Tuesday, March 5, 2013
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).
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ReplyDeleteWhat genres do the following texts belong to?
ReplyDeleteVoluspa, Volsunga Saga, Beowulf, The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings.
Voluspa is Myth.
Volsunga Saga is legendary sag.
Beowulf is Epic Poem
The Hobbit is a fantasy novel / children's book.
Lord of the Rings is an epic high fantasy novel.
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DeleteWhat genres do the following texts belong to?
DeleteVoluspa is a mythological poem.
Voluspa is identified as a mythological poem, 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).
Volsunga Saga is a legendary saga.
Volsunga saga is identified as a legendary saga, as the following references to a “Many there be and wide apart; for some are of the kin of the Aesir, and some are of Elfin kin, and some there are who are daughters of Dvalin.” The legendary saga like Volsunga saga is carrying the mistress legend through the saga. It is very similar to the Beowulf, the story outlining the journey of a hero, the Odin, the journal.
Beowulf is an Epic Poem
Beowulf is identified as an epic poem, as the following references to a “anyone with gumption and a sharp mind will take the measure of two things…that you are a troop loyal to our king”(286-291) the way the coast- guard identifies the identity, which shows the centuries different from the society now. It is concentrating on the hero.
The Hobbit is a fantasy novel / children's book.
The Hobbit identified as a novel / children's book, as the following references to a “ carried away the pots of gold and buried them very secretly not far from the track by the river, putting a great many spells over them, just in case they ever had the chance to come back and recover them. (chpter2.p112). The hobbits have the “great spell”, as always the magic is always contained in a fantasy novel, which is most fascinating element of a great children’s fantasy book. The Hobbit also shares common genres with the Lord of the rings, together they manage to echo within the story line.
Lord of the Rings is an epic high fantasy novel.
Lord of the Rings is identified as an epic high fantasy novel, as the following references to a” One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them. In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.” The lord of the rings can be defined as a high fantasy novel; the novel was taken place in a world, that “the ring” is the highest power.
Reference
Heaney, S. (1999) (trans). Beowulf: a new translation. London: Penguin,
Morris, W. and Magnussun, E. (Trans.) (1888). The Story of the Volsungs (Volsunga Saga). London: Walter Scott Press
Tolkien, J.R.R. (1997; 1937). The Hobbit, London: HarperCollins (chpter2.p112
Tolkien, J.R.R. (1993;1954) The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, London, HarperCollins.
Terry, P. (trans). (1990, 1966). Poems of the Elder Edda. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press
What genres do the following texts belong to?
DeleteVoluspa is a mythological poem
Voluspa is identified as a mythological poem, 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) (The story of the Volsungs (Volsunga Saga), 1888).
The Volsunga Saga is a legendary saga
The Volsunga Saga is identified as a legendary saga. This is illustrated through the quote: “Many there be and wide apart; for some are of the kin of the Aesir, and some are of Elfin kin, and some there are who are daughters of Dvalin” (The story of the Volsungs (Volsunga Saga), 1888). Legendary sagas like the Volsunga saga carry the mistress legend through the saga. This is very similar to Beowulf (1999), the story outlining the journey of the hero of the same name.
Beowulf is an Epic Poem
Beowulf is identified as an epic poem, as illustrated in the reference to “anyone with gumption and a sharp mind will take the measure of two things…that you are a troop loyal to our king” (Beowulf, 1999, lines 286-291), which shows the way that the coast-guard identifies the group. This shows that the time in which the story is set is many centuries removed from modern society. The story concentrates on the hero.
The Hobbit is a fantasy novel/children's book
The hobbit, originally published in 1937, is identified as a novel/children's book, as illustrated in the description that some of the characters “carried away the pots of gold and buried them very secretly not far from the track by the river, putting a great many spells over them, just in case they ever had the chance to come back and recover them” (Tolkien, 1997, p.112). The hobbits have the “great spell” and, as always, the presence of magic makes this a fantasy novel, which is the most fascinating element of a great children’s fantasy book. The hobbit also shares common genres with The lord of the rings (Tolkien, 1993) and together they exist within the same storyline.
