Dan Harrison

I was quite fascinated with our class discussion surrounding themes of queerness in Judith P. Shoaf’s translation of “Bisclavret.” As @jemymoroo points out in this post, the shifting pronouns used to refer to Bisclavret can be seen as a “male dominant implication,” in which the gendered language reinforces harmful gender roles. In our class discussion,… Read more Queer themes in Bisclavret

Beowulf’s funeral pyre is a hyper-masculine event, centered on Beowulf’s prowess as a warrior and the legacy of violence in his life, evidenced by the “hoard helmets […] shields, and steel shirts” (3138-39) that his mourners place in the pyre, according to Beowulf’s own wishes (3139). This ceremony is briefly interrupted, however, by one of… Read more Louder than the rest

In Headley’s translation of Beowulf, lines 1605-1610 describe how Beowulf’s sword melts following his slaughter of Grendel’s mother. This is accomplished with a thorough metaphor comparing the melting steel to ice in the springtime. The metaphor feels artificially drawn out, describing the “shackles that’ve chained frost to the climate” (1607-8) and depicting Spring as a… Read more Not a very sturdy sword