I have waded through 45 pages of Google for “teaching Beowulf,” so that you don’t have to. Here’s the useful stuff:
English 505 Beowulf Blog, with short critical discussions
Beowulf on the Web, including Beowulf sites, aids for learning Old English, and general medieval links
Flytes of Fancy: Boasts and Boasters from Beowulf to Gangsta Rap, an essay
The Labyrinth: Resources for teaching medieval studies, a series of links maintained by Georgetown U
The Narrative Pulse of Beowulf, a book preview online. Lots of good stuff if you take the time to read it, but not on the top. Have to read it.
Editing Beowulf: What can the study of ballads tell us? an article from Oral Tradition.
Medievalist blogs. This might be something I could use to have my students look for information. It would at least be an adventure.
The Electronic Revolution and the Teaching of Literature (2005) about teaching Beowulf and how that has changed with the internet. from the CEA Forum
EdSITEment: The Beauty of Anglo-Saxon Poetry, with lots of links and some ideas.
Beowulf Resources, “along with Anglo-Saxon, Old English, Germanic, Indo-European, & Mythological/Epic resources.” This list of resources has a short note about what it is and includes readings, lectures, etc.
There is also my own Useful Old English links.
You’re my hero. Having taught Beowulf for 8 years, I need to try something new; your 45 page nightmare is my saving grace!smc
Bookmarked! I will be teaching a 2nd year survey course for the first time this fall (Beowulf to the Restoration) and I am so glad to find this page of ideas for the first thing we’ll be tackling. I cannot thank you enough.
Thank you! I’ve just spent an hour wading through google…
This is awesomely helpful! Thank you
Here’s a 2-minute screencast explaining how to teach the role of translation in interpreting Beowulf. http://lessoncast.org/lessons/comparing-translations-of-beowulf/
This worked well with my AP and standard English seniors. I included a handout with several different translations for different passages.