RAISING THE DEAD!
by
Rosa Anna Rizzo
The aim of this practical example is to explore the way in which teachers
with the use of a carefully prepared ‘approach route’ can successfully
breathe new life into one of those canonical texts which is kept alive only
in the reanimation unit of the classroom.
To exemplify the potential and possible pleasure of this method, I have
deliberately chosen to work with a text often neglected and precisely with
BEOWULF. Students often complain and say “What has Beowulf to do
with me?”
To begin with let’s prepare our lesson plan and make our AIMS clear;
then let’s include the prerequisites required – the time needed – the level –
the materials. Finally, let’s give shape to our teaching plan.
A self-contained thematic module: its teaching plan
The module revolves around the theme of good versus evil, and it is made
up of seven steps:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
the context when the target text was written;
the target text;
an intertextual link to another field of knowledge, precisely Art;
another intertextual link to music;
back to literature;
a video;
the exit test, which completes the module.
1.
The
context
7.
Exit test
2.
The text
Beowulf
GOOD vs EVIL:
A TIMELESS THEME
6.
3.
Video
Visual
Arts
5.
Today’s
Voices
4.
Music
The context
Before introducing the target text, students are expected to know
something about the period when the poem was written. How do you
usually introduce the context?
There are different possibilities:
a) to ask students to study the period at home;
b) to explain the period in class and ask students to take down notes;
c) to read what is in the book together with the students and explain the
most important aspects.
All these methods can be successful.
Instead of using one of those methods which see the teacher explaining the
period with the use of the coursebook, I have chosen to introduce the
period by working with some pictures.
Unlike the traditional lessons, students will be at the centre of the stage
and the teacher will be in the wings.
The Anglo-Saxon Age
P I C T U R I N G
F A C T S
A N D
T H E M E S
1. Book of Kells, plate XI:
the arrest of Christ.
From the Book of Kells.
The Book of Kells
2. Armed man between dragon-like
beasts.
Before the invention of printing in the
15th century, the Gospels and other
holy writings were copied out by hand
in abbeys and monasteries. Conscious
of the intrinsic value of a book as the
sum of so many laborious hours, and
the spiritual value of these works, the
scribes took to ornamenting their
manuscripts richly.
St Columba, founder of the Abbey of
Kells, is said to have been the creator
of the most famous book produced
there: the Book of Kells, the richest,
most copiously illuminated manuscript
version of the four Gospels in the
Celtic-Saxon style.
3. Dragon head, woodcarving,
9th cent. A.D.
1. These pictures reveal the mosaic of heroic and Christian
elements of the age. Match the captions and the pictures.
a. The introduction of Christianity in a Celtic-Saxon age.
Picture .................... .
b. The importance of heroic adventures at sea.
Picture .................... .
c. A heroic age. Picture .................... .
2. Choose the correct answer.
Picture 1
1. The man in the middle is
a. a pagan king;
b. a warrior;
c. Jesus Christ.
P I C T U R I N G
8
■
■
■
2. The man is between
a. two guards;
b. two disciples;
c. two priests.
3. The figure of Christ is
a. much larger than his assailants;
b. as large as his assailants;
c. smaller than his assailants.
Picture 2
4. The man between the dragon-like beasts wears
a. a mantle;
b. armour;
c. a sheepskin.
5. The man who is thrusting his sword into one
of the dragon-like beasts is
F A C T S
A N D
■
■
■
■
■
■
■
■
■
a. a peasant;
b. a hermit;
c. a warrior.
6. His attitude is
a. indifferent;
b. courageous;
c. fearful.
■
■
■
■
■
■
3. Compare picture 1 and picture 2 and complete the two
sentences.
a. In picture 1 the force of evil is represented by ................ ,
and good is represented by .................... .
b. In picture 2 the force of evil is represented by ................ ,
while good is represented by .................... .
4. In picture 3 the dragon head is an ornamental part of a ship
which was thought to bring good luck. Who do you think
such a ship may belong to?
a. A fisherman;
■
b. a merchant;
■
c. a seafarer.
■
T H E M E S
9
Firstly, students will be given a set of questions such as:
Who is the man fighting with in picture 2?
What does the man hold in each hand?
Which animal does the head in picture 3 belong to? etc., and they will
exchange questions and answers in pairs.
Secondly, they will be asked to compare and contrast pictures 1 and 2
using such key words as dragon, armour, guards, sword, human figure
and identify aspects of pagan and Christian culture.
