Topic: The Old English Literature
Objectives : to inform Ps about the objectives of the course; to get Ps interested in reading in the original; to brush up some facts from the history of the United Kingdom using Ps’ background knowledge; to train Ps to do scanning and intensive reading.
Materials : cards with muddled names of writers; sheets of paper with the names of literary genres; the map of the Anglo – Saxon invasion; text for scanning; text for intensive reading.
Procedure
Warming up
writers and poets and their books. I’m sure a lot of the names of the English authors are well–
known to you. Let’s split into groups of four and try to unscramble some of the names which are
muddled. When the name is unscrambled, a representative of the group should write it on the
blackboard. / Ps are given packs of cards with the letters : William Shakespeare, Arthur Conan
Doyle, Charles Dickens, Joan Rowling /
Feedback on brainstorming
/ When Ps are ready the teacher elicits their answers and writes them down on the blackboard /
Choosing activity
Scanning of the text
About 2000 years ago the British Isles were inhabited by the Celts. These tribes came from the continental Europe. The Romans who conquered Great Britain in A. D. 43 called these people Britons and the island – Britannia. The Roman period of British history lasted 465 years. The Romans built many roads, ports, towns. They brought the skills of reading and writing to the country. Then towards the end of the 4th century Europe was invaded by barbaric tribes. The Romans had to leave Britain because they were needed to defend their own country. Very soon the sea-robbers came sailing in ships from the continent. They were Anglo-Saxon tribes from Germany and Denmark . At the beginning of the 5th century they invaded a great part of Great Britain and England got its name from this invasion ( Angle – lands ). In the 8th century the Vikings arrived from Denmark and Norway. They killed and robbed the population of the towns and villages. Gradually they began settling in Britain. Small Anglo – Saxon kingdoms could not defeat them . In the 9th century they decided to unite their forces in the struggle against the Vikings . Egbert, the king of Wessex, one of the stronger Anglo – Saxon kingdoms, united several neighbouring kingdoms founding the united kingdom of England. In the 11th century the Normans came to Great Britain from the north of France. The great battle between the English and the Normans took place near the town of Hastings in October 1066. William, the son of the Duke of Normandy , headed the Normans who won the battle. After the battle William was called the Conqueror and became King of England.
Possible responses based on the material covered during the previous year :
Reading and post-reading activities
Read the text and find the answers to the following questions:
II Find in the text the main characteristics of epic poetry and the values of the British society in the 4th century, write them down into your copy-book.
Text
Anglo – Saxon Literature
Life in the early Middle Ages was dominated by violence and bloody conflicts. In frequent battles, warriors were very loyal to their leaders. Their only form of entertainment consisted of gatherings in mead- halls, large structures where warriors feasted, drank mead ( an alcoholic drink made from honey ), and listened to storytellers about adventures of heroes.
Since few people read or wrote, literature was passed on orally. There were professional singers called scops ( ‘’bards’’ ) who told stories, usually in poetry form. Those tales were often accompanied by music. The scops sang about wonderful battles and brave warriors. Those songs were handed down to children and grandchildren, and finally reached the times when some people who had learned to write decided to put them down. The stories illustrated the values of the people of that time: great loyalty to kings, obedience to tribal laws, and admiration for strength and cleverness in battle.
‘’Beowulf” is an example of such a tale. It is often called the foundation stone of all British poetry. The poem was composed by an unknown author. Many parts were added to it later. Around A.D.1000 the poem was recorded by two unknown Anglo – Saxon monks about five hundred years after it was originally told. The manuscript can be seen in the British Museum in London but it is impossible for a non- specialist to read it in the original.
“Beowulf” is an epic. An epic is a long poem that tells about the adventures of a hero. There are four main characteristics of epic poetry:
” Beowulf” tells of times long before the Angles and Saxons came to Britain. There is no mention of England in it. The action takes place in what is now Sweden and Denmark. Little information is available about the historical accuracy of the events described in the poem. Historians have discovered that a real King Higlac, Beowulf’s king and uncle in the poem, fought another medieval clan about A. D. 520 .Whether Beowulf himself actually existed is uncertain, however.
