Maya Efrat

Mrs.Bradley
AP English 12
15 October 2016
How to Read Literature Like a Professor and Beowulf Analysis
After reading How to Read Literature Like a Professor and Beowulf in English this
year I was able to compare the two works while analyzing the story of Beowulf. Each chapter in
Reading Literature like a Professor provides a deep analysis which helps the reader understand
and intelligently read the literature at a high level. Many of the techniques in Fosters book help
make an educated analysis of the heroic poem, Beowulf.

Chapter 5 focuses on the concept that all pieces of literature relate to each other and that
there is really only one story of humanity and human nature.The links between two literary
works is known as intertextuality, or the similar interactions between modern and classic stories.
The intertextuality in Beowulf was very noticeable because of the many allusions, references and
parallels that followed the same plot structure. When reading literature, we must connect the
dots of the simulations of the structures of the stories in order to see the bigger picture. In
Beowulf, it follows the well known story of the epic hero who goes on an adventure and battles
and defeats a villain. Beowulfs ideals and actions, and his battles against Grendel, Grendels
mother and the dragon can relate to several other stories throughout time. Many other stories that
have been written after Beowulf , have replicated the template of the story to make famous epic
stories beloved by many, such as The Hobbit by J.R Tolkin.

Chapter 13 in Reading Literature Like a Professor states how the authors political
view and situation relates to the literature that he creates. During the time period where Beowulf
was written, things like chivalrous acts, fighting for your country, and what makes an ideal
warrior. The anglo saxons valued many things such as strength, courage, and loyalty to their king
and country. Beowulf shows many of these values during its plot such as Beowulf being chosen
for being the strongest of the Geats, challenging evil that everyone else was too afraid to do
anything about, and fighting Grendel, Grendels mom and the dragon to show his absolute
loyalty to his king and his people. Other devices such ad power, relationships between tribes, god
and other christian were all major parts of politics during that time period and were shown
through Beowulf during parts like when Beowulf and his men come help even though they arent
asking for help and when Beowulf offers help to Prothgar.

Chapter 14 talks about how in literature, religion plays a very important role. Ch.14
Incorporates Christians ideals. Beowulf is Jesus figure in the story, sacrifices himself to take on
grendel's mom and dragon to protect people. Influences brought in by European settlers has
meant that Christian values have been interlinked into our culture and our literature. One of the
very common archetypes shown in literature is the Christ figure. In the epic poem, Beowulf is
essentially Jesus Christ. He is a hero with inhuman strengths such as intense strength and the
ability to hold his breath for several hours, and the nobility of sacrificing himself for the benefit
of others. He selflessly fights Grendel and overcomes the temptation from his mother and returns
home and continous fighting for his people and ends up dying in battle which is the noblest way
to die and shows how he really is symbolic of the Jesus figure
In Chapter 25 of the text, the author discusses how to analyze and appreciate the many
layers of the story and the perspective of the author and the characters within it. Every work of

literature has a much deeper meaning that isnt always seen at first. You can see this deeper
meaning by understanding the political, social, and cultural customs of society at the time period
to comprehend the significance of Beowulfs actions This is very evident in Beowulf, for
example, the fight between Beowulf and Grendels mother uses imagery and language that also
portrays the scene as a sex scene. Many Christian males like the author of Beowulf, were
sexually deprived and added hidden sexual meanings to the text during that time period. In order
to really understand texts like Beowulf at a high intellectual level, you have to think in the way
that the author during that time period would have thought.
In conclusion, How to Read Literature Like a Professor really helps further the analysis
of many literary works in a much more intellectual way. Beowulf is a heroic epic that has been
read by many generations for so many years, and has been analyzed over and over. It can only be
analyzed to the fullest if the techniques in How to Read Literature Like a Professor are applied.
You must make sure to pay attention to all the allusions, symbols, intertextualities, the authors
political views, religion, and the cultural and social things happening during that time period in
order to analyze such an amazing piece of literature to its fullest extent.