Thirdly, they will do the activities in the book.
Finally, they will be asked to share impressions with the rest of the class
about what they already know and have learnt about the period (warriors,
monsters, religion and superstition).
The target text
Once students have captured the spirit of the period, I’ll move to the
second step.
In dealing with the target text, I will follow the conventional way: after
some “Before you read” questions, I will give a short account of the story
and then I will start working with the text. After listening to the recording
of the episode which describes the arrival of Grendel and his fight with
Beowulf, I will move to the activities.
It is important to appreciate the literary merits of the text and its main
stylistic and technical features; the activities will be therefore carefully
planned: students start focusing on meaning, then are guided to appreciate
form and style in the “Focus on language and form” section and to
consider the theme in the “Focus on language and theme” section;
finally they will be given a production activity.
Now students have seen that there was no shortage of evil in that remote
age and they can certainly answer this key question: what does the monster
stand for? (the force of evil).
In the fight between Beowulf and Grendel they have easily recognized the
conflict between good virtues and the forces of evil. Here the dividing line
between the force of good and the force of evil is very clear.
Text 1 A
The Hero
The Anglo-Saxon Age
Beowulf faces the monster
BEFORE YOU READ 1. Can you list some names of heroes from the Iliad or the Odyssey?
Can you think of some heroic episode you have studied that has fascinated you?
This passage, taken from the modern translation by Seamus Heaney (Irish
contemporary poet and Nobel Prize for literature in 1995), describes how
Grendel is mortally wounded.
The Danish invaders were
helped by troops selected from
all over Scandinavia.
Runic stone with knight
figure. Stockholm, Staten
Historiska Museum.
He saw many men in the mansion, sleeping,
a ranked company of kinsmen6 and warriors
quartered together. And his glee7 was demonic,
picturing the mayhem8: before morning
he would rip life from limb and devour them,
feed on their flesh; but his fate that night
was due to change, his days of ravening
had come to an end.
Mighty and canny9,
Hygelac’s kinsman was keenly watching
for the first move the monster would make.
Nor did the creature keep him waiting
but struck suddenly and started in;
he grabbed and mauled10 a man on his bench,
bit into his bone-lappings11, bolted down12 his blood
and gorged on him in lumps13, leaving the body
utterly lifeless, eaten up
hand and foot. Venturing closer,
his talon14 was raised to attack Beowulf
where he lay on the bed, he was bearing in
with open claw15 when the alert hero’s
comeback and armlock forestalled him16 utterly.
1. moors: a wide area of land covered with
low bushes (brughiere);
2. came greedily loping: moved fast with
springing steps, full of desire for food;
3. the bane: the cause of continual trouble;
4. the cloud-murk: the sky covered with
dark clouds;
5. a sheer keep: a sheer fortress (una
fortezza a picco);
6. kinsmen: relatives;
7. glee: joy;
8. mayhem: great disorder and confusion;
9. mighty and canny: powerful and clever;
5
10
15
20
25
10. mauled: badly hurt by tearing the flesh;
11. bone-lappings: joints;
12. bolted down: drank greedily;
13. gorged on him in lumps: ate his body
with greedy mouthfuls;
14. talon: sharp curved nail animals use for
attacking victims;
15. claw: sharp curved nail on the toe of an
animal or bird;
16. the alert hero’s comeback and
armlock forestalled him: the hero’s
reaction and his strength surprised the
monster;
13
The Journey
Swedish helmet, 7th cent. A.D.
Love
In off the moors1, down through the mist-bands
God-cursed Grendel came greedily loping2.
The bane3 of the race of men roamed forth,
hunting for a prey in the high hall.
Under the cloud-murk4 he moved towards it
until it shone above him, a sheer keep5
of fortified gold. […]
4. Read the following extract from the modern version, then
look at the layout of the corresponding Old English form.
14
D̄a com of more
Grendel gongan,
mynte se manscaða
sumne besyrwan
45
50
B
■
■
■
■
■
■
■
■
■
■
■
■
■
■
■
■
■
■
3. Choose the most suitable heading from the list for each
part of the text. There is one extra heading which you do
not need to use.
a. The Monster’s defeat
b. A Fate-marked Monster
c. Grendel attacks
1.
2.
3.
4.
Lines
Lines
Lines
Lines
1-7
8-15
16-34
35-50
d. Beowulf enters Heorot
e. An unexpectedly violent Grip
................................................................
