Weeks 10-12
Modernism:
What does 'The Wasteland' mean?
1) how has it been interpreted? (cite examples)
2)what are some of the key features
3) In what way has it been influential
Post-Modernism
1) What common qualities do 'the beats' share? Why 'beats'?
2) How is beat poetry linked to rap?
3) How was Bob Dylan's 'Masters of War' involved in controversy during the Bush administration?
4) On what grounds was 'Howl' accused of being obscene - grounds for the defense?
5) What kind of protest song/rap other media have come out in the last decade? Is there a spirit of protest anymore?
What does 'The Wasteland' mean?
1) how has it been interpreted? (cite examples)
2)what are some of the key features
3) In what way has it been influential
Post-Modernism
1) What common qualities do 'the beats' share? Why 'beats'?
2) How is beat poetry linked to rap?
3) How was Bob Dylan's 'Masters of War' involved in controversy during the Bush administration?
4) On what grounds was 'Howl' accused of being obscene - grounds for the defense?
5) What kind of protest song/rap other media have come out in the last decade? Is there a spirit of protest anymore?
Weeks 7-9
1. How is the Romantic notion of the Sublime reflected in the ideological, conceptual and linguistic construction of the texts under consideration in this Romanticism reader? Discuss one or two examples...
2. Go online and see if you can find out anything about what really happened at the Villa Diodati that fateful summer in 1816...
3. How many fictional accounts (film and other narrative media) can you find about that? Provide some useful links, including Youtube clips (hint: for a start try Ken Russel Gothic on Youtube).
4. Discuss the links between the Villa Diodati "brat-pack" and the birth of Gothic as a modern genre with reference to specific texts by the authors who gathered there and subsequent texts (e.g. The Vampire >> Dracula, etc).
3. How many fictional accounts (film and other narrative media) can you find about that? Provide some useful links, including Youtube clips (hint: for a start try Ken Russel Gothic on Youtube).
4. Discuss the links between the Villa Diodati "brat-pack" and the birth of Gothic as a modern genre with reference to specific texts by the authors who gathered there and subsequent texts (e.g. The Vampire >> Dracula, etc).
Weeks 4-6
1. Cite some variations in the Loathly Lady fabula across the three tales in your Reader. Focus on the conditions by which the lady is either beautiful or ugly, and the actions of the knight/king/"hero"...
2. The Wife of Bath's Tale is considered by some critics to indicate that Chaucer may have been a feminist. Why might they believe this? Do you agree? Remember to cite evidence from the text or some other source.
3.Hahn's essay (see critical reader)on The Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnelleidentifies the motif of the loathly lady, but arguesit has a different purpose than asserting the feminine. What does he think the function of the story is?
4. In the context of Elizabethan and Jacobean sonnets, how can we define "conceits"?
5. Discuss what you think is the most striking or outrageous example.
6. What does Revard (1997) suggest about the relationship between language, sex, power and transgression in the English Renaissance?
2. The Wife of Bath's Tale is considered by some critics to indicate that Chaucer may have been a feminist. Why might they believe this? Do you agree? Remember to cite evidence from the text or some other source.
3.Hahn's essay (see critical reader)on The Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnelleidentifies the motif of the loathly lady, but arguesit has a different purpose than asserting the feminine. What does he think the function of the story is?
4. In the context of Elizabethan and Jacobean sonnets, how can we define "conceits"?
5. Discuss what you think is the most striking or outrageous example.
6. What does Revard (1997) suggest about the relationship between language, sex, power and transgression in the English Renaissance?
Weeks 1-3
1. What genres do the following texts belong to?
Voluspa, Volsunga Saga, Beowulf, The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings.
Give some examples from these texts that support your identification (for example: "Voluspa is an example of the _____ genre, as the following references to gods from the poem illustrate: "Hear my words / you holy gods' (l.1) "By Odin's Will I'll speak the ancient lore" (l.3), etc).
2. What are some possible features of residual (or "secondary") orality preserved in Voluspa, according to the criteria Ong (1982) advances?
3. Identify a central incident that happens in at least four of the above texts, and discuss how it is both similar and different in each example (remember to site from the original texts).
