Zach Weinersmith on Beowulf and Bea Wolf

<p>Tolkien read it as a tale about mortality. The poet David Whyte said it was a metaphor for the psychological demons deep in our minds. And that, insists the cartoonist and writer Zach Weinersmith, is precisely <i>Beowulf's</i> appeal: Its richness opens the door to endless interpretation. Listen as the author of <i>Bea Wolf</i>, a graphic novel for children based on the Old English poem, speaks with EconTalk's Russ Roberts about poetry in general, <i>Beowulf</i> in particular, whether we should require students to memorize poems, and the value of stories for children even without a moral lesson.</p>