Beowulf faces a new foe
I can outline the key events in the fifth chapter of ‘Beowulf’ and I can explain the author’s language choices.
Beowulf faces a new foe
I can outline the key events in the fifth chapter of ‘Beowulf’ and I can explain the author’s language choices.
Lesson details
Key learning points
- After Grendel is defeated, another monster - his mother - arrives at Heorot, taking away a Dane.
- Beowulf and his companions travel across bleak countryside to find her lair.
- Beowulf fights with Grendel's mother, narrowly avoiding death before killing her with a special sword.
- Authors make specific language choices in their writing in order to have a specific effect on the reader.
- A kenning is an Old English way of replacing a noun with a two-word phrase that describes it indirectly.
Common misconception
Pupils may struggle to identify the effect of the kennings in the second task.
You may want to complete this task orally with partner talk, or as a class discussion, rather than as independent work.
Keywords
Setting - where a story takes place
Language choices - decisions writers make in order to create a certain impression or have a certain effect on the reader
Impressions - feelings about a person, place or thing gained from reading a text
Kenning - a phrase of two words that replaces a noun that is often used in Old English poetry
Licence
This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).
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