4. How did Tolkien draw on the Old Norse and Old English texts in his Hobbit and Lord of the Rings fantasy novels? Provide some concrete examples.
5. Discuss how Tolkien's use of "tradition" (e.g. older literary sources) differs from the techniques and agendas of modernism (see Week 7 in your Reader).
6. What place do the old myths have in the modern world?
7. How does the film Beowulf and Grendel "problematise" the hero-myth of Beowulf ?
8. Discuss what you think any of these texts desire (in the sense of their intention, how they wish to be received, what pleasures they offer).
Voluspa, Volsunga Saga, Beowulf, The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings.
Give some examples from these texts that support your identification (for example: "Voluspa is an example of the _____ genre, as the following references to gods from the poem illustrate: "Hear my words / you holy gods' (l.1) "By Odin's Will I'll speak the ancient lore" (l.3), etc).
2. What are some possible features of residual (or "secondary") orality preserved in Voluspa, according to the criteria Ong (1982) advances?
3. Identify a central incident that happens in at least four of the above texts, and discuss how it is both similar and different in each example (remember to site from the original texts).
4. How did Tolkien draw on the Old Norse and Old English texts in his Hobbit and Lord of the Rings fantasy novels? Provide some concrete examples.
5. Discuss how Tolkien's use of "tradition" (e.g. older literary sources) differs from the techniques and agendas of modernism (see Week 7 in your Reader).
6. What place do the old myths have in the modern world?
7. How does the film Beowulf and Grendel "problematise" the hero-myth of Beowulf ?
8. Discuss what you think any of these texts desire (in the sense of their intention, how they wish to be received, what pleasures they offer).
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteWhat place do the old myths belong in the modern world?
ReplyDeleteI’m going to try and answer this the best I can so if I get off tack please push me towards the right side lol
So we all know that old myths are old traditional stories or poems that have been told throughout time, and were told back then through word of mouth or were being sang and eventually it was written. Often in these old myths there is a hero such as Hercules, Thor, Titans, Immortals and so forth. In our case we have “Beowulf” which was a poem that was soon made into a real life movie in 1999 and then an animation film that was made in 2007.
Which is why I personally think that old myths belong in the media in today’s world. What I mean by this is, often people learn about these characters through television series or a film. Such as myself I never really knew that “Beowulf” is an old poem until recently. I think that filming historical poems/stories is a very productive way of from keeping old myths from fading, even though there are small changes I don’t think is a big deal, story is still similar to the original story.
Nice stuff... love your entry and you have hit on a great point for me at the end "still similar to the original story". The old myths are stories to inspire us to be more or to learn a lesson that will help us to be better people, for me. The story of the Hero like Beowulf is about for me stepping up correcting a wrong and growing in the process to be more. This hasn't changed in along time with the new versions of the story like the Beowulf animated movie you mentioned ( my favourite animated film of all time for me along with Princess Mononoke) or even the Hobbit or any other great hero stories all having there roots in the world of Myth. Through these stories from myth up to today we are still looking for something or someone to inspire us to step up or believe that we can step up to something greater even if there are dire consequences. what do you think..thanks again Reima for starting us off... :)
DeleteThere is a huge influence of old myths in the modern world. The fact that films and television shows still integrate these story lines in today's society explicitly shows this. Beowolf, which is said to be the original dragon-slaying/heroic plot, has been adapted into films (as stated by Reima) and this is significant because these ideas are still prevalent today. This comes to the question of why? Why are old myths still prevalent today? Why are they such a huge influence? It is plainly because people enjoy it. Everybody (at least the majority of people) enjoy watching the classic Good vs. Evil fight, wherein the Good triumph in the end. Old myths strongly highlight upon this (i.e., Beowolf), and much later old-myth-influenced media today (i.e. The Hobbit, Lord of The Rings). The Good traditionally represents positivity and symbolises hope which can also be a huge factor as to why people are drawn to stories and mediums with this premise. This is the reason why old myths still have such a significant influence and impact in the modern world and, consequently, in media.
DeleteYou have both touched on some great points, which can definitely be explored further. Much like most in the class, Voluspa and Volsunga Sanga are completely new to me - however the oral tales of the Norse gods are not. Although not introduced to them through any formal texts, I was fortunate enough to have a father who told me these legends orally throughout my childhood.
