Unit 5: Folk Literature Epics. What is folk literature? Folk literature refers to a body of cultural...

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Unit 5: Folk Literature Epics

Transcript of Unit 5: Folk Literature Epics. What is folk literature? Folk literature refers to a body of cultural...

Page 1: Unit 5: Folk Literature Epics. What is folk literature? Folk literature refers to a body of cultural knowledge and beliefs passed from one generation.

Unit 5: Folk LiteratureUnit 5: Folk Literature

EpicsEpics

Page 2: Unit 5: Folk Literature Epics. What is folk literature? Folk literature refers to a body of cultural knowledge and beliefs passed from one generation.

What is folk literature?

• Folk literature refers to a body of cultural knowledge and beliefs passed from one generation to the next, both orally and in writing.

Page 3: Unit 5: Folk Literature Epics. What is folk literature? Folk literature refers to a body of cultural knowledge and beliefs passed from one generation.

What are your favorite types of folk literature?

• Myths• Fairy tales• Epics• Fables• Folk tales• Folk songs/spirituals• Legends• Tall tales

Page 4: Unit 5: Folk Literature Epics. What is folk literature? Folk literature refers to a body of cultural knowledge and beliefs passed from one generation.

What are the purposes of folk literature?

• Folk literature can– entertain readers– enlighten readers by sharing the human condition

or experience– provide readers with an escape from reality– help readers learn about themselves and others– teach readers lessons in morality– allow readers to explore diverse

cultures

Page 5: Unit 5: Folk Literature Epics. What is folk literature? Folk literature refers to a body of cultural knowledge and beliefs passed from one generation.

Characteristics of Folk Literature

• Like fiction, folk literature has the elements of characters, plot, setting, and conflict.

• Folk stories also have their own distinct characteristics, including– stereotypical characters (such as good/evil)– plots that focus on an initial problem, a quest to

solve the problem, and the tasks and obstacles involved in the journey

– settings in olden times and faraway places– supernatural and repetitious elements

Page 6: Unit 5: Folk Literature Epics. What is folk literature? Folk literature refers to a body of cultural knowledge and beliefs passed from one generation.

Early Folk Literature

• Every early culture around the world created its own folk literature.

• Learning about these tales and songs can provide insight into the cultures that produced them.

Page 7: Unit 5: Folk Literature Epics. What is folk literature? Folk literature refers to a body of cultural knowledge and beliefs passed from one generation.

Early Folk Literature

• Much of the world’s early folk literature originated as part of the oral tradition.– The oral tradition is the passing of a work, an idea,

or a custom by word of mouth from generation to generation.

• Early stories were composed as poems, songs, or prose tales.

Page 8: Unit 5: Folk Literature Epics. What is folk literature? Folk literature refers to a body of cultural knowledge and beliefs passed from one generation.

Early Folk Literature

• Some early folk literature stories helped ancient inhabitants of Earth understand the unknown world around them.

• Other tales told of gods, goddesses, and heroes in their cultures.

• Still other stories related human experiences, ideas, and emotions to serve as moral lessons.

Page 9: Unit 5: Folk Literature Epics. What is folk literature? Folk literature refers to a body of cultural knowledge and beliefs passed from one generation.

Influences of Folk Literature

• As centuries passed, these early stories became the inspiration for many writers.

• These writers borrowed the characters, events, and ideas for their own works.– William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Romeo and

Juliet refers to several ancient myths. – W. B. Yeats’s ballad “Song of Wandering Aengus”

draws on the legends of Aengus, the Celtic god of love.

Page 10: Unit 5: Folk Literature Epics. What is folk literature? Folk literature refers to a body of cultural knowledge and beliefs passed from one generation.

Influences of Folk Literature

• The characters and events in early folk literature have also inspired artists.

• Many painters have drawn their subjects from mythology. – For example, the fall of Icarus, a character in

Greek mythology, is the subject of famous paintings by • Pieter Brueghel • Pablo Picasso• Marc Chagall

Page 11: Unit 5: Folk Literature Epics. What is folk literature? Folk literature refers to a body of cultural knowledge and beliefs passed from one generation.

Influences of Folk Literature

• The influences of folk literature can also be seen in music, drama, and films.

• What familiar songs, plays, or movies include characters or events from fairy tales, folk tales, legends, or myths?

Page 12: Unit 5: Folk Literature Epics. What is folk literature? Folk literature refers to a body of cultural knowledge and beliefs passed from one generation.

Resurgence of Folk Literature

• In the past two centuries, there has been a renewed interest in folk literature.

• Storytelling spans all cultures, values, and ways of life, and has therefore gained worldwide attention.

