Extended response possibilities: Consider the following critical views of Beowulf. Choose one statement with which you agree or disagree and support your stand with quotes, episodes, and examples from the epic.
A. Beowulf presents an ideal of loyalty. The failure to live up to this ideal on the part of some of the thanes points up the extraordinary faithfulness of Beowulf.
B. Beowulf is the story of a dual ordeal: an external battle with vicious opponents and an internal battle with human tendencies of pride, greed, cowardice, betrayal, and self-concern.
C. Beowulf is the universal story of life’s journey from adolescence to adulthood to old age. The hero grows in wisdom about self and about the world through the pain and triumph of personal experience.