DeleteI am technically a Catholic; baptised as a baby, confirmed at age ten, went to Catholic primary and secondary schools - yet since graduating in 2005 and 'experiencing life' I have drifted farther and farther from those Catholic roots. I prefer the notion that there are many gods, each responsible for a certain domain. Not to say that this is literal - how can anyone ever know for sure? Yet these tales are definitely still relevant today, at least for people with beliefs similar to mine, and there are references to gods, whether Norse or Greek etc. throughout history via many texts. As Mike has mentioned below, "The thing about myths is that they only become myths when people stop believing them." It's difficult, because I like to believe in the possibility, but cannot say I believe they definitely do or do not exist.
Also, the same applies for the Garden of Eden story (mentioned by Mike below) - to say Christians definitely believe in its truth is incorrect. Some denominations do believe the Bible in a literal sense, however this is not true of Catholics. The Bible is a guideline, a suggestion of how to live (at least it has become so now in the 21st Century). It is full of lessons and morals much like these week 1-3 texts, as touched on by Nicholas, but the majority realise that the tales are not literal... To be continued as the next class are arriving!
This is a rewarding discussion thread. We could argue that these ancient myths speak to us in the language of the unconscious, which is the language of images and symbols, and so satisfy a deep unconscious need.
DeleteCan you imagine if society today was heavily influenced by Norse mythology as opposed to Christianity or science? We would potentially not have churches and instead there would be Norse temples and statues of old Norse gods everywhere. Perhaps societal norms would be completely different, it may have prompted a revival of viking clans and the act of raiding surrounding towns every now and then would become a cultural norm.
DeleteWhat are you thoughts on this?
That sounds kind of cool through Christianity and science a world of ownership and physical evidence has appeared if we were living in a world of the Norse it would be about deeds and honour that dictate our value not the house or flash car or peace of paper that says your a doctor its the actions instead and the tail we tell. That is kind of appealing for me.
DeleteWhat place do the old myths have in the modern world?
DeleteHi guys, Reima had an interesting point which is true that “often people learn about these characters through t.v. series or film.”. This is true as I didn’t know that these stories had taken bits from the old myths, I just assumed that the creator thought them up without taking from anywhere else.
Well now after reading the Voluspa, Beowulf, Volsunga Saga and listening to Dr Paul Mountfort in the lectures and taking this paper, I have a better understanding of the stories and how majority of the comics, movies, cartoons and video games have drawn inspiration from the old myths with or without it being acknowledged.
If I had not read these stories or listened in the lecture(which I do find so assuming hearing Paul crack jokes and quote stories) I would have had no idea that majority of the great stories, movies, cartoons and games that I love, read and play had some type of link or had similarities to the old myths.
e.g. Movies: Thor, Beowulf, the L.O.T.R.. Games: Thor, L.O.T.R.. Cartoons: Gargoyles. Dexter’s laboratory. Comics: Thor, Kenichi the mightiest disciple.
These are just some of the modern day movies, games, cartoons and comics which have drawn from the old myths in order to be current.
I just found it amazing that some of the influence had come from the Old Norse.
So what place do the old myths have in the present day, well I don’t think they have a place now days in the modern world but I do believe that people have drawn their inspirations from them and have used them as a foundation for new stories, but like I said earlier it is the foundation of how tales and stories got started. But then these tales and stories also get used in a similar way in order to build and write new stories.
It is most likely that modern stories will also become myths later down the line too.
So I hope that this comes across clear enough as I’m just writing down what’s in my head since it’s all jumbled up.
Thanks “BELIEVE IT”
Hi guys!
DeleteI would say old myths are the model of inspiration and affect on human being behavior. It seduces us to think about hope or desire (future), hero (model), belief (god and devil: religion), living (alive or death: life cycle) and attitude (concrete or imaginary) about good or bad things and what the result of its. Thus, the story in the myths enters our minds as subconscious need. Humans diffuse the emotion and sentiment of the myths and pass from ancient to young blood, then its influence us to believe and follow. Such as in the Voluspa “the son of Odin, goes forth to fight the Snake (p.4)” we see now Thor on the big screen goes forth to fight the monsters on Jotunheim in the Thor movie. There is still impact it may not be orally as the original medium may have been, but in our modern visual world it becomes a visual medium. Hence, For me the old myths have a big impact on human in the modern world. But its based of interpretation of the teller and the medium they choose to tell. This is a great bridge to create a connection of the modern world to the old myth story.
