Here are the questions for weeks 1 - 3. Please use the comments section to post your answers. Do not make a new blog:
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 cite 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 cite 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).
Question 3 & 4
ReplyDeleteA central incident that happens in Voluspa, Volsunga Saga, Beowulf and the Hobbit is that there is a male heroin that defeats a monster, mainly a dragon. In Voluspa, Thor is the male heroin that defeats the monster which is referred to as a “Snake or Serpent”, ‘Far-famed Thor, the son of Earth, the son of Odin, goes forth to fight the Snake.’ In the Volsunga Saga, Sigurd is the male heroin and he slays the monster, which is referred to as a “Worm”, ‘So whenas the worm crept over the pits, Sigurd thrust his sword under his left shoulder’. In Beowulf, Beowulf is the male heroin that needs to slay the dragon, ‘His mind was in turmoil, unaccustomed anxiety and gloom confused his brain; the fire-dragon had raised the coastal region and reduced forts and earthworks to dust and ashes so the working planned and plotted his revenge’. In the Hobbit, Bard is the male heroin that defeats Smaug, the dragon, ‘Then Bard drew his bow-string to his ear. The dragon was circling back, flying low, and as he came the moon rose above the eastern shore and silvered his wings.’
Also in Beowulf and the Hobbit there is a lot of description of the emotions of the dragon for example in Beowulf, ‘When the dragon awoke, trouble flared again. He rippled down the rock, writhing with anger when he saw the footprints of the prowler who had stolen too close to his dreaming head.’ In the Hobbit when Smaug descends upon Esgaroth there is a description of Smaug’s emotions. ‘At the twanging of the bows and the shrilling of the trumpets the dragon’s wrath blazed its height, till he was blind and mad with it.’ However, in Voluspa and the Volsunga Saga there isn’t any emotional description of the dragon/monster.
In the Hobbit, Tolkien draws on the Old Norse story of Beowulf in the part of Beowulf where there is ‘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; it gained him nothing’. Someone steals from the dragon which makes the dragon, when he awakes very angry and wreaks havoc on the Geats nation. Tolkien draws on this part of the story where in the Hobbit, there is also a secret entrance into the mountain and as soon as Thorin and his group find the hidden keyhole. Bilbo enters the dragon’s lair and steals a golden cup. Smaug tries to attack Thorin and his group; however he is unable to reach them and therefore heads towards the nearby village of Esgaroth to destroy. Similarly, Tolkien could have also taken the character of Beowulf and formed the character of Bard. In the beginning of Beowulf, after a huge battle ‘the wide kingdom reverted to Beowulf.’ After Bard kills Smaug, which could also be seen as a huge battle, the survivors of the town praise Bard. They have reverted to Bard and as a result, wish to make him king.
This is a good answer and shows a knowledge of the texts. Please note the difference between a heroine and heroin!
ReplyDeleteThank you Mike. I'll definitely recheck my spelling before I post in the future :)
DeleteWhat are some possible features of residual (or “secondary”) orality preserved in Voluspa according to the criteria Ong (1982) advances?
ReplyDeleteVoluspa (the song of the Volva) comes out of a primarily oral culture as exemplified by the introduction; “Hear my words, you holy gods”. The beginning suggests that Voluspa originates from an oral liturgy of culture where mythology was preserved in an oral tradition, just like Maori culture where communication was almost verbal(oral) until well into contact period (poetic record of the past handed down by voice over generations).
In comparison to orality is textuality, an example of this is the Bible where it stated, “In the beginning was the word and the word was God” which gives the sense of written words which the monotheist religions are textually based on as they go back to the textual authority of the written document.
As Ong (1982) suggested oral tradition can exist with the absence of writing, however, writing can never survive without orality. “Hear my words…” “I’ll speak...” and “I remember…” exemplifies the stories found in oral cultures and that is orally transmitted traditions.
The line: “the oldest I can remember suggests that the Volva(prophetess) is narrating the story from memory. The audience listening to the Volva are encouraged to participate through memorization actively. The people who were listening to her have the responsibility to pass on this poem faithfully and rigorously for it to survive and be passed down through generations.
Another possible feature of residual orality is how oracular tone dominated all throughout the poem:
“Hear my words, you holy gods,
great man and humble sons of Heimdall
by Odin’s will, I’ll speak the ancient lore,
the oldest of all I remember.”
