- 1
How does the line, “Fate saves / the living when they drive away death by themselves!” complicate Beowulf's understanding of Fate as discussed in the last section (lines 572-3)?
Here, Beowulf acknowledges that he has more agency in the outcomes of his actions than it seemed initially. He argues that Fate may preordain several outcomes based on the actions that a person takes themselves. There is a greater sense of responsibility and accountability in this view than in the simpler view (that fate determines everything that will happen) that we discussed in the previous section.
- 2
Why does the poem include the story of Finn?
Ask a student to summarize the story...
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