Cheers!
Hi guys heres my first attempt at answering question 4....
ReplyDeleteI think Tolken draws a lot from tradition of Old Norse and Old English texts in his Hobbit and Lord of the Rings fantasy novels.
It's the way he uses names in his books for me is one of the big ones that stood out reading the texts the first time. Such as the extract of the Two Towers “Grima son of Galmod”(Tolken, 1993) and “ Theoden son of Thengel “ (Tolken, 1993) are similar to Old Norse. Then we have the names in the Hobbit these also are similar to the format of the oral tradition of Old Norse and Old Engish names for example in the story of the Volsungs is “Sigurd am I called, and my father was Sigmand” (Morris & Magnussun, 1888) or Beowulf we see “ Beowulf, son of Ecgtheow” ( Heaney, 1999). and Voluspa we see “Thor, the son of Earth, the son of Odin”( Terry, 1990). All following the tradition of showing their name and connecting it with their fathers name in an oral tradition format. Were we see an adding on of power or history on top of others in an oral tradition as pointed out by Herman et al in their interoperation of Ongs works such as “ oral cultures is additive rather than subordinative“ ( Herman et al, 2010). This appears to be done for its tradition that maybe the father has honour and is more important that the mothers acts of honour. The fathers deeds are strong and honourable and its brought to the user so they can add their story and honour to it. This could be a strong tradition of might and its brought forward over time to the works of Tolken who implemented in his works and even today think about it whose last name in your name is …..ie Nick Baker …Baker from the male side so if I was in Middle Earth or Old Norse it would be Nick son of Baker! This is one thing I noticed Tolken used form the Old Norse and Old English that I could understand, what do you guys think, would this also include deeds themselves?
References
Heaney, S. (1999) (trans). Beowulf: a new translation.
Lodon: Penguin
Herman, D., Jahn, M. and Ryan, M. (2010). Routledge Encyclopedia of Narrative Theory (Kindle edition) Retrieved from http://www.amazon.com
Morris, W. and Magnussun, E. (trans.) (1888). The Story of the Vosungs (Volsunga Saga).
London: Walter Scott Press
Terry, P. (trans). (1990,1966). Poems of the Eldar Edda. Philadelphia:
University of Pennsylvania Press
Tolkien, J.R.R. (1993;1954). The lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.
London HarperCollins
A great start to the group. Lots of points here. The thing about myths is that they only become myths when people stop believing them.For example, the Garden of Eden story is considered to be a myth my non-christians, but a the truth by Christians. Myths go to the heart of our cosmological beliefs.
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting that people stopped believing in urban myths when they became urban myths and not real stories about real people.
A good start Nick of seeing how Tolkien draws from this ancient tradition, but a fairly minor point here. What about the story of the Ring itself. Have you heard of Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung)? Another artist who drew from the same source as Tolkien, not just for modes of address, but for the themes and the very story itself...
Thanks Mike another thing I noticed so far was the dragon and the thief of the cup in both stories of Beowulf and the Hobbit. In the Beowulf story we have the following passages " there was a hidden passage, unknown to men, but someone managed to enter by it and interfere with the heathen trove. He had handled and removed a gem studded goblet..." Heaney (1999). This same act was committed by Bilbo Baggins in the Hobbit as noted in Glenns(1991) text stated that Tolkien borrowed the act of the " thief of the cup form the sleeping dragon" Glenns(1991) and the use of the dragon as the evil bad guy in both stories thus there is a great deal of borrowing from myth by Tolkien in this regards. I haven't read the story of the Hobbit only watched the Jacksons films and I cant remember if Bilbo stool the cup dose anyone remember from the film if that happened? But I did find in the Hobbit text the following passage that states Bilbo stealing the cup " he grasped a great two-handed cup, as heavy as he could carry" Tolkien ( 1937). So there is some key story concepts of myth that Tolkien uses that I notice so far....