................................................................
................................................................
................................................................
Meanings
1. flashing
a. house
body
2. Geat
b. light
sword
3. bone
c. prince
lord
4. ring
d. giver
Beowulf
FOCUS ON
7. When Grendel attacked Beowulf
a. he was sure Beowulf couldn’t escape;
b. he was surprised at Beowulf’s violent reaction.
8. During the fight
a. they destroyed the hall of Heorot;
b. a fire destroyed the hall of Heorot.
9. The extraordinary wail in lines 42-43 meant
a. that Beowulf had been wounded;
b. that the monster had been injured.
1.
under misthleoþum
godes yrre bær;
manna cynnes
in sele þam hean.
5. Match the words in columns A and B, and build up kennings
meaning: body, sword, lord, Beowulf.
A
6. Go back to the text and find at least two examples of
kenning.
7. Compare these translations of Beowulf and answer the
questions below.
a. How is the Old English line divided?
b. Can you find any compound words in the modern version?
c. Which word corresponds to it in the Old English version?
d. Listen to the tape. How many beats are there in each line?
e. Does the poem rhyme or does it have a strong rhythm
conveyed by heavy stresses?
f. Find examples of alliteration from the original version.
g. What function do the alliterations have?
40
MEANING
2. Choose the correct answer.
1. Lines 1-7 describe
a. Grendel’s arrival at the palace;
b. Beowulf’s arrival at the palace.
2. Grendel lives
a. in a desolate place;
b. in a fortified place.
3. The pronoun he in line 5 refers to
a. Beowulf;
b. Grendel.
4. What made Grendel so happy in line 10 was
a. the idea that he could devour the warriors;
b. the idea that his fate was soon to change.
5. Hygelac’s kinsman in line 17 refers to
a. Beowulf;
b. Grendel.
6. The monstrous creature
a. attacked and devoured a warrior;
b. watched the warriors greedily.
“In off the moors, down through the mist-bands
God-cursed Grendel came greedily loping.
The bane of the race of men roamed forth,
hunting for a prey in the high hall.”
35
(From Beowful translated by Seamus Heaney,
Faber and Faber 1999.)
FOCUS ON
A
LANGUAGE AND FORM
FOCUS ON
“Mighty and canny,
Hygelac’s kinsman was keenly watching
for the first move the monster would make.
Nor did the creature keep him waiting
but struck suddenly and started in;
he grabbed and mauled a man on his bench,
bit into his bone-lappings, bolted down his blood
and gorged on him in lumps […]”
Love
destroying the horn-covered hall;
19. wail: cry of pain (gemito);
20. keening: lamenting his wounds;
21. manacled: held.
30
This is by the poets Allan Sullivan and Timothy Murphy:
2. “Hygelac’s kinsman,
not one to be idle,
For his first feat
A sleeping soldier,
bit through bones
greedily gorging
beheld how the horror,
went about evil.
he suddenly seized
slashed at the flesh,
and lapped up the blood,
on gigantic gobbets.”
a. Which is the easiest to understand?
b. Which one do you think is nearest in spirit and sound
to the original poem in Old English?
c. Which do you prefer and why?
LANGUAGE AND THEME
8. Beowulf is the embodiment of the ideal warrior. What
qualities does he show in the text? Tick as appropriate.
belief in fate; ■
loyalty;
Courage; ■
■
strength; ■
fear of death; ■
love of fame. ■
Go back to the poem and give reasons for your choices with
examples from the text.
9. Choose the correct answer.
1. Beowulf is born
a. to win his last battle and live happily ever after;
b. to live gloriously, to be defeated and die
gloriously.
■
■
2. Death for an epic hero is
a. the natural end of life and can’t be defeated;
b. the natural end of life and can be defeated
with glory and fame.
■
■
10. War, valour, service, loyalty, liberality, contempt of death,
and love of fame: these are the constants of truly heroic
verse. Can you apply these characteristics to other heroes?
11. Compare this hero to Ulysses. How did Ulysses defeat the
one-eyed giant Polyphemus?
REPORT BACK
● Complete the passage with information from this section.
Beowulf is a heroic poem written in ...................................
............................................................................................
.......................................................................................... .
It is very important for these reasons: ................................
............................................................................................
.......................................................................................... .
Beowulf is a hero because ..................................................
............................................................................................
.......................................................................................... .