The Lord of the Rings is an epic high fantasy novel
The lord of the rings, originally published in three volumes in 1954 and 1955, is identified as an epic high fantasy novel, as illustrated by the quote ”One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them. In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie” (Tolkien, 1993, p?). The lord of the rings can be defined as a high fantasy novel; the novel takes place in a world in which the ring is the highest power.
References
Beowulf: A new translation. (1999). (S. Heaney, Trans). London, UK: Penguin.
The story of the Volsungs (Volsunga Saga). (1888). (W. Morris, & E. Magnussun, Trans.). London, UK: Walter Scott Press
Tolkien, J.R.R. (1997). The hobbit. London, UK: HarperCollins.
Tolkien, J.R.R. (1993). The lord of the rings: The two towers, London, UK: HarperCollins.
Voluspa is a mythological poem and tells the story of the creation of the world. It is one of the important sources in Norse mythology. Most of the Old Norse texts were created in Iceland and it consists of different beings, heroes, and medieval manuscripts. The genre of Voluspa is different to Volsunga Saga where it is a legendary saga. It is based on epic poetry and is about the tragedy of two families and heroism. Mythological poems are mainly about the Gods and from Voluspa it starts with the phrase “Hear my words, you holy gods,” and the poem leads on to the creation of the world with finding the places for the sun and the moon etc.. I personally enjoyed reading Voluspa more than Volsunga saga where saga was more difficult for me to understand.According to Davis (1870), the Volsunga Saga was composed from floating traditions and the songs which are lost in the twelfth century.
ReplyDeleteReferences
Davis, J. (1870). Volsunga Saga: The story of the Volsungs & Niblungs. London: Covent Garden.
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ReplyDelete4. How did Tolkien draw on the Old Nordic and Old English texts in his Hobbit and Lord of The Rings fantasy novels? Provide some concrete examples.
ReplyDeleteTolkien’s novels are heavily influenced by these old texts as they follow many stereotypes typically found within these poems and sagas. He uses many aspects from these to try to recreate the Old English creation myths that were lost over the years; I personally thought he did a fantastic job in these stories even if he was completely wrong about what the Old English texts contained. For all we know they could have believed that monkeys with laser guns descended from the heavens and created man.
An example of the reference to the Norse mythological is the character Gandalf. He has a lot in common with Odin (a major god in the Germanic deity hierarchy). They both are seen as father or mentor figure, they also share the same values they both favour justice and as well as gaining knowledge, truth and wisdom. Gandalf’s appearance is almost identical to that of Odin’s, the long beard, the grey robes and magic staff is a dead giveaway. In the old Nordic language Gandalf’s name means wand elf or magic elf. They also both have strong association with Wolves, Ravens and Eagles.
Also the reference to Elves in both LOTR and Hobbit mirror Elf creatures mentioned in Norse mythology. The Light and Dark Elves in Tolkien’s novels show the same characteristic traits the Norse Elves who are known as Valar or Valir.
A side note not relevant but still interesting is that Tolkien pulls influence from not only Norse mythology; Finnish, Slavic, Greek, Persian, Celtic and Welsh mythologies. Being a Roman Catholic Tolkien also added Christian influence. The death and resurrection of Gandalf shows this.
References.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._R._R._Tolkien's_influences#Nordic_Influences
Referring to your post, Tolkien's novels are heavily influenced from from the old texts and many of the materials are drawn from different poems and sagas. Having a mentor inside the story is important inside a Norse mythological story and Tolkien, also makes the character Gandalf as the mentor with a similarity to Odin.
DeleteBeorn's name is from the Old English and it is originally mean "warrior" or more generally "man". Tolkien uses this name for Beorn which suggests his human and ursine nature.
6. What place do the old myths have in the modern world?
ReplyDeleteMany of the myths and legends of ancient times that survived the test of time have caught the interest of modern day writers and media. We always see adaptions of these texts remade as movies or TV shows. What is it about these old poems, tales, sagas and legends that are so interesting and how could they possibly fit into modern entertainment successfully? While we know that these ancient stories may hold some truth among them, they are based in superstition which is how people in ancient times explained why things happened. In this blog I’ll try to shed some light on why people today are so fascinated by these old tales.
