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).
Belinda - Q6: What place do the old myths have in the modern world?
ReplyDeleteOng (1982) asserts that myths were created by primarily oral cultures, passed down through the generations, and often these tales were told in beer halls where perhaps gallons of ale were consumed. To various degrees, the old myths bring forth classic exemplars of creation, revenge, war and power etc, that are emulated in today’s modern society through media (movies), gaming and even religion. They tell of ancient gods, epic heroes, struggles, battles, great love, and even death.
The direct relationship this has to the modern world surrounds us every day, in everything we do as people. For example, Hollywood has taken great pleasure in watering down to an almost insipid texture (IMO) great tales such as Beowulf, who fought in many battles, and lived to become King. We have no proof of Beowulf’s’ existence, however we see him as a paradigm of strength, power and success. Much like the slaying of the worm by Sigurd who, “thrust his sword under his left shoulder, so that it sank in up to the hilts; then up leapt Sigurd from the pit and drew the sword back again unto him, and therewith was his arm all bloody, up to the very shoulder” (Morris&Magnussen, 1888, p.58). An empowering line, it instills imagination and excitement into the mind of the reader, and recreates the fight. A scene that is almost repeatedly mimicked in fantasy movies (LOTR), or Rambo whose protagonists bear similar fighting capabilities likeness as Beowulf.
Mythology is almost metaphorical and these stories, tall tales, whatever they are called we inherently rely on these ‘stories’ to empower us to conquer what it is that we fear, or desire to have, or to be.
References
Morris, W., & Magnussen, E. (1888). The Story of the volsungs (Volsunga Saga). London: Walter Scott Press.
Ong, W. (1982). Orality and Literacy. London: Methuen.
Question 7
ReplyDeleteIn the original Beowulf, Beowulf was a character with a man of feats. He, for example had slain 5 giants and a sea monster at night. The depiction of him being able to perform these deeds stemmed from his monstrous strength. In a fight with Grendel, Beowulf demonstrated his strength by crushing the trolls hand and ripping it off during his direct confrontation alone. The monster then died because of the bleeding wound inflicted by the hero.
The movie Beowulf and Grendel stayed true to this story with a few exceptions. The movie was more of a parody then having a gritty illustration. The reasons for the film adaptation that “problematise” Beowulf are:
(1) Beowulf and his men were more of “narrators” and “players” at the same time. One of the examples was exemplified in the ending where one of his men remarked that “this tale is shit!” making fun of the movie.
(2) The characters in the movie spoke modern language with some cursing.
(3) The movie generally downplayed Beowulf strength, he need to use a rope in order to tear the trolls arm off hence it’s more of a strategic feat rather than the character’s attribute.
By these facts, the “problematising” the epic led to the conclusion that the movie was suppose to be more light-hearted than the epic, the purpose to entertain viewers in addition to simplifying the whole prose instead of downing convoluted content in such a long, tedious span.
Reference
Joe,J.(1999). Beowulf. Retrieved from http://www.timelessmyths.com/norse/beowulf.html
Question 1
ReplyDeleteVolsunga-creation mythology poem 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).
The hobbit-fantasy novel for children genre as it implied a fairy tale allusion which a dragon must be slain by a character which was usually a knight but not necessarily: “The dragon swooped once more lower than ever, and as he turned and dived down his belly glittered white with sparkling fires of gems in the moon –but not in one place. The great bow twanged. The black arrow sped straight from the string, straight for the hollow by the left breast where the foreleg was flung wide. In it smote and vanished, barb, shaft and feather, so fierce was its flight. With a shriek that deafened men, felled trees and split stone, Smaug shot spouting into the air, turned over and crashed down from on high in ruin. Full on the town he fell. His last throes splinted it to sparks and gledes.”
Lord of the Rings-high fantasy genre due to having a conflict between good and evil exemplified by one example: “This is your choice: to ride with me to war and let us see in battle whether you are true; or to go now, whither you will. But then, if we ever meet again, I shall not be merciful.’
Voluspa-epic prose genre; it narrated the deed of Sigurd who slain Fafnir: “So whenas the worm crept over the pits, Sigurd thrust his sword under his left shoulder, so that it sank in up to the hilts; then up leapt Sigurd from the pit and drew the sword back again unto him, therewith was his arm all bloody, up to the very shoulder.”