Consolidation
Name the main characteristics of the epic poem.
Summing up and home assignment
Read the text about the plot of ” Beowulf”. Speak about the events described in the text as if you are
Group 1 –one of Hrothgar’s warriors. Describe your king and the palace he has built for you;
Group2 –one of Hrothgar’s warriors. Describe that horrible night when Grendel attacked your palace;
Group 3 – one of Beowulf’s warriors. You saw how Beowulf fought the Water Witch. Describe their fight.
/ the class is divided into three groups and they are given separate tasks/
Beowulf
The plot of the epic
Long, long ago there lived a king of the Danes whose name was Hrothgar. He was brave, just and kind, and the people of Denmark loved him. Together with his warriors he had won many battles and got great wealth.
Once he decided to build a large palace where he could entertain himself and his warriors after great battles. So he built a wonderful gold-roofed mead-hall. It was decorated with antlers of stags (deer) that’s why it was called Heorot (Stag-hall).In this mead-hall Hrothgar presented costly gifts to his warriors , then they feasted, drank mead and listened to scops. Those professional singers and poets sang of wonderful battles and brave heroes. Their tales were accompanied by harp. So Hrothgar’s men lived happily in his hall.
Not far from the mead-hall there was a large lake where a fierce sea –monster Grendel lived. He looked like a man but was much bigger, and his whole body was covered with long hair, so thick and tough that no weapon could harm him. As day after day the music rang loud in that mead-hall, Grendel got madly envious of festive noise and decided to destroy Heorot.
One night when darkness had dropped, the sea-monster went up to Herot, wondering what the warriors would do in the hall when their drinking was done. He found them fast asleep. So Grendel slipped through the door and there snatched up thirty men, smashed them and ran out with their bodies , the blood dripping behind him. The next night the monster appeared again. The men defended themselves bravely, but their swords could not even hurt the monster.
From that time no one dared to come to Heorot. The hall stood empty and deserted for twelve years.
The story of Grendel’s twelve years of terror had spread throughout the other clans. Beowulf, a young hero of the Geats, received permission from his king Higlac, to sail with fourteen warriors to offer their help to the Danes.
When they got off the ship, they saw a horseman who was one of King Hrothgar’s warriors. He took Beowulf and his friends to Hrothgar’s palace. The king had heard of Beowulf’s strength and heroic deeds, so he gladly welcomed the famous warrior. Late at night Beowulf sent all the men to bed, while he himself remained awake waiting for the monster. As Beowulf knew that no weapon could kill Grendel, he decided to fight bare-handed.
Suddenly the monster broke into the hall. He snatched one of Beowulf’s warriors, cut his body with his jaws and drank the blood from his veins. Then he approached Beowulf. A desperate fight began. Heorot trembled, its benches rattled and fell to the floor. Grendel understood that he had never met with such strength. Beowulf managed to tear off the monster’s arm, and the monster retreated to his den to die. In the morning Beowulf hung Grendel’s arm and shoulder in the hall.
The next night Grendel’s mother , a water-witch, came to Heorot to revenge her son’s death. She was wild with grief and anger. While Beowulf was asleep, she snatched one of Hrothgar’s favourite warriors. Beowulf decided to fight the water-witch. He jumped into the lake and found the water-witch in her den beside the dead body of her son. A desperate fight began. Beowulf’s sword had no power against the monster. Fortunately he saw a huge magic sword hanging on the wall. Beowulf seized it and killed the witch. Then he cut off the heads of Grendel and his mother and carried them to the surface as a proof of his victory.
The crowd loudly expressed their admiration for the hero. Hrothgar poured treasures into Beowulf’s hands. When Beowulf came back home, he gave all the treasures to Higelac and the people. Beowulf was admired and honoured by everybody. After the death of King Higelac, Beowulf became king of the Geats. For fifty years he ruled his country wisely until one day a great disaster came to the happy land: every night there appeared a fire-breathing dragon who came and destroyed the villages and the crops. Remembering his glorious youth, Beowulf decided to fight the dragon and save his people. In a fierce battle the dragon was killed, but his flames burnt Beowulf, and he died of his wounds.