Page 13: Unit 5: Folk Literature Epics. What is folk literature? Folk literature refers to a body of cultural knowledge and beliefs passed from one generation.

Epics

• Epics are a very old form of folk literature, dating back more than 2,000 years.

• These ancient stories have remained popular for their ability to entertain readers.

• Epics often contain – larger-than-life characters – exotic settings– suspenseful plots

Page 14: Unit 5: Folk Literature Epics. What is folk literature? Folk literature refers to a body of cultural knowledge and beliefs passed from one generation.

Epics

• Epics are long stories that involve gods and heroes and that are often told in verse.

• Grand in length and scope, epics are portraits of cultures that provide clues about societies’ – legends – beliefs/values – laws – arts– ways of life

Page 15: Unit 5: Folk Literature Epics. What is folk literature? Folk literature refers to a body of cultural knowledge and beliefs passed from one generation.

Epics and Bards

• Epics began in the oral tradition, long before there were written historical accounts.

• The people of ancient Greece often turned to the wandering poets, known as bards, to hear tales of the past.

Page 16: Unit 5: Folk Literature Epics. What is folk literature? Folk literature refers to a body of cultural knowledge and beliefs passed from one generation.

Storytelling of Bards

• The bards of ancient Greece were masterful storytellers.

• They would sing or recite long narrative poems about the gods, goddesses, and heroes of days gone by.

• They would often accompany their tales by playing lyres—small, stringed instruments resembling handheld harps.

Page 17: Unit 5: Folk Literature Epics. What is folk literature? Folk literature refers to a body of cultural knowledge and beliefs passed from one generation.

Storytelling of Bards

• The bard often improvised the tale, but typically– started with an invocation, or a plea to the Muse

(goddess of poetry) for divine inspiration– began the tale in medias res, or “in the middle of

things,” with the epic hero well into the journey– used flashbacks to fill in prior incidents– had the epic hero reach a point of defeat but

continue on the quest– ended the tale by revealing the epic hero’s fate

Page 18: Unit 5: Folk Literature Epics. What is folk literature? Folk literature refers to a body of cultural knowledge and beliefs passed from one generation.

Epithets and Epic Similes

• In telling the tale, the bard used many “word formulas,” such as epithets and epic similes.

• These phrases helped the bard to memorize the tale.

Page 19: Unit 5: Folk Literature Epics. What is folk literature? Folk literature refers to a body of cultural knowledge and beliefs passed from one generation.

Epithets

• Epithets are brief descriptive phrases that emphasize an important characteristic of a person or thing.

• In The Odyssey, Homer repeatedly refers to “versatile Odysseus,” “divine Calypso,” and “rosy-fingered dawn.”

Page 20: Unit 5: Folk Literature Epics. What is folk literature? Folk literature refers to a body of cultural knowledge and beliefs passed from one generation.

Epic Similes

• Epic similes are extended comparisons that go on for several lines.

• Epic similes are also known as Homeric similes.

• Like epithets, epic similes were memorized and repeated by the bards each time they told the story.

Page 21: Unit 5: Folk Literature Epics. What is folk literature? Folk literature refers to a body of cultural knowledge and beliefs passed from one generation.

Example of an Epic Simile

• The epic simile below compares the turning of Odysseus’s hot spike in the Cyclops’ eye to the turning of a shipwright’s drill in planking.

I drew it from the coals and my four fellowsgave me a hand, lugging it near the Cyclopsas more than natural force nerved them; straightforward they sprinted, lifted it, and rammed itdeep in his crater eye, and I leaned on itturning it as a shipwright turns a drillin planking, having men below to swingthe two-handled strap that spins it in the groove.

—from The Odyssey, by Homer

I drew it from the coals and my four fellowsgave me a hand, lugging it near the Cyclopsas more than natural force nerved them; straightforward they sprinted, lifted it, and rammed itdeep in his crater eye, and I leaned on itturning it as a shipwright turns a drillin planking, having men below to swingthe two-handled strap that spins it in the groove.

—from The Odyssey, by Homer

Page 22: Unit 5: Folk Literature Epics. What is folk literature? Folk literature refers to a body of cultural knowledge and beliefs passed from one generation.

Bards and Their Audience

• As the ancient Greeks listened to the tales of the bards, they were filled with awe and fear.

• They strongly believed that the gods and goddesses in these stories exerted a powerful influence in their own lives—for better or for worse.

Page 23: Unit 5: Folk Literature Epics. What is folk literature? Folk literature refers to a body of cultural knowledge and beliefs passed from one generation.

