KTIP Pilot Project Lesson
Plan Format
Name:
Daniel Dunn Date: 12 09 2007
Age/Grade Level: Senior
#
of Students: 35 Subject: English Major Content: British Literature Lesson Length: 45 minutes, 4days for 2weeks
Unit
Title: An Introduction to Beowulf:
Language and Poetics
Goals
The goal of this lesson plan is to give
students an understanding of texts, of themselves, and of the cultures of Old
English. Students will also learn the poetics of Beowulf and gain a full understanding of the story.
Context
While Beowulf is generally considered the
earliest major work of English poetry, it is almost always taught in
translation and its verse form and poetic techniques are often unfamiliar. This
lesson provides an introduction to the language and poetics of the poem.
Although this lesson assumes students will read Beowulf in translation, it
introduces students to the poem’s original Old English and explains the
relationship between Old, Middle, and Modern English. The lesson then goes on
to introduce students to alliteration, alliterative verse, and kennings and
their importance to Beowulf.
Objectives
Students will
Connections
1 - Students
read a wide range of print and non print texts to build an understanding of
texts, of themselves, and of the cultures of the
2 - Students read a wide range of literature from many periods in
many genres to build an understanding of the many dimensions (e.g.,
philosophical, ethical, aesthetic) of human experience.
3 - Students apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend,
interpret, evaluate, and appreciate texts. They draw on their prior experience,
their interactions with other readers and writers, their knowledge of word
meaning and of other texts, their word identification strategies, and their
understanding of textual features (e.g., sound-letter correspondence, sentence
structure, context, graphics).
6 - Students apply knowledge of language structure, language
conventions (e.g., spelling and punctuation), media techniques, figurative
language, and genre to create, critique, and discuss print and nonprint texts.
9 - Students develop an understanding of and respect for diversity in
language use, patterns, and dialects across cultures, ethnic groups, geographic
regions, and social roles.
11 - Students participate as knowledgeable, reflective, creative, and
critical members of a variety of literacy communities.
12 - Students use spoken, written, and visual language to accomplish
their own purposes (e.g., for learning, enjoyment, persuasion, and the exchange
of information).
Resources, media, and technology
Resources
Web Resources
The Electronic Introduction to Old
English
http://www.wmich.edu/medieval/research/rawl/IOE/index.html
A complete
electronic version of a print textbook. An excellent resource for information
about Old English language and poetics or to learn Old English.
Beowulf: A Study Guide
http://web.utk.edu/~rliuzza/Beowulf/index.htm
Professor Liuzza’s
site is an excellent meta-page with links to many other Beowulf resources.
Liuzza also offers 20 questions for discussion.
Resources for the Study of Beowulf
http://www.library.unr.edu/subjects/guides/beowulf.html
Another excellent resource which is both an introduction to the poem and
a starting point for further research.
Procedures
Preparation
Instruction
and Activities
Session One: Introducing Old English
1. If desired, use the Literary Guide: Beowulf to introduce the poem.
The Overview outlines basic information about the poem.
2. Using the Quick Reference Sheet as a
guide, explain that English is divided into three periods.
3. Introduce students to the unfamiliar letters used
in the Old English alphabet. Use the Language section of the Literary Guide: Beowulf to discuss the five
characters in the Old English alphabet that are no longer used in Modern
English.
4. You may want to write the letters on the board
and/or show them the first page of Beowulf. In case they ask, the
manuscript dates to about 1000 CE and was damaged in a fire, which is why the
top and right hand side of the page are badly damaged. The entire Old English
alphabet is available in section 16.2 of The Electronic
Introduction to Old English.
5. If you would like to spend a few minutes
illustrating the changes between Old English and Modern English, write “Þæt wæs
god cyning.” on the board, explain to the class how to pronounce the various
sounds, and see if they can translate the sentence into Modern English. If you
want to provide an example of how Chaucer might write that sentence, you can
add “That wes good king,” “That wes goode king,” and/or “That wes god king” to
the board after the class has translated the Old English sentence.
6. If you would like the class to hear some of Beowulf
in the original Old English, pass out the Old English Beowulf Passage handout
and have the class go to http://www.engl.virginia.edu/OE/Beowulf.Readings/Beowulf.Readings.html.
While the students can listen to and see four Beowulf passages at this site,
the handout covers lines 1-11 of the prologue. Note: while now is a logical
time to listen to Beowulf read in Old English, your students may get more out
of listening to the poem if you introduce alliteration and alliterative verse
to them first (see below). You may also wish to distribute the Modern English Beowulf Passage
handout which provides a translation of the passage.
Session Two: The
Poetics of Beowulf
1. Using the Quick Reference Sheet as a
guide, explain alliteration. You may wish to begin illustrating alliteration by
using tongue-twisters as examples. The Excerpt from W. H. Auden’s poem “The
Age of Anxiety” and the Old English Beowulf Passage handout
can be used for further examples.
2. Once your students understand the concept of
alliteration, pass out the Excerpt from W. H. Auden’s poem “The
Age of Anxiety” if you have not done so already.
3. Show the example of alliteration in the Poetics
section of the Literary Guide: Beowulf.
4. Using the Quick Reference Sheet as a
guide and the Auden poem, explain the
basics of Old English alliterative verse. (Do not work through the whole Auden
poem if you wish the students to work on the assignment alone or in groups.)
5. Once your class seems to have an understanding of
alliterative verse, you may wish to turn to the Old English Beowulf Passage handout,
listen to the poem (see number 4 in the first session), and identify the
alliteration and meter of the first 16 lines of Beowulf.
6. Pass out the Modern English Beowulf Passage
handout if you have not done so already and/or show the example of
kenning and compounding in the Poetics section of the Literary Guide: Beowulf. Using the Quick Reference Sheet as a
guide, explain to your students the concepts of compounding and kenning. While
your particular translation may or may not include the compounds and kennings
of the poem, the Modern English Beowulf Passage
handout provides examples for you and your class to examine and
discuss. The compounds represented by the translation are “Spear-Danes,”
“mead-benches,” “hall-troops,” and “boy-child.” The one kenning in the passage
is “whale-road.” While some of these compounds also function as formulas (see Quick Reference Sheet),
they also have specific poetic functions. Ask your students to discuss the
poetic function of compounding and kennings in the passage.
Example: The Old English
for Spear-Danes is Gar-Dena. If you look at the Old English Beowulf Passage handout,
you will see that gar (spear) alliterates and that the alliterative meter needs
a G-word here. And, if you are familiar with the poem, you will know that Danes
are compounded with many words: Ring-Danes, East-Danes, North-Danes,
South-Danes, West-Danes, Bright-Danes. As this is the case, it would be simple
enough to suggest that the meter requires the use of gar in this compound for
metrical purposes, and, sometimes, this is the reason for the use of a
particular word or compounding. However, it is worth noting that this passage
is about the Dane’s conquests against their neighbors. It would seem then that
the use of gar (spear) in this formulaic compound was not only to meet the
needs of the alliterative meter, but also to foreground the Danes as an
aggressive tribe. Here in the first line of the poem we find meter, poetic
flourish, and theme all coming together in the poem’s first use of compounding.
7. Either as homework or in class, ask your students
to identify the stresses and alliteration in the Auden poem. You may also
ask them to do the same with the Old English Beowulf Passage handout.
If you ask them to work with the Old English passage, give them the URL for
audio files and suggest they listen to each section before marking the passage.
8. If your translation maintains compounding and
kennings, select some good passages and ask your students to identify the
compounds and kennings and explain their function.
Extensions
Assessment Plan
Session One
Session Two