Assignment #4

After class on Wednesday, I was happy to leave class with a much better understanding of the previous lines. I believe that going over the readings as we did in class allows me to better interpret parts of the story I might misinterpret or not understand. The explanation about Wealtheow was reasonably helpful to me and I was able to get a sense of her role in the poem. I admire her as a queen until she was referred as a bedmate. Before calling her by that, readers had a remarkable image of the queen and the duties she performed. Once she was referred to in the story as a bedmate, I felt as though it degraded her position as queen and made her seem as her duty as a queen was to pleasure Hrothgar. Additionally, this part of the story led me to believe that Hrothgar isn't the best king a well. This is because he rather fulfill his sexual desires than worry about the protection of his people. This part of the story had a negative effect on me.