Well done to Sixth Former Holly Callis (L6G) who has been accepted for a Beowulf Study Day at University College, Oxford. The day will take place on 19th February and Holly is one of only twenty-five pupils attending.
Seamus Heaney’s prize-winning translation of the Anglo-Saxon poem Beowulf in 1999 reignited interest in this tale of warrior heroes, monsters, and dragons. More recently it has become a blockbuster movie starring Ray Winstone as the hero and Angelina Jolie as his monstrous adversary. What is it about this poem, more than ten centuries after it was written, which still fascinates us today?
Students often study Beowulf as part of their English Literature degree and the Beowulf Study Day aims to introduce the poem, its language, historical context, and legacy in a fun and interactive way. The day will be led by University College’s medieval English lecturer Dr Laura Varnam and will consist of a range of activities which will give students a taster of what it is like both to study Beowulf and to pursue English Literature at university, including a lecture, 'From Anglo-Saxon England to The Lord of the Rings', a close reading session, and group work with current undergraduates. The day will culminate in a special one-man performance of the poem by former Univ English undergraduate, Peter Carrington-Porter, whose rendition of the poems promises to be a dramatic, thrilling, and challenging interpretation of the Anglo-Saxon epic.
Posted on
Fri, February 12, 2010
by Repton School