Beowulf

Beowulf Audio Book

Line assignments for Beowulf

Beowulf Podcast Assignment: English 10

This project is a collaborative endeavor involving the entire 10th grade class. You will be responsible for recording and translating ten lines from the epic poem.

There are two components: 1. Record your lines in Garageband. Save your podcast as: Beowulf Lines X-Y (First Name Last Name)

Excellent example of a clear and accurate reading: click here

2. Paraphrase your Beowulf lines. Write your lines the way you would say them (using current vernacular) without sacrificing the meaning or organization of the original piece - provide a line by line paraphrase -do not summarize write in the third person, past tense, except in quotes -only use “I” when the original text uses it -do not turn “Beowulf ran” into “I ran." Save your translation as a word document titled: Translation Lines X-Y (First Name Last Name)

Post both your recording and paraphrase on your Beowulf wiki page - located on the class page. Block D Semester 1 Block G Semester 1

Beowulf Grading Sheet:

Podcast _ / 15 Clear enunciation and correct pronunciation 1 2 3 4 5 Variations in rate, volume, tone, and voice inflection designed to impact the purpose and message 1 2 3 4 5 Fluent delivery 1 2 3 4 5

Paraphrase _ / 15 Fresh, colorful, precise language that makes a strong and purposeful impact 1 2 3 4 5 Impressive figurative or creative language that evokes clear images 1 2 3 4 5 Correct grammar and usage 1 2 3 4 5

A very brief history of the English language...

[|Map of Europe]
 * English has over 500,000 words
 * numerous sources
 * a result of historical change
 * Indo-European is the original source
 * dating from 5,000 BC
 * from India to Ireland
 * the Celtic people brought a variety of Indo-European to the British Isles
 * Celtic spoken until the 5th century AD
 * displaced by the Anglo-Saxon invaders
 * Anglo-Saxons and Old English
 * spoke a Germanic dialect (also from Indo-European) that is the original source of the English language
 * this is what we call Old English
 * spoken 8th - 12th century
 * slightly different alphabet - guttural sound
 * many English nouns (stone, word, gift, foot) come from Old English
 * the pronoun 'he' and the preposition 'under' come from Old English without any change in spelling
 * Dutch and German also have their origins in what we call Old English
 * Norman invasion - 1066 (moving away from Old English)
 * William the Conqueror from Normandy (northern France)
 * Norman French becomes the language of government and literature
 * many French words are borrowed into English (authority, mayor, crime, army, guard)
 * the French influence did not replace English, but it did cause the shift from Old English to Middle English
 * Middle English
 * the most famous example is Geoffrey Chaucer's //Canterbury Tales//
 * much closer to modern English (see example on handout)
 * Early Modern English
 * the sound and spelling continued to change into the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries - the period of the Renaissance in Europe
 * renewed interest in ancient Greek and Latin art, learning, and literature
 * the English language absorbed many words from Greek and Latin words - 'democracy' and 'physics' for example
 * the plays of William Shakespeare are written in Early Modern English as is the King James Bible
 * Modern English
 * exists in numerous varieties around the world today
 * What varieties of English do you speak?
 * universities are interested in Standard Academic English (American, British, etc.)

Anglo-Saxon Mini Research Project

One of the literary devices popular in the Anglo-Saxon Old English poetry tradition is the kenning. It is a literary device in which a noun is renamed in a creative way using a compound word or union of two separate words to combine ideas; it's like a metaphor.

Examples of kennings:
 * His //war-net// woven by cunning of smith.
 * They lay on the //sea-bench// slain with the sword.
 * The //hell-thane// shrieking in sore defeat.
 * Were the hardened nails, the heathen's //hand-spurs//...
 * But the bold one had found that the //battle-flasher// would bite no longer.
 * As the //candle of heaven// shines clear from the sky.
 * The //foamy necked plunger// plowed through the billows...

Can you identify the noun to which each kenning is referring?