I asked Yahoo answers: “Why do people find ancient stories so interesting? (Beowulf, Hercules etc.)?” I received a few first-handed opinions on the topic. People said they find these old stories so great because of the things the heroes can do in the stories that people in reality can’t. They also said that people enjoy them simply for the way the stories are told and what happens in them.
Another reason why these stories never seem to fall out of favour is because movie directors and writers keep these stories relevant with “today” by constantly doing film adaptions following whatever was popular at the time. For example: the Greek mythological demi-god Hercules appeared in 19 Italian-made films from 1950 to 1960. There are also films made every 5-7 years about this one story. This is only one example of the colossal popularity of these ancient texts.
In conclusion, some people like to envision themselves in the place of Hercules or Beowulf, slaying the Dragon or beheading Medusa. Other people may just enjoy the story for what it is and how it has been portrayed. Film-makers have seen that these stories sell, so they keep pumping them out and keep them relevant to maintain the interest of the people of today. How accurate these films are according to the original texts is up for debate.
References:
Yahoo Answers -http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AjQ3q_8Kj5GMv.fGJsGZzt0azKIX;_ylv=3?qid=20130316185753AAtXyVj
Hercules -
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hercules_in_popular_culture#Filmography
I agree to JT's post that people enjoy the heroic tales where the film makers try to involve the 'today' atmosphere and makes it interesting and alive.
ReplyDeleteThere have been the evolution of oral culture from the earliest script dates from only 6000 years ago. The study of orality and literacy has become the various stages in the evolution from the oral culture and subsequent writing culture. This has been lead to the print culture that brings the readers to a new peak where the electronic culture builds on both writing and print. The readers nowadays are very literate that it can be difficult for people to conceive of an oral universe of communication. The electronic age is another way of secondary orality including orality of radio and television. The shift from orality and literacy to the electronic process engages economic, political and social reasons. According to Ong (1982), some non-oral communication is exceedingly rich and like people have heard it “one picture is worth a thousand words”. The oral tradition does not make it easy to conceive of accurate meanings whereas writing makes words alive and appear to the similar things we think about. Literacy is an absolute development of history, philosophy and literature of any art.
Ong, W. (1982). Orality and literacy: the technologizing of the word. London: Methuen.
Movies are the modern equivalent of one of the world’s oldest art forms, the oral epic. The stories from the ancient Greece and Mesopotamia, Egypt and India brings us to every corner of inhabited world like the movies and TV bring all the latest fact and fiction to us today. The traditional oral bard’s stories were traditional where the subjects included cosmic and the heroic origins of the world. They also included practical matters like how to navigate a ship or choose a wife (Sowa, 2001).
ReplyDeleteSowa, C.A. (2001). Retrieved from http://www.minervaclassics.com
The first and best known poem of a collection of Old Norse poems which is primarily preserved in the Icelandic mediaeval is Voluspa. the story is about the creation of the world and its ending relate with Odin. this is one of the most significant source for the study of Norse mythology. on the other hand Volsunga Saga is a legendary saga which contains mythology such as Odin from the myth, who appears several times to help the main character to enchant magic and powers. Beowulf is an old English heroic epic poem which is known as one of the most important works of Anglo Saxon literature. I think reading Beowulf would give feelings of reading a medieval fantasy noble. however the original script was badly damaged by a fire so the missing part was re-written by people by Christians. as a result in between the story reader can find many phrases that praise God and as it is an ancient version of noble it can be hard to read and understand compressed story.
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ReplyDeleteAccording to Jonatahan A. Glenn, some of the Old Norse and Old English’ factor are contain in Tolkien’s work, especially the epic poem “Beowulf”.(1991) The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings are both Tolkien’s work. He has drawn the old myth and old English in to these two novels .This two books are based on the same story event, which happened in an unknowing world that are different from reality.
