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Alyssa Owens

Dr. Kreilkamp

L371

24 March 2019

Beowulf: Unit Proposal for Senior AP Literature

Often when studying literature, we use the author as a means by which to understand a

text. There are two sides to this method of analysis: the argument that the author can be totally

taken away from a work and a text viewed on its own terms or that the author is necessary to

understanding the work. The following unit will be an exploration of both ways of analysis (with

and without the author function) and how these ways of analysis change the meaning of a text.

Roland Barthes proposed in his “The Death of the Author” that the author function can

operate independent of the text, that the author places certain limitations on text: “The absence of

the Author… is not only a historical fact or an act of writing: it utterly transforms the modern

text” (Barthes 520). That is, the text itself has meaning outside of what the author’s experiences

may impose upon it. The ‘work’ becomes limited when the author function is taken away, but the

‘text’ is unchanged (Barthes 521). If we are to take this as fact, our interpretation of a work

should change based on whether we account for the author function. The conclusion that we

form is that the reader, therefore, has the ultimate power to decide whether to include the author

function in their analysis (Barthes 521).

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The author function is, by its very nature, the desire for some sort of history, either the

author’s own or that of his/her time period. Literary interpretation often points to a historical

event that happened during an author’s lifetime, his/her profession, or their personal lives as

something that bleeds over into their text. This can enrich a text and explain the language or

imagery used by the author. When this is taken away, we may draw very different conclusions

about the work or the audience that may have been reading it. For instance, Beowulf was written

down and altered by a Christian scholar, and he added a number of allusions to Christianity into

the text. If we were to take away our knowledge that the original story had been altered, what

might we conclude about the original text’s intent? Once we factor in what we know of the

author, we begin to see that the text was altered with its own agenda in mind, namely to reinforce

Christian ideals: “First and foremost, let the Almighty Father be thanked for this sight. I suffered

a long harrowing by Grendel. But the Heavenly Shepard can work His wonder…” (“Beowulf”

61). These lines, spoken by Hrothgar, lead an audience to assume that Hrothgar believes in and

worships Christ, the “Almighty Father” and the “Heavenly Shepard”. Once we factor in the

author function, we form a different conclusion about the original text, which would have no

Christian imagery and would instead be an epic praising a man: “They extolled his heroic nature

and exploits and gave thanks for his greatness…” (“Beowulf” 109).

In short, the goal of this unit is to introduce two different styles of analysis: with and

without the author function.

Student Learning Outcomes

The proposed unit will take four weeks, with two weeks spent on Beowulf and two weeks

spent on Dream of the Rood, Bede, and Caedmon’s Hymn. The overall goal of the unit is for

students to engage meaningfully with the text, understanding the value of applying multiple
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perspectives to anyone work. Students will develop a better understanding of how text is

interpreted and why recurring motifs signal a texts theme. By reading each text from two

perspectives (with and without the historical/authorial), students will have a better appreciation

for how context shapes a work and how what is significant in a work changes based on context.

At the end of the unit, we will read Roland Barthes’ “The Death of the Author”.

In this unit, students will be introduced to early Anglo-Saxon literature and varied rhyme

schemes used in the works of the period.

Class Discussion

Prior to reading there will be a short presentation on the structure of the text and

emphasis on vocabulary (for example Beowulf is an epic, so students will learn about the typical

structure of an epic). The majority of class time will be spent in discussion where students who

have read the previous days assigned reading will come to class prepared to share their thoughts.

Due to the nature of the analysis that is being facilitated, students will read the work with no

previous knowledge of its author or intended audience. These details will instead be provided at

the beginning of each class session. If students have done the reading as assigned and taken

notes, they will be able to see how their interpretation of the work changes based on new

knowledge. Students are free to discuss whatever they feel is significant, but I will steer the

discussion towards certain key passages or lines. The final discussion will allow students to look

back on their notes and prior class discussions as they debate Barthes. Do they agree or disagree

with his overall premise after having applied both views? Is there value in dismissing the author

from the work and paying attention to text alone?

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Assignments

There will be one paper due at the end of the unit where students will reflect on the

reading and how the meaning of the text changes based on context. Students can choose to either

write on Beowulf or on a combination of the other works. The goal of the paper is for students to

understand how meaning changes with or without knowledge of the author. The paper is also an

opportunity for students to debate the merits of each method. Students are to show that they

understand how a text can be interpreted differently based on how much is known about the

author.

Because there is so much reading, students will have no additional assignments outside of

annotation and a short reflection at the end of each reading. These notes will be used during class

discussions and will also be beneficial when writing the paper. Students will receive a grade each

day for bringing these notes to class (students must bring substantial notes if there is no clear

effort students will receive 0 points for that day).

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Bibliography

Barthes, Roland. “The Death of the Author”. Literary History an Anthology Third Edition, edited by Julie
Rivkin and Michael Ryan, John Wiley and Sons, 2017, pp. 518-521.
“Bede”. The Norton Anthology of English Literature Tenth Edition, edited by Julia Reidhead and Marian
Johnson, W.W Norton and Company, 2018, p. 30.
“Beowulf”. The Norton Anthology of English Literature Tenth Edition, edited by Julia Reidhead and
Marian Johnson, W.W Norton and Company, 2018, pp. 37-109.
“Caedmon’s Hymn”. The Norton Anthology of English Literature Tenth Edition, edited by Julia Reidhead
and Marian Johnson, W.W Norton and Company, 2018, pp. 30-31.
“Dream of the Rood”. The Norton Anthology of English Literature Tenth Edition, edited by Julia Reidhead
and Marian Johnson, W.W Norton and Company, 2018, pp. 33-36.