Graphic novels are at the forefront of the literary community with a significant focus on younger readers. Many students have lost interest in the classics that are the foundation for our understanding of literature. In recent years there has been an increase in the number of graphic adaptations of literary classics including Beowulf. 

With all adaptations there is room for translation error. Updating the classics for a younger audience in a graphic format may increase the readership, but at what cost? Cultural differences can reshape our reading/viewing of these classics in ways that were unintended. I plan to discover how these differences shape these narratives and our understanding of them. 

By looking at adaptation theory as well as comic studies theory and others, I will analyze the ways that graphic novel adaptations can be used as replacements for or supplementary materials for the teaching of medieval classics. Looking at current pedagogical approaches to the teaching of literature,