Today is short day (mercifully) and we are going to do some interesting things:
Advanced Placement Literature and Composition: After discussing the choices of topic you selected for yesterday's timed writing, we're moving back into Macstuff. I love this play. Have I mentioned that before? Probably.
Gifted English IV: Brief lecture on the Anglo-Saxon World (scroll below for notes) and work on the A/S Study Guide from the text. This time period is pretty cool.
Gifted English II: Review literary terms #81-100 (quiz Friday) and answer questions on Antigone.
Notes on the Anglo-Saxon Era for Gifted English IV
- Dates encompassing this era: 449-1066 AD (the removal of the Romans from the British Isles to the Battle of Hastings)
- Pre-feudal time period marked by aggression and tribal organization
- The mead hall was the center of Anglo-Saxon life
- Invaders who brought cultural and linguistic influences to the region during this era: Jutes, Danes, Angles, Saxons, Visigoths, and Vikings
- The name "England" comes from Angle-Land; the name "English" comes from
Anglisc - Largely pre-literate culture; the only writings we really have from this era are The Exeter Book, The Domesday Book, "The Seafarer," "The Wanderer," and the epic Beowulf.
- The A/S epic hero is physically strong and proud of his prowess. Unlike other heroes throughout the pantheon of literary convention, the A/S hero is encouraged to brag of his exploits--and his strength supersedes that of his peers into the supernatural realm. (Beowulf, for example, can hold his breath underwater for hours. Riiiiiiiiight.)
- Terms to know: morgengifu (morning gift--for a bride), wergild (blood price), Witan (the king's council), eorls and churls (high class and low class men), kenning (Anglo-Saxon metaphor)
- Stonehenge and the Celts: the indigenous people of the region were originally called the Brythons, and were probably from Scando-European stock. This animistic culture eventually become called the Celts, who were gradually pushed out to Ireland over the years of the Anglo-Saxon occupation.
WHY DO WE CARE?
The roots of our language, our culture, and our society rest in the Anglo-Saxon age. Without the development of the Old English language, a limited vocabulary of about 40,000 words, English as we speak it today would never have evolved. Currently, we are in a continually shifting and evolving language of over half a million words. Our literature and our traditions stem from the roots established in this society, and understanding it in its complexities is critical to understand all that follows.
WHAT WILL THIS UNIT INCLUDE? Anglo-Saxon riddles, an awesome analysis paper, the epic poem, and great perspective into human nature.