The rhythm of the language resembles an Oracle. The delivery of the poem is solemnly prophetic and enigmatic which makes the poem flow efficiently as it commands the audience’s attention.
Reference:
Māori Oral Tradition: He Kōrero nō te Ao Tawhito. (n.d.). Retrieved March 13, 2017, from http://www.press.auckland.ac.nz/en/browse-books/all-books/books-2017/maori-oral-tradition.html
Ong, W. (1982). Orality and Literacy. The orality of language, 5-15.
The Transition from Oral to Written Culture. (n.d.). Retrieved March 13, 2017, from http://www.historyofinformation.com/narrative/oral-to-written-culture.php
Hi Keren,
DeleteI really like your response to question 2. In your first paragraph I like how you made the similar connection with the Maori culture and the Voluspa oral liturgy of culture. Overall, I found your response very interesting and it actually made me learn and understand more about the Voluspa old norse poem.
1. What genres do the following texts belong to?
ReplyDelete6. What place do the old myths have in the modern world?
1. The genres the followings texts belong to are:
Voluspa – Old Norse Poem (Poetic Edda.)
Volsunga Saga – Saga
Beowulf – Epic Poem
The Hobbit – High Fantasy
Lord of the rings – Epic Fantasy
6.
Old myths in general still maintain their artistry and relevance in the modern world through the use of various media and entertainment. For example, major platforms of storytelling such as film, video games and novels often borrow traits and mythological inspiration from the ‘original’ myths.
An example of this is Bethesda Softwork’s bestselling video game: Skyrim.
Skyrim takes place in an immense, ‘cold’ landscape, reminiscent of ancient Norse worlds described in poems and stories. Similarities of Skyrim’s general storyline and Norse mythology is explained in an essay on https://ravingdoomsayer.wordpress.com, where the writer (2012) states that:
“The sequence where the Dragonborn must fight his way through the undead and dragons that Alduin sets to guard the entrance of Sovngarde are strongly reminiscent of the scene in the Saga of Beowulf…”
Also, another example of old myths carrying on to the modern age is shown by the History channel’s show: “Vikings.”
The show itself is based on Norse mythology and follows the story of Ragnar Lothbrok, who is depicted in Norse poems as a hero and a legendary figure. And as such, through the transcendence of recordings, another fraction of Norse mythology has made its way to the modern world.
“So: is Vikings historically accurate? Does it get that part of the history right? The answer is yes, more or less. The reason, according to medievalists, is that everything we know about Vikings comes from sagas–and sagas are histories passed down orally.” (John, 2016.)
References
The Links between the Dragonborn and Odin-An Essay (2012.) retrieved from: https://ravingdoomsayer.wordpress.com/2012/12/12/the-links-between-the-dragonborn-and-odin-an-essay/
How historically accurate is Vikings? A look at the facts behind the show (John, 2016.) retrieved from: http://starcasm.net/archives/341408
Hi David,
DeleteI agree with what you wrote about old myths relevance to contemporary society. If you look at the media and its narratives (whether it’s in film, TV shows or comics), we can see parallels of the Greek mythology in its narrative. Old myths such as Greek mythology like the gods Thor and Zeus are prevalent in Marvel films. The narratives of these old myths and narratives have been altered to suit mainstream media however the crux of these stories continues to persist.
The reason for its relevance might be because mythologies connect us to our history and our cultural heritage (it’s the foundation of culture). Another reason might be because old myths have lessons and these lessons still ring true to this day.
Hi Karen, don't mix your mythologies. Thor is from the Norse Myths, Zeus from the Greek.
DeleteHi David. Excellent, thoughtful answer. I think the function of myth to carry the history of a people has been overlooked.We enjoy these myths for the picture they present of these ancient cultures and their value systems.
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DeleteHi David,
DeleteI like your response to question 6 and your example of Skyrim. Personally, I haven't played the game but I have watched a few of my friends play it. When I first saw it, it actually reminded me of the Lord of the Rings/Hobbit (the middle earth vibe). I especially thought of the hobbit when the dragon attacks the city. I definitely agree that the game Skyrim was inspired by Norse mythology. Like Skyrim there are absolutely many games and movies that are inspired by old myths that are still being used today.
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