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 site 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).
Week 2 Question (Question 7: How does the film Beowulf and Grendel "problematize" the hero-myth of Beowulf?) - By Vikram Wagh
ReplyDeleteBeowulf and Grendel is true along the lines of the hero’s encounter and battle with the vicious being that terrorises the Danes. However it appears to portray the antagonistic Grendel as a character which is felt for with sympathy, revealing how he became a terrible monster.
I feel this is so because
1. Grendel’s savage nature is mellowed by his human-like appearance which itself endears him to the viewer
2. Grendel is shown not to fight anyone who has not committed any wrongdoings against him as is mentioned by the character Selma to Beowulf in the film. This shows that he has some sense of fairness or decency
3. Grendel also displays emotions and feelings of affection and even love towards the memory of his father and also towards Selma who he encounters at her home and displays affection towards her which she surprisingly reciprocates despite being seemingly weary of him at first
4. Grendel displays feelings of loss and anguish as well as anger when thinking about his father who he lost to the Danes. This shows that he has a heart.
The film ‘problematizes’ the hero-myth of Beowulf by usurping Beowulf’s status as a hero among his people as well as the Danes due to the portrayal of Grendel. It makes it seem as if Beowulf was ‘in the background’ as a ‘supporting character’ and it was unfair or villainous for the hero to hunt down and kill a tortured being like Grendel who did what he did because he was haunted by the loss of his father. Beowulf references this following his victorious but tragic battle against the dragon; 'I would rather not use a weapon if I knew another way to grapple with the dragon and make good my boast as I did against Grendel in days gone by….’ (Heaney. S: Beowulf: A new Translation)
This adds to the agony of Grendel’s mother who is also slain by Beowulf upon the death of her mate and son and it puts strain on Selma (In the film) who is shown to maintain a soft side and feelings for Grendel despite his nature. Her actions show that she is not interested in him coming to any harm.
However the film also points out that it was Beowulf’s duty to end the suffering and problems of the Danes by slaying a being that was responsible for the indiscriminate wreaking of havoc and killing of the Danish people. Both sides in the film meet their joining points by the end when Beowulf orders Selma to hide her child which Grendel sired from her in case the Danes hunt him down the way they did Grendel’s father.
References
Heaney, S. (Trans). (1999). Beowulf: a new translation. London: Penguin, p 8
1. What genres do the following texts belong to?
ReplyDeleteVoluspa, Volsunga Saga, Beowulf, The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings.
Give some examples from these texts that support your identification.
I believe that Voluspa is an example of a mythological poem, since it features the exploits of gods, some of them include: “Then the gods met to give judgment/ you holy gods took counsel together(l.22 & 23)”
As for Beowulf, which features heros instead, seems to be a type of epic prose. The mention of heros are as follows: “It threw the hero into deep anguish and darkened his mood’(l.)”
While Volsunga saga, is also an example of the genre, epic prose. Similar to Beowulf, this prose outlines journeys of heroes, which can be seen through: “Sigurd answered and said, ʺFew may have victory by means of that same countenance of terror, for whoso comes amongst many shall one day find that no one man is by so far the mightiest of all.ʺ(l.)” This shows how the hero ‘Sigurd’ declares that to rule by fear does not make that person powerful.
The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings both share a similar genre in common, which is fantasy novel, although there is a stark difference, with The Hobbit fitting into a children fantasy novel while Lord of the Rings coming under high fantasy novel. Both have the same features of interiority, which can be seen first in The Hobbit by: shows the main character’s (Bilbo Biggins) interiority and how he overcomes his character flaws to become a hero. While on the lord of the rings, the stage which is set is quite different, with the world of the elves being ventured into, a place hidden for centuries from man, giving an almost out worldly experience.
Heaney, S. (Trans). (1999) (Trans). Beowulf: a new translation. London: Penguin
Morris, W. & Magnussun, E. (Trans.). (1888). The Story of the Volsungs (Volsunga Saga). London: Walter Scott Press
Terry, P. (Trans). (1990, 1966). Poems of the Elder Edda. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press
Tolkien, J.R.R. (1997; 1937).The Hobbit, London: HarperCollins
Tolkien, J.R.R. (1993;1954).The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. London, HarperCollins
One aspect of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings apart from the fact that they are fantasy Novels if I may add Farish, is that both have connections to each other with the three The Lord of the Rings books coming after The Hobbit. The notion that The Hobbit is seen as a children's fantasy novel appears to be so given the fact that it introduces the people that are known as Hobbits, reminiscent of Dwarves and the central character happens to be a Hobbit although the Hobbits themselves are a separate race from real Dwarves who are also present in the Novel. The story follows Bilbo Baggins’ journey along with the Wizard Gandalf as they travel from the small village of Hobbiton in the land of Middle-Earth through wild forests, goblin infested territory and a dragon-inhabited mountain which hides a treasure, the destination of most of the Hobbits in the story for they wish to retrieve that treasure but to do so they have to join alliances with their relatives, the dwarves and the Men of Middle-Earth and defeat the treasure-guarding dragon who is known as Smaug as well to retrieve what the legendary beast holds.