DeleteWe all know the Beowulf is one of the very first Old English literatures. In To Translate a Hero: The Hobbit as Beowulf Retold, Jonathan A. Glenn state“ Tolkien’s faction and the Hobbit’s relationship with the Beowulf are not new”, he even suggests The Hobbit as a retold of the Beowulf. (1991). Many people believe Tolkien has expressed the Beowulf into a children’s novel, which is one of his famous children’s novel – The Hobbit. Not only the hero from The Hobbits -Bibo’s heretical journal are very much identical to the main character in the Beowulf, but the another leading character like “Beorn” in The Hobbit, this is not a normal human character, it have many similarities with the Grendel from the old English epic poem – Beowulf as well. Refer to other Norse poem the “Beorn” is seen as the God, in the hobbit is one of the great person with gifted nonhuman strategies. The transferable characters, the event, and even the story are transferable between them. The Lord of the Ring is a contamination story based on the Hobbit; they share many themes and other fundamental factors in common.
We have to admit Tolkien have great knowledge of the Old Norse, and old English literature, because he had successfully refined it into his own work.
Reference
Glenn, Jonathan A. (1991). "To Translate a Hero: The Hobbit as Beowulf Retold." PAPA 17: 13-34.
Heaney, S. (1999) (trans). Beowulf: a new translation. London:Penguin,
Tolkien, J.R.R. (1997; 1937). The Hobbit, London: HarperCollins
Tolkien, J.R.R. (1993;1954). The Lord of the Rings. London, HarperCollins
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.
DeleteGlenn (1991) states that some Old Norse and Old English factors are contained in Tolkien’s work, and are drawn from a number of early works, especially the epic poem Beowulf. The hobbit and The lord of the rings by Tolkien both contain elements drawn from old myths and old English. These two books are based on the same story event, which is set in an unknown world, with differs from reality in a number of ways.
Beowulf is one of the oldest existing examples of Old English literature. In To translate a hero: The hobbit as Beowulf retold, Glenn(1991) states that “Tolkien’s faction and the Hobbit’s relationship with the Beowulf are not new”.He even suggests that The hobbit is a retelling of Beowulf. Many people believe Tolkien has retold the Beowulf story in his children’s novel. Not only is the heretical journey undertaken by Bilbo, the hero from The hobbit, almost identical to that of the main character in Beowulf, but another leading character in The hobbit (Beorn) is not a normal human character, and has many similarities to the character Grendel in Beowulf. In reference to other Norse poems the character Beorn is seen as a God, and as a great person with gifted nonhuman abilities. The transferable characters, the event, and even the storyline, are transferable between these two pieces of literature. The lord of the rings is a contamination story based on the Hobbit; they share many themes and have other fundamental factors in common.
Tolkien shows that he had a great knowledge of old Norse and old English literature, because he successfully refined it into his own work.
References
Glenn, J. A. (1991). To translate a hero: The hobbit as Beowulf retold. Retrieved from http://faculty.uca.edu/jona/second/hobbeow.htm
Beowulf: A new translation. (1999). (S. Heaney, Trans). London, UK: Penguin.
Tolkien, J.R.R. (1997). The hobbit. London, UK: HarperCollins.
Tolkien, J.R.R. (1993). The lord of the rings: The two towers, London, UK: HarperCollins.
6.what place do the old myths have in the modern world?
ReplyDeletemost civilisations have their own myths and legends. and there are heroes that some people have desire to be one. people tend to be interested in the past, history as they getting older. so maybe that is why dramas, movies and books which contain mythological and historical background, are exposed and loved by many. For the past years I have seen many mythological and or historical dramas and movies such as Troy, Thor, 300 and a drama called 'Immortal Yi Sun-sin' (The most famous general throughout Korean history for 100% victory rate in spite of hugely outnumber during Japanese invasion in Jo-sun Dynasty (Old name of Korea)). Some myths are firstly transmitted by mouth then written later and some parts of myths and legends had missed or damaged. In my opinion the loop hole is the subject that can commercialise the myth in the market. in the modern society people are busy to take care of their lives so they forget about the importance of the mythologies and history. there is a Korean idiom 'On-go-ji-sin which means 'by reviewing the old learning new is possible'. Therefore we should carry the knowledge gained into new fields to maintain the mythologies and history.
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.
ReplyDeleteTolkien recreated a fantasy story, Lord of the ring(LOTR) and Hobbit with parts of Old Norse and Old English texts.