DeleteReference
Glenn, J. A. (1991). " To Translate a Hero: The Hobbit as Beowulf Retold". PAPA 17: 13-34
Heaney, S. (1999) (trans). Beowulf: a new translation.
Lodon: Penguin
Tolkien, J.R.R. ( 1937). The Hobbit retrieved from docs.google.com on 10th of March 2014
I just considered that the term myth would differ from person to person depending on that persons particular belief system. There are many people that still subscribe to the Old Norse religion and for them Voluspa in particular would be considered doctrine.
DeleteGood point brother...I think the factors of "it just can't be" or "there is no way that could happen" "theres no evidence" creates the feeling of myth for me. So I have to be completely disconnected from the story and it becomes a myth in my mind. But if there is a connection like tradition or history thats kept alive like the old norse religion then it could be doctrine it could be more than myth. Like with the new movies of the Avengers and Thor and new connection is made its not magic but super advanced science the characters say in the films so there is a new bridge that our connection to the myth is restored and maybe it could be for the modern viewer? Thus for me the films remove in part the stories of myth they portray out of the world of main stream high culture genres and brings them for me into popular genres of fantasy giving the myth and characters new life... just a thought. Cheers Brother.
DeleteYes Nick, it's interesting to dive into a topic like this. There are so many different view points.
DeleteFrom the way Nick is approaching it, one could argue that there is no evidence for any religion, and therefore Norse is/could be equal with other religions.
Again it draws back to Mike's point of myths only becoming myths as people stop believing in them. So in theory, an atheist could claim all religions are myths.
Hi Nick, you make an extremely valid point, I loved the way they made the new Thor character a product of science fiction as opposed to fairytale (I use that term loosely) - prompting a sort of mini renaissance for Norse mythology.
DeleteDefiantly and I saw a documentary I think yesterday on sky about ancient aliens and how if creatures from another world appeared in Norse times or old Egypt their technology would be considered magic and they would be considered gods I wonder if the writers got their ideas of that premiss from that documentary? I say bring on the new renaissance of Norse mythology I'm ready armed with my speaking tablet of knowledge oh sorry I mean my iPad.......
Delete1. What genres do the following texts belong to?
ReplyDeleteVoluspa, Volsunga Saga, Beowulf, The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings.
Mythology is defined as “a body or collection of myths belonging to a people and addressing their origin, history, deities, ancestors, and heroes” or “a body of myths associated with an event, individual, or institution”(The Free Dictionary, 2014). These texts fall under the genre of mythology, or more accurately, a mythological old Norse poem.
Voluspa tells of the creation of the world and its end relayed by a shamanic clairvoyant addressing Odin. The poem begins by the Volva asking “the sons of Heimdallr” (human beings) to be silent. She then goes forth and asks Odin whether he wants her to recite the ancient tale.
“Hear my words, you holy gods,
great men and humble sons of Heimdall;
by Odin’s will, I’
ll speak the ancient lore,
the oldest of all
that I remember.”
The poem refers to deities, such as; Odin (chief of the gods), Loki (god of mischief) and Thor (son of Odin). The gods that aided in creation are also mentioned within the text.
This ancient text, found in the Codex Regius (Latin for “King’s Book”) is estimated to have been written in the 1270s , and speaks of the creation of Man, Earth, and speaks of its deities. Therefor we can conclude that this text is of the mythological genre and is also written in verses or stanzas, like poetry, drawing the conclusion that Voluspa is an ancient mythological poem.
. Discuss what you think any of these texts desire (in the sense of their intention, how they wish to be received, what pleasures they offer).
Creation myths exist to explain the unexplainable; they are also used to reinforce the ruling religion and ruling religious class. Myths also help enrich culture and to help people make a connection to their roots. I believe that the latter was the intent of Voluspa.
In Viking society at the time, there were three social classes; the Jarls (the noble class, distinguished by their wealth), the Karls (the middle class, freemen and landowners) and the Prael (the slaves, often stolen from raids) (Hurstwic, 2014). Mechanisms existed so that people could not move from one class to another, although there is no direct reference to class, any reader or priest would have been able to manipulate the meaning of this text to enforce the class structure.