Beowulf-epic poem genre; it narrated the fate of Beowulf who slain a dragon: “he was destined to face the end of his days in this mortal world; as was the dragon, for all his long leasehold on the treasure.”
6. What place do the old myths have in the modern world?
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, old myths still has its place in the modern world. Because even in the modern world nowadays old myth stories are still being used in schools as literatures, universities in learning the background about the English, and learning poems etc. And also to what I have noticed old myth stories had become revived and modernised in such as in the movies, novels, re-translated works. This is why in my observation that of course it’s still has its place in the modern. But really who can take out the old myths in our culture and lifestyle and education it is relevant that we still learn myths in this era. For example in Korea there is a myth of Gojosun which is the first civilized kingdom on the continent and peninsula where Korea exists now. There was a tiger and bear; they wanted to become human so they asked the chief of the animal. The chief told them to eat only garlic and wormwood for 100days in the cave then they would become human. The tiger couldn’t last long and ran away from the cave but the bear didn’t give up and lasted until the end and the bear became beautiful woman. In this story there is a hidden meaning the tiger represents the tribe of the tiger and bear represents tribe of bear. Also it shown that tiger and bear asked the chief which means the chief was higher class than tiger and bear. When tiger ran away this meant he disobeyed and the tiger tribe got exterminated. On the other hand the bear who became women the hidden meaning is she became the leader of the bear tribe. This myths are still learnt in Korean elementary school.
6. What place do the old myths have in the modern world?
ReplyDeleteOld myths are still in existence as parts of living culture in modern society. Old books of myths and legends used important materials understanding ancient times. Also old myths used materials for writing the novel or making the movies.
Myths are one of the genres in art and they are literary genre in narrow terms. That art always changed with the trend of the times. The trend of the times and art exist together as a binary opposition with influence each other. Finally, those make a group of culture slowly by affecting where a person lives.
1,What genres do the following texts belong to?
ReplyDeleteVoluspa, Volsunga Saga, Beowulf, The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings.
Voluspa describes the creation and doom of the world. Voluspa is an example of a mythological poem, as the following references to gods from the poem illustrate: “Silence I ask of all the sacred folk, high and low ones’, ‘I recall of giants from primordial times. Those who gave me birth in former days”.
Volsunga Saga is an epic prose, and the story that talks about the hero, Sigurd. As the following references to Sigurd from the epic prose: “Sigurd answered, "A hardy heart urged me on hereto, and a strong hand and this sharp sword, which well thou knowest now, stood me in stead in the doing of the deed. `Seldom hath hardy eld a faint-heart youth."
Beowulf is an old epic poem, as the following references to Beowulf from the poem: “Sorrow not, sage! It beseems us better friends to avenge than fruitlessly mourn them. Each of us all must his end abide in the ways of the world; so win who may glory ere death!” The contents of Beowulf are divided into two parts. Beowulf is described as a courtier in part 1 and Beowulf is described as a king in part2. This poem not only admires highly for heroic deeds but also expresses a feeling of helplessness of men against the power of nature. This point that human being is helpless against the power of nature is a tragic view of the world in all ancient English poems.
The hobbit is an example of a fantasy novel. This piece is a just heroic story of a charming character who does not know how good his abilities are. There are many fantastic factors.
For example, “just now he was enjoying the sport of town-baiting more than he had enjoyed anything tor years.”
Lord of the rings is fantasy novels and was written by Tolkien, J.R.R. This novel has been received high praise as a bible of fantasy novels since it was published.
References
Völuspá - The prediction of the prophetess (n.d.). In Nordic Magic Healing: runes, charms, incantations, and galdr. Retrieved June 17, 2012, from http://www.nordic-life.org/nmh/voluspa.htm
THE STORY OF THE VOLSUNGS (n.d.). In Online Medieval and Classical Library . Retrieved June 17, 2012, from http://omacl.org/Volsunga/chapter18.html
Modern Text - Chapter XXI (n.d.). In Beowulf in hypertext. Retrieved June 17, 2012, from http://www.humanities.mcmaster.ca/~beowulf/main.html
Hobbit, John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (2010, October 5). Retrieved June 17, 2012, from http://blog.naver.com/paranoid1914?Redirect=Log&logNo=50097299759