Medieval Alehouse Ballads

Here are some links:

Lord Randall

The Three Ravens

Get Up and Bar the Door

Read these too!

More exciting info to come.

This Is Epic

In the four scenes from Beowulf that you are reading, you should observe all the characteristics and qualities of an epic hero. Beowulf, you should notice, is favored by God. He is proud and boastful. Often times, his most valuable weapons are his bare hands, and when he does need a weapon, God provides it for him in a miraculous fashion. He acts for causes greater than himself. And he is a leader of men. Pay close attention as you read to selection of detail. What do the details describing Beowulf's life, deeds, and death suggest and symbolize? Why should we still admire him today? Is he Superman? Or Luke? Or Harry Potter (gag me)? Could it be that simple? (See quote at top of page haha.)

This week, you will be taking reading checks on all of the material from the unit. Make sure you've read carefully. Make sure you've read the elegiac poems, Bede's excerpt from his An Ecclesiastical History of the English People, and the A-S riddles. And always review your notes and pay close attention to your syllabus. We're doing a fairly good job of staying on schedule so far. If I can just keep up with the grading, we're gonna be alright if you READ, READ, READ. I expect some good grades and epic class discussions.

In housekeeping news, I've begun to grade the essays and plan to have them back to you, scored, at your next class meeting. I've put them on top of the grading stack so you can get immediate feedback on your writing. We will spend some time looking at a few sample essays--the good, the bad, and the ugly--between now and the next scheduled timed writing/close reading activity. Let me know if you'd be willing to type up your essay and email it to me when you get it back. I've been known to give some "incentive points" for your effort. Your anonymity will always be protected if I use your essay.

Also, hope you've enjoyed working on your college application essays. As I said, you can get individual feedback on those by appointment during 1st block, 2nd lunch, and sometimes (maybe) after school. Easy grade, so don't miss the dern deadline!

I love Sundays. Takin' son Rome and dog Chipper Jones fishin' on the boat with Hunter, Hayden, and some other members of the new, Central High fishing team! Gonna teach 'dem boys a few things about wettin' a line. (And hopefully learn a few things too!)

Hey, and how bout a few comments?! It's lonely in here all by myself. You guys can use the comment button to ask me (and even better each other) questions about the reading, to give your own commentary and analysis, to get clarification on assignments, or just to talk a little "smack." Take more ownership of the class people! I will listen to your suggestions and concerns and work that stuff into my lessons. Like any good A-S bard, I take requests :-). Speaking of that remind me sometime to spin ya a li'l yarn 'bout the time I was loaded for bear.

Literary Analysis

• What is the author doing or saying, literally?
• How is the author doing or saying it, stylistically?
• So what? What universal truths are conveyed?

That's Wyrd

I did a little research on the Old English, Anglo-Saxon concept of the wyrd. Simply put, it is most easily defined as a notion of "personal destiny" or fate. The word wyrd derives specifically from an old Germanic word and has cognates in ancient languages spanning from regions all across Europe, Central Asia, and all the way to northern India that date back to the Copper Age in the 5th and 4th millennia BC (5000-4000 BC). So this notion of a personal destiny runs deep in the blood and spirit of humanity.

What fascinates me the most, in the context of this course, is the collision between Christianity and personal fate on the British Isles during the Roman Empire. In the literature that you are reading right now, you can see how the monks embraced the notion of fate. After all, they would already have had both unconscious/subconscious and intellectual/academic exposure to the notion. But from what I can tell in my own reading, they saw it as the best avenue into the spiritual concerns of the "natives" of the lands that they conquered. As I said in class, in a world where it was highly likely on any given day that a child could die of sudden illness or a warrior could die in hand to hand combat, this notion of fate was just a matter of fact. Weather very directly affected survivability on a month to month basis. There were constant local battles for resources and security. Nothing was a given. Everything was hard. So if it was your time, it was your time. I don't mean to suggest that people only associate fate with death. It's just one of the most prominent associations that people make.