More so, I believe that Voluspa existed to tell of the splendor of creation, the wonder of their ethereal protectors and the ephemeral or transient nature of our existence as Sons of Heimdallr.
Voluspa has been quoted many times, from Prose Edda in the 13th century to the Lord of the Rings where Aragorn addresses his army before battle.
"A day may come, when the courage of men fails, and we forsake our friends, and break all bonds of fellowship — but that is not this day! A hour of wolves, and shattered shields, as the age of Men comes crashing down — but it is not this day! This day we fight! By all that you hold dear, on this good earth, I bid you STAND! MEN! OF THE WEST!"
References
Hurstwic. (2014, 03 12). Social Classes in Viking Society. Retrieved 03 12, 2014, from Hurstwic.org: http://www.hurstwic.org/history/articles/society/text/social_classes.htm
The Free Dictionary. (2014, 03 12). Mythology. Retrieved 03 12, 2014, from The Free Dictionary: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/mythology
Hi Kamal
DeleteThat is really interesting point!
For me I see these myths as epics that tell of larger than life events where the size and scale are just too much to conceive of for the man or women of the period. Voluspa is so large and incomprehensible in the events and powers of creation in action. Can it be true? Just so as an epic to create wonder, respect and aware of creation and power of the players involved. Beowulf is a heroic, tragic and large in its scale creating an epic of dragons and warriors and villages on fire. To people of the time the story is the epic of the time. Lord of the rings from the books to the films the scale, the size and depth of history. The epic of our literarily time where no one character could over come. To me all these texts and movies are to my best understanding of literature in a European perspective are epics of those periods in history.
Within my perception these create or fit in the genre of epics in my eyes. Larger than life, more than any normal man or woman could handle and magic or strength beyond our understanding to fit into the genre of epics.
Cheer!
Mythology is not in itself a genre. Just like religion is not a genre, but moral tales are. Fantasy is a genre that uses mythological elements. A mythological poem as a genre as is a love poem or war poem. A saga is a genre. The term is not well understood.
DeleteTo W Baker
DeleteI agree and I feel that these larger than life events cannot be ticked off as 'accurate' by science, hence the stigma of mythology.
You have made me consider the point once more that these stories are also there to give people hope in times of depression. Such as war, or villages being raided. These stories may prompt the villagers to have hope like "Beowulf will protect us" or it gives the young males something to aspire to be like, a brave and strong man - thus instigating some form of ambition.
To Mike, 'genre' itself is defined "as a class or category of artistic endeavor having a particular form, content, technique" (Dictionary.com, 2014). I see what you mean by mythology itself not being a genre as religion itself is not a genre, however, within these terms fall actual genres such as 'gospel' under Christianity and Historic fiction under History.
I think the confusion may have been brought about as Paul was referring to mythology as a genre in Monday's lecture... however I think the intention was that Voluspa is a mythological poem, rather than an epic poem, as it concerns the actions of gods not heroes.
DeleteSo mythology is not a genre in itself, but mythological poems are.
Hey Rose, thank you for that.
DeleteExcellent point, I was thinking of mythology itself as a genre, but I see that in colloquial terms it isn't. I did mention in my initial comment that it is a mythological old Norse poem. Exactly, epics contain heroes and mythology refers to the gods.
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteHi Kamal great post.
ReplyDeleteThere may have been a bit of confusion if mythology is a genre or not but in the end your points were great.
The two points that stood out for me was "Creation myths exist to explain the unexplainable; they are also used to reinforce the ruling religion and ruling religious class." I guess that having a myth in order to describe Creation is a good thing as there are so many different theories behind it all as you said unexplainable. And "Myths also help enrich culture and to help people make a connection to their roots." I guess it comes down to the person as there are so many myths and some cultures don’t have myths.
But are myths true or false? As I think myths a false.
"BELIEVE IT"
Hey man
DeleteHaving been raised by a culture immersed in Eastern Mythology I have been heavily influenced by myths myself. I have to say that I don't agree with the point that you raised saying that "some cultures don't have myths".