ReplyDeleteWhile The Hobbit stands as a single story, the next chapter, The Lord of the Rings which focuses on his nephew Frodo is told through a series of three Novels, The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers and The Return of the King. It shows Frodo’s involvement with the One Ring and his participation with those who defend it from a new evil in the form of Saruman and Sauron. To familiarise the plot further, the stories continue to retain characters like Gandalf and the sinister/corrupt Hobbit known as Gollum. In a few aspects The Lord of the Rings can also be considered a children’s Novel because of the same world, Middle-Earth and new characters that fit into its atmosphere even though as mentioned before, some of the characters featured in The Hobbit like Bilbo himself also appear to keep the story in-check and make the reader keep wondering what happens at the end of every tale even though Frodo’s story begins with The Fellowship of the Ring and ends with The Return of the King. Throughout the stories, much like his Uncle before him, Frodo also overcomes his character flaws to become a hero along with the company of Gandalf and his allies, Sam, Merry, Pippin, Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, Ararogn and Boromir who like him are additionally seen as the stories' leading heroes in the battle to seal the fate of the One Ring
Hi Wickram, I think you point out a good idea, which is a literature could be classified under different genres. As you mentioned that The Lord of the Rings is also a children novel which I agree. I think Beowulf also has some fantasy features; look at its writing style, we may have to catch its the most apparent literature feature to describe which genre it belongs to. I guess.
DeleteWeek 1,
ReplyDeleteWhat 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.
Voluspa, is the mythological poem. In this poem, the context widely explores the gods and the nine worlds. For example, “I know how nine roots form nine worlds under the earth where the ash tree rise”. It clearly mentioned the gods’ world and the iconic ash tree. Furthermore, the name of the gods appears for several times such as Odin and Bur. Voluspa also pictures how the world formed, for example, ”then Bur’s sons lifted up the land… the sun shone out of the south …..” These descriptions show its typical mythology features. Similarly, Volusupa saga as an epic prose, also give a description of the chaos, the formation of the wold, and the creation of the animals monsters.
Beowulf is an epic poem, which is cantered on a heroic figure Beowulf who is a legendry of his nation, because he defeated monsters and protected people.
The Hobbit is a children fantasy novel. The story is set in hobbit’s world; Bilbo Baggins and other dwarf’s adventures which involved dragon, wizard and Goblin are full of magic and fantasy.it becomes a very popular fantasy writhen for children.
After this novel, The Lord of the Rings as a high fantasy writing brings fantasy genre a remarkable status. For example, the story is set in a fictional world, which is completely separated from our world. There are many magic and fantastical creatures exist in this world. The most distinction feature is this world’s rules are not as same as ours.
Heaney, S. (Trans). (1999) (Trans). Beowulf: a new translation. London: Penguin
1. What genres do the following texts belong to?
ReplyDeleteVoluspa, Volsunga Saga, Beowulf, The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings.
Give some examples from these texts that support your identification.
Volusapa, is a genre which belongs to mythological poems, since it mentions unrealistic world and hell and heaven, “men find their way to Hel/ the sky splits open.”, “The sun turns black/ the earth sink l below the sea/ no bright star now/ shines from the heaven.” These descriptions clearly show to us about the mythology features.
Volusunga saga is as an epic prose for genre. According to “Said answered,’ Unknown to men is my kin, I am called a noble beast; (2)neither father have I nor mother, and all alone have I fared hither.’”
Beowulf is standing for hero image which can be considered as epic poems. It is similar to Volusunga saga because they both describe hero stories. Beowulf is a legend who is being a synonym of hero, it’s seen from “Now I am old, but as king of the people I shall pursue this fight for the glory of winning.”
The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings are both belong to fantasy novel, however, they do have a difference, while The Hobbit is more suitable for children, it’s like tale, The Lord of Rings is going be classified as high fantasy novel. The Hobbit is set up as a dwarf’s world which is an adventure for Bibo Biggins being a hero. The Lord of the Ring is more about magic world that is totally out of the real world. It’s about a place where people have super-power; it gives quite different imagination from normal fantasy although there are more fictions around like it.