It seems that when the Roman Empire monks, who came from a much more "civilized" and secure place, picked up on the Anglo-Saxon locals' aforementioned spiritual, practical (and understandable) reliance on the concept of wyrd"ness" they ran with it, and the rest is history. Since then, as far as I can tell from both historical research and personal observation, the concepts of "personal destiny" and the God of Christianity have melted together more and more--to the point that we can observe it in popular American culture ranging from soap operas to politics (and yes that was a clever joke and yes it is sad). As I mentioned in class, I have a hard time accepting that some things are just meant to be--especially when they come from "religious" angles. Was 9/11 unavoidable? Was it predestined by God? That's not for me to answer for you, but I don't mind admitting that I have a hard time accepting it. Did God "kill" my mom with breast cancer when she was in her 40's? Was that divine fate? Maybe so. But I'd rather think of the fate end of it in more modern, scientific terms. She had genes that were more prone to cancer than other, healthier women. Yeah, God may have created those genes. Once again, it's not for me to say in this setting. But I don't mind saying that I don't think God gave her those genes In The Beginning. It just happened. My mom fought a valiant battle against a deadly disease, she contributed to research that has helped many women since survive breast cancer, but in the end, she "ran into a sword." If she'd have lived 5 years longer, they probably would have saved her. It was just wyrd, man. Those firefighters that heroically ran into those buildings trying to save lives and died--that was their personal destiny, and we will always venerate them for it. That's all I know to say.

I hope you will think about these types of things all year long on a deeper level than you have in the past. It's never my intention to "change" your belief system. But I do want you to question it so that it will grow stronger and more sound. This is why we read literature.

See you in class.

Interim Week

This week, we'll get into discussion of the excerpts in your packets. Make sure you've read all of the packets, completed the study guides, and reviewed your notes from class. Ya'll need some good grades this week--interim week.

Two most prominent literary forms of the period:

1) Elegiac poetry

2) Heroic epic poetry

Counselors and Homework

The counselors have changed their scheduled visit to Senior English classrooms from Wednesday and Thursday to Tuesday and Wednesday of next week. That doesn't change much for you, except to say that you should be taking advantage of all of this down time to get ahead on your reading for the Anglo-Saxon Emergent Period unit.

Have a safe and fun holiday. See you Tuesday.

Confusion Abounds

Thursday, September 1st was a day to forget. A strange sequence of events, starting at about midnight this morning when my son woke me up sick with a 104 degree temperature, led to confusion and dismay--especially concerning upcoming reading assignments.

I was able to get the big "Anglo-Saxon Emergent Period packets" to most of my students, but a few came by after school, and I had run out again. As a result, there will be no reading check Friday, the 2nd (A), or Tuesday, the 6th (B). I will begin class with an introduction of the literary period, the historical background information, and the stylistic techniques of the time.

We'll all get on the same page as far as the reading goes at that time. No matter what happens, no matter how crazy it gets, always defer to the syllabus when you get confused. If the syllabus says do it, then do it. Tomorrow will be better.

Please read below for some helpful research tips! And thank your classmate Taylor Robinson for the information!

HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!! How to find good articles for the annotated bibliography assignment.

Thanks to Taylor Robinson for the following helpful post!

You will need your library card!

Go to cals.org

Click Research and References A to Z.

Click on "Academic Search Elite."

Click on "Choose Databases" when the search engine comes up.

Check the boxes for: MasterFile premium, ERIC, and eBook Collection.

Type "The Dickensian A Tale of Two Cities" into the Search Engine.

Repeat these steps with each of the different sources.

The Main Library says on the website that they have copies of Victorian Studies, Nineteenth-Century Literature, and PMLA. The library has currently misplaced Victorian Studies though.

Most of the articles are available in full text to print off of the Ebscohost Database.

Good luck!
Taylor Robinson