All cultures have myths, I look at the definition of culture as described by dictionary.com (2014), which is, "the total of the inherited ideas, beliefs, values, and knowledge, which constitute the shared bases of social action" or "the total range of activities and ideas of a group of people with shared traditions, which are transmitted and reinforced by members of the group".
Both these definitions imply that myths must exist with cultures, even if its a belief or a superstition.
To meet you halfway, you may mean sub-culture or various "counter-cultures", and they may not have myths in the technical sense of the word?
Thanks
Hello!
ReplyDeleteThis is my first response (week1-3).
What genres do the following texts belong to?
Voluspa, Volsunga Saga, Beowulf, The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings.
Voluspa is an example of the mythological poem about gods. This Old Norse poem tells us about how the world is created or formed of the nine worlds as well as the end of its time. The mainstream feature of the poem address to the chief god, Odin at Asgard, and his relationship to the other worlds. As you can see in these examples from Terry (1990,1996): “Far-famed Thor, the son of Earth, the son of Odin (p.4)” “Hod and Balder will live in Odin’s hall, home of the war-gods (p.4)” “Odin gave life’s breath, Hoenir have mind, Lodur gave hair, fairness of face (p.2).” Conversely, Volsunga Saga is the prose story about legendary hero such as Sigurd. The story presents an adventure and tragedy such as fighting with either mankind or creatures, and it seems to be a bloody theme story. For example from Morris & Magnussum (1888), “Now crept the worm down to his place of watering, and the earth shook all about him, .......that were before him were broken in pieces (pp. 9-10).”
Moving on to Beowulf, an example of Old English epic poetry that is not much interested in gods but of a hero’s adventure, whom displays superpowers, courage and strength to slay a monster and dragon. The epic also portrays hero’s kingship life and ended by death of hero after the battle.
Examples from Heaney (1999): “the wide kingdom reverted to Beowulf. He ruled it well for fifty winters, grew old and wise as warden of the land (p. 70)”, “...after he had purged Hrothgar’s hall, triumphed in Heorot in the foght with Grendel, He outgrappled the monster and his evil kin (p.74).”
The 19th century of novel literature like “The Hobbit” and “The Lord of the Ring” are a modern fantasy novel. Both are children’s book and written by Tolkien as a sequel story of adventure. The protagonists’’ adventure story shows many worlds involvement such as Midgard, Alfheim, Jotunheim, Nidarvellir as examples. Thus, it has a variety of characters: Mankind, Elves, Dwarves, Drow, Orc, Wizard, Mountainous giant, and creatures like a dragon and a giant spider. The act of modern epic fantasy enchants readers following the fantasy created story based on these characters.
Examples from Tolkien (1997, 1937): the dragon in action “fire leaped from the dragon’s jaw (p.235)”, “a weep of his tail and the roof of the Great House crumbled and smashed down (p.235).” However, in my point of view, some events are not suitable for children. It evidently shows violence, crucial danger situation and using of weapon such as swords or arrows. I would say children need parenting guidance in terms of translation.
References
Beowulf. (n.d.) In Wikipedia. Retrieved March 11, 2014, from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beowulf
British Library. (n.d.). Learning English Timeline: Beowulf. Retrieved March 12
2014, from http://www.bl.uk/learning/timeline/item126510.html
Heaney, S. (Trans.). (1999). Beowulf: a new translation. London, England:
Penguin.
Morris, W. & Magnussun, E. (Trans.). (1888). The story of the Volsungs
(Volsunga Saga). London, Englang: Walter Scott Press.
Princeton.edu (n.d.). Volsunga Saga. Retrieved March 11, 2014, from
https://www.marxists.org/archive/morris/works/1870/volsungs/volsungs.htm
Terry, P. (trans). (1990, 1966). Poems of the Elder Edda. Philadelphia:
University of Pennsylvania Press.
Tokien, J. R. R. (1997, 1937). The Hobbit. London, England: Harper Collins.
Volsulpa. (n.d.) In Wikipedia. Retrieved March 11, 2014, from
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Secondary orality, according to Ong (1982), is orality that also exists in written form e.g. television (p. 3). Words are written with the intention of being performed by a reader, and therefore heard by an audience.
