REMEMBER: The "Chaucer" group will answer these questions and be prepared to open the discussion on Wednesday.
Answer TWO of the
following:
Q1: Though “The Battle of
Maldon” is about real people engaging in an actual historical event, it is also
a calculated work of art. Whatever happened in the real battle, what theme or
values about Anglo Saxon society is the poem trying to convey? According to the
poet, what makes the English better men than the Vikings? Why are they (to him)
more honorable, noble, and heroic?
Q2: Like many works of
Anglo-Saxon literature, the work is fragmentary: we’re missing the beginning
and end of the work. However, there is something poetically appropriate about
the last lines of the poem: “That was not the Godric who galloped away...” Why
does this work as a fitting ending considering the fate of the soldiers and the
theme of the poem?
Q3: Though relatively
little-known, how might “The Battle of Maldon” be a template for thousands of
battle stories and movies to follow? Consider many of the ‘set pieces’ of the
poem, including the speeches, the deaths, and the characters themselves.
Discuss one moment/element that you’ve probably seen duplicated in a modern
book or film (Braveheart, anyone?).
Q4: How does “The Battle
of Maldon” further develop the Christian vs. Pagan tension that we’ve seen in
other poems such as “The Seafarer” and "The Wanderer"? What insight does
the poem give us into the poet’s faith and world view? And how might this
reflect Anglo-Saxon culture as it reaches the second century (1000 AD)?
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