ShmoopTube

Where Monty Python meets your 10th grade teacher.

Search Thousands of Shmoop Videos

Tradition and Customs Videos


Play All
Beowulf
113100 Views

Written in Anglo-Saxon, or Old English, sometime between the 8th and 11th centuries, Beowulf is an epic poem that reflects the early medieval warri...

Girl (Jamaica Kincaid)
9528 Views

"Girl," by Jamaica Kincaid, is a poem—er, a story... er... what is this thing? Either way, it's about a mother's advice to her daughter. And noth...

Julie of the Wolves
1733 Views

In Julie of the Wolves, a girl is thrown into the wild, far away from civilization. Find out how she fares by watching this video.

Kaffir Boy
5291 Views

Kaffir Boy is the story of a young South African tennis player living under the restrictions of apartheid. He ends up going the self-preservation r...

Mending Wall
16226 Views

Why not just buy a new wall? We're sure Mr. Frost would be okay with it.

Things Fall Apart
49851 Views

Anyone who has ever bought anything from IKEA knows this to be true.

The Odyssey
71775 Views

On his ten-year journey home from the Trojan War, Odysseus runs into everything from sirens to sea monsters to seductresses. Such is life when you...

Percy Jackson Lightning Thief
15697 Views

This ain't your run-of-the-mill summer camp.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
14733 Views

One minute, we're crying out of sadness; the next thing you know, we're crying out of laughter. Arnold's diary puts ours to shame. Excuse us while...

The Giver
46275 Views

In The Giver, society is completely conformist. Neutrality rules the day, and no emotion is good emotion. Lois Lowry's novel challenges the value o...

The Lottery
33396 Views

Three words: The Hunger Games. Wait, one more word: "scapegoat." Wait—oh, just watch the video already.

The Giver Summary
105893 Views

Ever wish you could remember everything that you ever studied? How about everything that everyone has ever studied? Yeah, pretty sure our brains ju...

Things Fall Apart Summary
159664 Views

All Okonkwo was asking for was a little R-E-S-P-E-C-T. Granted, swinging your machete around may not be the nicest way to ask, but still. The guy d...

The Odyssey Summary
97087 Views

Odysseus should have checked out How to Return Home from War for Dummies. Step One: Do not mess with the son of a god. Actually, no need to read on...

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian Summary
62002 Views

In order to understand Arnold's diary, you'll have to speak his language—cartoons. Huh, now that we say it out loud it doesn't sound too difficul...

All About Beowulf as a Translated Piece of Literature
6760 Views

Old English is just English, right? Can’t be more difficult than reading Shakespeare, right? Hah. Yeah...no. Click on the video to find why tra...

All About Beowulf's Historical Context
17085 Views

Who is it about? Who told it? Who wrote it? Who are we? What’s the meaning of life? Do you know the Muffin Man? All these answers and more can be...

Beowulf and Material Goods
12461 Views

The characters in Beowulf knew the importance of bling. Watch the video to learn more about the place of material goods in the wonderful world of B...

Beowulf and Gnomes
6519 Views

Beowulf is full of Gnomes...and no, not adorable garden gnomes who’re just trying to save you money on vacations. Find out more about what a Gnom...