15
The Journey
moved back in fear;
18. wrecking their horn-rigged hall:
The captain of evil discovered himself
in a handgrip harder than anything
he had ever encountered in any man
on the face of the earth. Every bone in his body
quailed and recoiled17, but he could not escape.
[…]
The story goes
that as the pair struggled, mead-benches were smashed
and sprung off the floor, gold fittings and all.
Before then, no Shielding elder would believe
there was any power or person upon earth
capable of wrecking their horn-rigged hall18
unless the burning embrace of a fire
engulf it in flame. Then an extraordinary
wail19 arose, and bewildering fear
came over the Danes. Everyone felt it
who heard that cry as it echoed off the wall,
a God-cursed scream and strain of catastrophe,
the howl of the loser, the lament of the hell-serf
keening20 his wound. He was overwhelmed,
manacled21 tight by the man who of all men
was foremost and strongest in the days of this life.
The Hero
The Anglo-Saxon Age
17. quailed and recoiled: was afraid and
By this time students have probably had enough of Beowulf, Grendel,
alliteration, kennings, Old English, heroes and monsters and this is a great
pity because the theme in this text continues to echo in several ways in
different cultural fields.
This is the moment to introduce intertextuality. Let’s move from the
literary field to the field of ART.
The Middle Ages
P I C T U R I N G
F A C T S
A N D
T H E M E S
2. St George and the Dragon.
1. St George and the Princess.
E. Burne-Jones, 1868, preparatory
drawing.
1. .......
Pisanello, 1450 ca., fresco.
6. .......
5. .......
St George and the Princess
2. .......
This fresco by Pisanello (1395-1455
ca.) can be seen in the Cappella dei
Pellegrini, Sant’Anastasia, Verona.
It depicts a crucial moment in the
legendary story of St George and the
Dragon. St George is about to leave
and fight a dragon which threatens to
devour the beautiful princess, the only
remaining young person in the town.
He is the last remaining hope for her
and the rest of the town’s inhabitants.
4. .......
3. .......
7. .......
Before: picture 1
1. Match the captions to the corresponding elements in the
painting.
a. The castle in the background expresses the power of the
nobility.
b. The large number of Gothic cathedrals indicates the power
of religion.
c. The two hanged men intensify the sense of impending
death.
d. The ship represents the quest for good through action.
e. The position of St George underlines the centrality of the
knight in medieval culture.
f. St George’s face expresses his worry about the dangers
awaiting him.
g. The faithful squire is a conventional chivalric motif.
P I C T U R I N G
32
After: pictures 2 and 3
2. What is St George doing in picture 2?
3. Choose the correct answer.
1. The dragon is the embodiment of
a. courage;
■
b. evil;
■
c. nobility.
■
2. St George is shown in
a. a typically heroic fashion;
■
b. as a hermit fighting against temptation;
■
c. as a Crusader.
■
4. What does the appearance of the dragon remind you of in
picture 3?
a. A serpent;
■
b. a fish;
■
c. a gryphon;
■
d. other .................................. .
■
Give reasons for your choice.
5. Can you find any similarities between Pisanello’s fresco and
the other two pictures?
F A C T S
A N D
3. St George fighting the Dragon.
Raffaello, 1505, oil on wood.
T H E M E S
33
The paintings in the picture belong to many centuries after Beowulf.
Students will be asked to work in pairs and describe the paintings. Then,
students will also be asked to find similarities and differences between
these two paintings and the warrior with the dragons they met in the
presentation of the Anglo Saxon Age, and also the target text they studied.
Now the students can easily answer this key question: What is the
innovative element which is present here? (the princess, the lady).
As far as the theme is concerned, the myth of heroism and the theme of
the struggle between the forces of good represented by warriors/ knights
and those of evil embodied by monsters and dragons continue in literature
as well as in art and the division between good and evil is still very clear.
And now from ART to MUSIC, another field where the theme of the battle
between good and evil reappears. I’ll show the students the opening scene
from The Magic Flute by W.A. Mozart.
The dragon is still the embodiment of evil and the knight personifies good;
however here the knight is in serious danger, the dragon is going to kill
him; luckily, he is rescued by three ladies. In his work Mozart describes
the reversal of the heroic myth: the prince is the victim and the ladies are
the rescuers.
