Beowulf as leaders. It is important to note that the difference between Scyld Scefing and Grendel is not one of violence; they are both wreckers of mead halls. The difference is one of generosity. Like Scyld, Beowulf is the ring giver, but he is also generous willing to forfeit his life.
Simon Sinek speaks to how generosity changes not only how we lead, but how others follow our leadership:
With what Simon has spoken about in mind, please reflect on the concept of Grit, posited by Angela Duckworth.
It has immediate relevance to this chapter because much of this work comes out of West Point, a military academy that is shifting to a more Beowulfesque approach to leadership (this is in juxtaposition to how the harsh, violent Drill Sergeant is often portrayed in popular films such as Full Metal Jacket).
As Duckworth notes, grit is not everything. Reflect on leadership in Beowulf and his role as a good and generous king: his troupes believe in him, and he supports them generously. It is because of the power of their belief and the support of his comrades that Beowulf is able to defeat Grendel barehanded, and his mother alone after sinking for more than a day. Yet, the dragon slays him. It would be easy to chock this up to age, or hubris, but there is only one thing that is truly different in these three battles. Why does Beowulf lose to the dragon, and what does his death say about generosity, grit, and proper support?