2010年3月10日 星期三

Comments: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Sample Questions


Here are a couple sample questions for Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Parts I & II (your reading assignment for Tuesday, 3/16; pp. 160-185 in the Norton).

Your official assigned study questions will begin the next week (3/23), but for now I would like you to simply try writing a comment in this post's "comment" section to test out how it works. Check out my instructions for that in the email that I sent to you. And again, if you'd like to get your first assigned study question out of the way, please feel free to write a paragraph or two in answer to these sample questions!

Sample Question #1
Contrast how the poet sets the scene of Camelot in Sir Gawain in lines 1-85 to the description of the hall in Beowulf, roughly lines 491-661. Give a few specific details or quotations to show how the two scenes are different. Based on what the poets emphasize in their descriptions, what do you think the two different cultures value?
Sample Question #2
Contrast the entrance of the Green Knight in lines 130-231 to the descriptions of the arrival of Grendel in Beowulf, lines 702-835. Use specific details and quotations in your response. What do the descriptions of the two villains tell us about the differences between the two cultures? How is war or battle portrayed; how is it waged and begun? What do the two cultures fear?
Not every question will be a compare-and-contrast one, obviously. But these questions should give you a taste of the sorts of things you might be thinking about as you read.

Happy reading!

16 則留言:

  1. This is Sam Lin, (student's number: 9742046). I am here to tryout for this!

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  2. hi~~
    This is Isabella Lee (9740103) trying out this comment feature here.

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  3. This is Valerie Hsu, trying out this comment feature here--hi.

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  4. Morning, this is Mandy Chen, trying out this comment feature here.
    My student number is 9740111.

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  5. Hello~
    This is Rachel Lin(9740129) trying out this comment feature here.

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  6. This is Annie Huang(9740131)trying out this comment feature here.

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  10. This is my comment to the question one. I think I have many problems in it. Hope you can help me correct~ Thanks
    The hall in Beowulf does not show much about the activities taken place but emphasizes more on the digression told by Beowulf. The story within a story not only shows how Beowulf underwent such risk but also revealed how idea of hero in Beowulf. As Unferth challenges Beowulf by saying that “It was sheer vanity made you venture out”. Unferth’s questioning here brings up to another story that is told by Beowulf. The story told by Beowulf reveals that idea of what hero should be. Even though Beowulf encounters various difficulties, he states that “we must urge each other to risk our lives on the sea”. In addition, “I shall fulfill that purpose, prove myself with a proud deed or meet my death here in the mead hill”. To Beowulf, the real hero must be fearless in face of great danger. After Beowulf interprets the story in a different way from Unferth, everybody is happy. As a result, “the laughter started, the din got louder and the crowd is happy”. The atmosphere here is filled with happiness and noise. Intriguing, in the hall of Beowulf, they drink to celebrate. I think drinking here is important not only because the alcohol brings up the high spirit in the celebration but also critical because it is a way to appreciate God. “With measured words she welcomed the Geat and thanked God for granting her wish”.
    In the scene of Camelot, compared with the hall in Beowulf, it uses more of adjectives like “merry, delightful, gay, carefree, gallant, comely and glad” to build up the happy atmosphere of Camelot. The feast full 15 days is also involved with various activities such as the tournament, carol-dancing and the exchanging of hand gifts. I think in the scene of Camelot, it stresses more of the description of the human beings and the activities which is taken place. The “gentle knight”, the “loveliest ladies”, and “the comeliest king” show the different characters of different kinds of people in Camelot. In addition, the din and laughers are also a way of showing great happiness like the hall in Beowulf.

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  11. This is Jason Wang, student number 9742038
    trying out this comment feature.

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  15. This is Borwen Zhan ( Guest ) , please ignore me.

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  16. This is Eleana you trying out this comment feature here.
    sorry to interupt you professor Warren
    May i ask you some questions when i study the text
    First, sould i look in the dictionary to look in the new vocabulary? because when i look in the words i did not known, i find that it is hard for me to understand the whole text coherently. i have also try not to look in the dictionary, however i do not have large vocabulary in my head, i felt nervous and sleepy when i read thriugh the text
    Second, i found it challenging for me to understand the meaning of the text (sometimes i thought that i understand the meaning of the text, in fact after class discussion, i found that i totally misunderstand the text. )Because it is quite a challenge for me to understand the text(i have to spend a lot of time to read through the assigned text), i rearely have time to find out the implicit meaning in the text. therefore i can nlt come up with my own critical thinking.
    what should i do to improve my reading, understanding and having my own comments
    Is there any book that professor recommend that will help me understand and analyze the text?
    Please help me professor Warren
    Thank you very much.

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