ReplyDelete'Völuspá (The Song of the Volva)' is a Norse mythological song/poem, which was transcribed to written form in the 13th Century. The difficulty with texts from long ago, is that we have such limited information available to ascertain their origins and accuracy. Academics, such as Ong, have concluded texts like 'Völuspá' contain features of secondary orality, as it is designed to be spoken i.e. “Hear my words […] I’ll speak the ancient lore” (Terry (trans.), 1990).
Another residual feature of secondary orality within 'Völuspá' are the references to memory. “[...] the oldest of all that I remember. / I remember giants of ages past” (Terry (trans.), 1990).
Memorizing was the only way to preserve and therefore pass on information before the written word existed. As Ong (1982) states, primary orality is evanescent; words fade as soon as they have been spoken (pp. 31, 32).
For us 21st Century beings, the concept of an entirely oral culture can seem unfathomable. There is also a common belief that those from the bygone non-literate eras were ‘lesser’ than our modern selves, but in fact literacy has only existed for approximately 6000 years. Not a very long time in the scheme of things when you consider homosapiens have roamed the earth for 30-50,000 years. (Ong, 1982, p. 2). Yet a large majority of language and communication remains oral, even for those languages that have embraced the written word. Writing has become an addition to language, not a replacement. “Indeed, language is so overwhelmingly oral that of all the many thousands of languages - possibly tens of thousands - spoken in the course of human history only around 106 have ever been committed to writing to a degree sufficient to have produced literature, and most have never been written at all. Of the some 3000 languages spoken that exist today only some 78 have a literature (Edmonson 1971, pp. 323, 332).” (Ong, 1982, p. 7).
It is one thing to say intelligence has increased as we have evolved, but it could also be argued that intelligence has simply changed. Orality and literacy use different parts of the brain, so in a sense comparing a non-literate and literate race could be like comparing a scientist and an artist. It would be terribly arrogant to say the scientist is of higher intelligence, as each are clever in their own ways. From what little information we do have, it is apparent literacy was viewed as a danger much like technology is viewed by some today (Ong, 1982, p. 4).
Many were concerned that the ability to write things down would destroy one’s memory among other things, and in a sense that could be accurate. Much like calculators, for example, have destroyed the ability of some to perform mental arithmetic, because they simply do not need to bother. Who has the authority to say whether this is good or bad? Yes, these tools make our life easier… until such a time arises when they may not be readily available. We then could be faced with a struggle, if we have relied so heavily on our aids that we do not have the mental skills required to cope without them.
References
DeleteOng, W., (1982). Orality and literacy: The technologizing of the word. London: Methuen
Terry, P. (trans.)., (1990, 1966). Poems of the Elder Edda. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press
What place do old myths have in the modern world?
ReplyDeleteAs broad of a question as this is, I generally believe old myths hold a very important place in the modern world. Old myths are the basis for new ones, even religious myths. I could go on and on about how many religious prophets were born on December 25th, all to a virgin mother, betrayed, died, then resurrected. Now, that isn't an attack on religion at all but it is an example of how myths can be personally important to many, many, people regardless of whether or not they are 'old' or 'new'.
Old myths help us to understand our modern world, why it is, and how it is. Old myths give people a sense of safety and contentment, as they are often used to explain how and why something is a certain way. For example, the story of Maui from Maori mythology explains how the North and South islands came to be. To Maori people this myth is extremely important and close to their hearts, much like Christians who find solace in believing God created the world in 7 days. These types of old myths are vital culturally and emotionally to most races around the world.
Things that you wouldn't necessarily think about also heavily rely on, or are involved with mythology. Vast amounts of architecture all across Europe are present or even created within old myths, places like Italy and Greece are great examples.
Old myths are actually also the basis for a large majority of new 'myths', including film, music, television, novels etc. Without the old ones we would not have those integral stepping stones for modern-day storytelling.
Things are classic for a reason, when people try to avoid popular things just because they are popular (or "old") it bothers me because there is a very good reason these things are popular. If these old myths have stayed relevant over hundreds and hundreds of years then they must have done something right. We should trust and care about old myths.