A recent study says sorrow as much as anger led to the rise of Trump. But Beowulf teaches us that the two are related (Grendel and Grendel’s mother).
Tag Archives: Anger
Can We Be Beowulf Strong?
“Bowulf,” a poem about rage, violence, and the end of empire.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Beowulf, Beowulf poet, end of empire, grieving, resentment, violence Comments closed
Facing Our Inner Black Cat
Poe’s “Black Cat” has a special attraction for college students–and for good reason.
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Could Beowulf Have Saved Jews?
In her book about Eichmann, Hannah Arendt praises the Danes for how they stood up to the Nazis. One can draw a parallel with how Beowulf stands up to Grendel and also apply the lesson to the Trayvon Martin case.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Beowulf, Eichmann in Jerusalem, Hannah Arendt, Holocaust, Trayvon Martin Comments closed
When God’s Call Feels Like a Burden
“Collar” works as a triple pun—a clerical collar, a prisoner’s collar, and “choler.” Why, for all that I have done, am I only harvesting a thorn, George Herbert cries out in the poem by that name. Why am I still standing in suit to God when I could simply turn my back on it all?
Revenge, Understandable but Unhealthy
I’ve been talking a lot about rightwing anger this past year.Today I write about my own.It is an anger I try to keep hidden but that nevertheless washes over me from time to time, usually when I hear about some act of gross injustice where the perpetrator seems to escape scot-free. At such moments I […]
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "Prayer for the Man Who Mugged My Father", Beowulf, Charles Webb, Poiitics Comments closed
How to Respond to Tea Party Rage
Leslie Marmon Silko This week we celebrate both Passover and Easter, and the world, as it was during the original Passover meal and then again when Jesus celebrated it under Roman rule, is still filled with rage. The weekend newspapers were filled with stories of Tea Party anger, which is being directed at the recent […]
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