Tag Archives: Military

Soldier, I Wish You Well

Here’s an A.E. Housman poem to honor our men and women in uniform on Veterans Day.

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Hoping against Hope in the Face of Death

Following philosopher Adrienne Martin, I meditate on what it means to “hope against hope” or to have “unimaginable hope.” The texts I use are “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight,” “Beowulf,” and “Wizard of Earthsea.”

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Top Gun Takes Down Grendel’s Mom

An unexpected parallel between “Beowulf” and the Tom Cruse film “Top Gun” has given me new appreciation for the 8th century Anglo-Saxon epic and a deeper insight into how at least some guys in the military handle grief.

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Sir Gawain through the Eyes of a Marine

One of the most interesting essays I received in my just completed early British Literature survey came from a young Marine. Jon Gott was fascinated by what he calls Camelot’s “band of brothers.” His essay was about how Gawain handles the tests that he is subjected to in the 14th century romance Sir Gawain and […]

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Grendel’s Invasion of Fort Hood

I interrupt my Jane Austen series in honor of the soldiers killed by the army psychologist at Ford Hood.  Facts are sketchy as I write this, but Beowulf, particularly the monster Grendel, may give us some insights into the tragedy. Think of Grendel as a warrior that goes bad. In the epic, Grendel lives on […]

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