Heaney, S. (Trans). (1999) (Trans). Beowulf: a new translation. London: Penguin
Morris, W. & Magnussun, E. (Trans.). (1888). The Story of the Volsungs (Volsunga Saga). London: Walter Scott Press
Terry, P. (Trans). (1990, 1966). Poems of the Elder Edda. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press
Tolkien, J.R.R. (1997; 1937).The Hobbit, London: HarperCollins
Tolkien, J.R.R. (1993;1954).The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. London, HarperCollins
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.
ReplyDeleteOne example of how Tolkien drew from Old Norse texts such as Beowulf to both Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit would have to be Gollum, a character symbolized as less than a human, the same is said to be for Grendel, in Beowulf. While in Lord of the Rings, Gollum was observed as deserving to die, unlike the Beowulfen hero, Tolkien instead ensures that Frodo does not become an enforcer of justice against all wrong. Although their fates are very different with Grendel, being killed by Beowulf while Gollum determines his own future, by jumping into a volcano in an attempt to save what he desires the most, the ring. The parallel between both of them would be, Gollum is represented as more of a modern, while Grendel more of an ancient monster.
There also has been parallels between Tolkien’s works with another Norse text, Hrólfssaga Kraka, a poem where the character ‘Beorn’ had been taken, with some of his characteristics as well. While Beorn is seen as a hero on the Norse poem, on the Hobbit he is instead seen as a very great person.
Glenn, Jonathan A. (1991). "To Translate a Hero: The Hobbit as Beowulf Retold." PAPA 17: 13-34.
Heaney, S. (1999) (trans). Beowulf: a new translation. London:
Penguin,
Tolkien, J.R.R. (1997; 1937). The Hobbit, London:
HarperCollins
Tolkien, J.R.R. (1993;1954). The Lord of the Rings. London, HarperCollins
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).
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, the following four texts seem to desire very different things. As for Beowulf and Grendel, I would have to say that the desire from the text was that readers were given the option whether to like or dislike Grendel, he was made out to be a little boy in the beginning and later on villanised for his actions, but in the end when Beowulf, realizes the truth, he too regrets his actions and allows Grendel’s son to roam free, yet acknowledging Grendel as another person rather than as a monster. While on the Volsunga text, it seems to desire showing the audience a scene of a prophetess recounting the prophecy as to what will happen on the final day on earth before it is destroyed. There is also the whole underlying aspect of masculinity as well as the degradation of females, with the whole concept of the witch whom is sexually exploited by many men and yet no one really does anything about this. As was the case with many old tales, there was a deep infatuation with the concept of a hero, being a man, whom would go on long travels, drink a lot, make love to the local women and slay monsters without a second thought.
Heaney, S. (Trans). (1999). Beowulf: a new translation. London: Penguin, p 8
Hill, M, J. On the aesthetics of Beowulf and other Old English poems. Canada, University of Toronto
Press.
Looking at your point about women being degraded in these tales, I would to take a another viewpoint and state that women would see it in a more positive light. You could argue that ladies in those days (and even today) were viewed as a prize or a reward for the hero when he saves the lady from an enemy. It's an overused cliche that's used even to this day but I believe that it is seen more positively by modern society.
Delete1. What genres do the following texts belong to?
ReplyDeleteVoluspa, Volsunga Saga, Beowulf, The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings.
Give some examples from these texts that support your identification.
I would like to make the case that most of these texts can be classified as epic fantasy and/or mythology novels as most of them are set in a fictional world with the exception of Beowulf which is an epic poem. I would put Voluspa in the mythology genre based on its constant reference to gods and I quote "Hear my words, you holy gods, great men and humble sons of Heimdall; by Odin’s will." That one is an obvious example though. The Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit can be classified as an epic fantasy due to it's setting which contains wizards, elves and demon-like creatures (e.g. orcs). The elvish language which is spoken by Legolas, Glorfindel, Elrond and others can support this as constucted languages are a common element in fantasy novels. As mentioned before, I stated that Beowulf is an epic poem due to the explanation of the many regions in the poem such as Danes, Angles, Swedes, Geats and so on. Another point to make is that Beowulf has no beginning as it starts off a few days into the battle against the Shylfings which leaves little knowledge to reader of why some things are happening.
Heaney, S. (Trans). (1999) (Trans). Beowulf: a new translation. London: Penguin
Terry, P. (Trans). (1990, 1966). Poems of the Elder Edda. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press
Tolkien, J.R.R. (1997; 1937).The Hobbit, London: HarperCollins
Tolkien, J.R.R. (1993;1954).The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. London, HarperCollins