An object to be destroyed in LOTR had appeared in Volsunga Saga and it is called 'Advarinaut' which is a cursed ring exemplifies how Tolkein used the myths. if we focus on characters or races in Tolkein's work, there are elves and dwarves which seems to be taken from the Old Norse myth. I have read many fantasy nobles and within the stories there were always dragons, goblins, dwarves, elves, ents and so on and finally the theme is that a hero saves all. these ideas are commonly used. therefore it can be assumed that Tolkein had taken sources to create another imaginary world. however it would not have been so popular if viewers did not see the dissimilarities with the myths. a name of the land in the Old Norse myth is called 'Misgard' and the main land in LOTR and Hobbit is called Middle Earth. it was surprising because I thought that Tolkein created a new character 'Gollum' but in Beowulf, Grendel who is the main opponent and disturbs the main character to achieve a goal. those two characters lies in a parallel line. they were non human and had the same fate to death.
Reference:
Marcus, N., J. (2010). Myth, Religion and Literature in the Works of J R R Tolkien. Retrieved March 16, 2012 from http://nicki-j-markus.suite101.com/myth-religion-and-literature-in-the-works-of-j-r-r-tolkien-a320407
1. What genres do the following texts belong to?
ReplyDeleteVoluspa, Volsunga Saga, Beowulf, The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings.
Voluspa is a mythological poem.
Volsunga Saga is a legendary saga.
Beowulf is a Epic Poem.
The Hobbit is a fantasy novel / children's book.
Lord of the Rings is an epic high fantasy novel.
I personally enjoyed 'The Hobbit' and the 'Lord of the Rings' in my youth. All the fantasy and mystical creatures I imagined while reading those books was a lot of fun, and seeing them brought to life on the screen was even better, thanks to J R R Tolkien's extraordinary imagination, and Peter Jackson's amazing film making skills.
yea I personally think "The Hobbit" and the "Lord of the Rings" was a lot of fun and it was a huge success in the cinemas and also for the country too. We can find the differences where The Hobbit can be more suitable for children from the time where the adventure starts with Bibo begins being a hero.
Delete4. 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.
ReplyDeleteAlot of the ideas and contents that are in Tolkien's 'The Hobbit' and 'Lord of the Rings' are from the Old Norse and Old English. The swords, bow and arrows, armors, helmets, the kingdoms, wizards, elves, dwarves, orcs, dragons, are all ideas taken from the Old Norse and Old English. The idea of Gollum character is very similar to the Grendel character from 'Beowulf', a nasty mischieving character who is up to no good, and is there for the key purpose of disrupting the hero's quest. Also Gandalf is similar with Norse mythological character Odin, a major god in the Germanic deity hierarchy. They both are seen as the mentor figure, they also share the similar values and goals.
How does the film Beowulf and Grendel 'problematize' the hero-myth of Beowulf?
ReplyDeleteBoth of film encounter the battle with the vicious being that terrorizes the Danes. Grendel's characteristic portrays the unfriendliness and where it reveals how he became a terrible monster. People may believe that he is a lonely and a quite depressing character. He shows his feelings and emotions towards the memory of his father and also towards Selma where it was a surprise for some readers. The film problematize the myth of Beowulf by usurping Beowulf's status as a hero as well as the Danes due to the portrayal of Grendal. Beowulf was more in the background as a supporting role where it was different to Grendal. At the end of the film, it points our that it was Beowulf's duty to finish the suffering and the problems of the Danes by slaying and killing the Danish people. In the film, it links where the joining point meets when Beowulf tells Selma to hide her child in case the Danes might hunt him down.
References
Heaney, S. (1999). Beowulf: a new translation. London: Penguin, p 8.
6. What place do the old myths have in the modern world?
ReplyDeleteA lot of great media productions have all borrowed their ideas from old myths and legends. Without the old myths great films like 'Clash of the Titans', 'Troy', '300', 'Lord of the Rings'. There are also many other forms of the media that got to shine over the years thanks to the stories and characters from the old myths, for example video games, novels, comic books. According to G. S. Kirk there are many ways of interpreting the old myths, as a belief system, as disguised history, as disguised philosophy or allegory,