Students are now ready to move back to contemporary literature and work
with a passage taken from The Cycle of the Werewolf, a novel by Stephen
King. In this case the monster is a werewolf who terrifies a village when
the moon is full. Unlike the previous examples, where there was a clearcut division between the forces of good and evil, here there is no
reassuring difference between these two forces, which are struggling
within the same person: the werewolf. This change in atmosphere and
mood makes the theme of conflict between the two forces particularly
disturbing and makes the students aware of a new, more modern version of
the theme: duality and split personality.
Stephen King: from vampires to lycanthropes
he American author Stephen King is a
best-selling author of horror stories.
This excerpt describes how the presence
of a Werewolf1 terrifies the people of
the isolated Maine town of Tarker’s Mills.
When the moon is full, a paralyzing fear
sweeps through the village. Snarls2 that
sound like human words can be heard in
1. werewolf: a person transformed into a
wolf or capable of assuming the form of a
wolf at will; lycanthrope;
2. snarls: the violent sounds made by an
animal.
Nights in Tarker’s Mills as the moon grows fat for the third time that
year are uncomfortable times… the days are better. On the town common,
there is suddenly a skyful of kites1 each afternoon.
Brady Kincaid, eleven years old, has gotten a Vulture for his birthday
and has lost all track of time in his pleasure at feeling the kite tug in his
hands like a live thing, watching it dip and swoop2 through the blue sky
above the bandstand3. He has forgotten about going home for supper, he is
unaware that the other kite-fliers have left one by one, with their box-kites
and tent-kites and Aluminium Fliers tucked4 securely under their arms,
unaware that he is alone.
It is the fading daylight and advancing blue shadows which finally
make him realize he has lingered too long – that, and the moon just rising
over the woods at the edge of the park. […]
At school, he has laughed at his schoolmaster’s fanciful tales of the
werewolf they say killed the drifter5 last month, Stella Randolph the month
before, Arnie Westrum the month before that. But he doesn’t laugh now.
As the moon turns April dusk into a bloody furnace-glow, the stories seem
all too real. […]
A shattering roar suddenly fills the night and Brady Kincaid screams.
He believes now, Yes, he believes now, all right, but it’s too late and his
scream is lost under the snarling roar that rises in a sudden, chilling
glissade6 to a howl.
The wolf is running toward him, running on two legs, its shaggy pelt7
painted orange with moonfire, its eyes glaring green lamps, and in one
paw – a paw with human fingers and claws where the nails should be – is
Brady’s Vulture kite. It is fluttering madly.
Brady turns to run and dry arms suddenly encircle him; he can smell
something like blood and cinnamon, and he is found the next day propped
against the War Memorial, headless and disembowelled8, the Vulture kite
in one stiffening hand.
the wind. And the ground round the
village is covered with the footprints of
a monster…
Love
T
5
10
15
20
25
30
(Stephen King, Cycle of the Werewolf, Berni Wrightson 1985.)
Lon Chaney jr is probably the best
lycanthrope in the history of cinema.
Here is a still from The Wolf Man, 1941,
by George Waggner.
1. kites: aquiloni;
2. swoop: to make a swift,
4. tucked: made of one or
sudden descent;
3. bandstand: a platform
for a band, often roofed
5. drifter: vagabond;
6. glissade: sliding motion;
when outdoors;
more folds;
7. shaggy pelt: heavy skin;
8. disembowelled: with the
entrails removed from his
body (sventrato).
● Can you find any similarities or differences between this monster and others
belonging to different ages such as Grendel and Dracula?
239
The Journey
ECHOES
The Hero
The Victorian Age: the years of doubt
It is also possible to make fun of the heroic myth as happens in the poem
“Not My Best Side”, by U.A. Fanthorpe (1929-...), where the poet ridicules
the traditional fight between men and monsters by imagining what the
three characters in the painting are thinking.
It is really amusing and students can appreciate its ironic tone because they
now understand it grows out of a highly traditional material.
Finally, we can go back to our target text and our champion of human
virtues, Beowulf, reread the extract, have a revision of the activities and
then watch the video “Echoes. Heroes, lovers and travellers through the
ages”, which completes our module and recaptures the spirit of the theme
by linking past and present; classical and popular culture.
Rosa Anna Rizzo is co-author, with Daniela Montanari and Dermot Heaney, of
Echoes. A modular course of world literature in English, published by LANG
Edizioni, © 2003, Paravia Bruno Mondadori Editori.
If you have questions or would like to discuss the themes of this presentation,
you can contact Rosa Anna Rizzo at her e-mail address: [email protected]