The author and myself would agree on that.
Had that boring crap in HS until I thought I was going to OD on the stuff.
IMO, if this is the attitude schools are creating then they're not using the material right. Yes, Beowulf is important for understanding the origin of the English language and literature, but by focusing solely on that teachers are making it a subject to be dreaded.
That's a shame, too, because it's not MEANT to be read that way. Beowulf isn't academic, it's a work of literary art and should be APPROACHED that way. It's a celebration of the courage, valor, and the greatness of Man, which is quite ironic considering it originated at a time when Christianity was doing its best to suppress such notions as the nobility of the human spirit apart from God. It's a very poignant lamentation for a word that was already no more than a memory.
Any teacher who does otherwise is doing a disservice to a treasure of English literature.