The Ancient Bard, Homer

• According to legend, the greatest of the ancient bards was Homer.

• Homer produced two famousworks: The Iliad andThe Odyssey.

• These are considered themost important epics in theWestern tradition of folkliterature.

Page 24: Unit 5: Folk Literature Epics. What is folk literature? Folk literature refers to a body of cultural knowledge and beliefs passed from one generation.

Homer’s Epics

• The Iliad and The Odyssey provide us with insight into the world of the ancient Greeks.

• These exciting stories are told in memorable, poetic language.

• Their plots raise questions about humankind’s relationship with the world.

Page 25: Unit 5: Folk Literature Epics. What is folk literature? Folk literature refers to a body of cultural knowledge and beliefs passed from one generation.

The Iliad

• The Iliad tells the story of the Trojan War, a battle fought in around 1200 BCE by the Greeks and the Trojans.

• The Trojans were inhabitants of Troy, which is now part of Turkey.

• For ten years, the Greeks attempted to conquer Troy but could not penetrate the city walls.

• Finally, one of the soldiers—Odysseus—devises a plan to defeat the Trojans.

Page 26: Unit 5: Folk Literature Epics. What is folk literature? Folk literature refers to a body of cultural knowledge and beliefs passed from one generation.

The Iliad

• Odysseus and his companions erect a Trojan horse and place it outside the city walls.

• Believing the horse is a gift from the Greeks, the Trojans bring the horse into the city.

• The Greek soldiers hidden inside the horse unlock the gates of Troy.

• The soldiers then let in their comrades, who eventually defeat the Trojans.

Page 27: Unit 5: Folk Literature Epics. What is folk literature? Folk literature refers to a body of cultural knowledge and beliefs passed from one generation.

The Odyssey

• Homer’s other epic, The Odyssey, picks up where The Iliad leaves off.

• This story describes the ten-year voyage of Odysseus and his men from Troy back to Ithaca.

• In this epic, the characters confront vicious monsters and deadly temptations as they make their journey.

Page 28: Unit 5: Folk Literature Epics. What is folk literature? Folk literature refers to a body of cultural knowledge and beliefs passed from one generation.

• Epics share certain characteristics, including– larger-than-life heroes, or characters with

superhuman strength and courage– diverse, exotic settings– plots that focus on the hero’s difficult journey or

quest to achieve a goal– conflicts involving struggles with gods or monsters

that test the hero’s strength and wit– themes that impart wisdom or

morality to humankind

Characteristics of Epics

Page 29: Unit 5: Folk Literature Epics. What is folk literature? Folk literature refers to a body of cultural knowledge and beliefs passed from one generation.

Epic Hero

• Central to the narrative of an epic is the main character, known as the epic hero.

• An epic hero is an archetype, or type of character, that has been appearing in the literature of the world since ancient times.

Page 30: Unit 5: Folk Literature Epics. What is folk literature? Folk literature refers to a body of cultural knowledge and beliefs passed from one generation.

Qualities of an Epic Hero

• Historically, an epic hero is a male of royal lineage who possesses certain qualities that help or hinder him in his quest.

• These traits include– courage– arrogance or pride– resourcefulness– intelligence– faithfulness– vulnerability

Page 31: Unit 5: Folk Literature Epics. What is folk literature? Folk literature refers to a body of cultural knowledge and beliefs passed from one generation.

Epic Hero

• Although an epic hero possesses these human characteristics, he also has extraordinary or supernatural abilities.

• These abilities allow him to conquer monsters and other demonic creatures.

Page 32: Unit 5: Folk Literature Epics. What is folk literature? Folk literature refers to a body of cultural knowledge and beliefs passed from one generation.

Contemporary Epic Hero

• Through the centuries, the definition of an epic hero has changed.

• Contemporary epic heroes may – be male or female – emerge from any social status– undergo a spiritual, emotional, or physical journey

Page 33: Unit 5: Folk Literature Epics. What is folk literature? Folk literature refers to a body of cultural knowledge and beliefs passed from one generation.

Epic Hero Cycle

• The structure of an epic follows a distinct pattern known as an epic hero cycle.

• In an epic hero cycle, the hero is charged with a quest that tests his or her worthiness.

• This quest typically involves abattle with an evil force.

Page 34: Unit 5: Folk Literature Epics. What is folk literature? Folk literature refers to a body of cultural knowledge and beliefs passed from one generation.

Epic Hero Cycle

• Along the journey, the epic hero often enters a supernatural world and is assisted by many mythical creatures.

• Just when the hero feels defeated, he or she gathers resolve and eventually succeeds.

• In the end, the epic hero often ascends to the throne.

Page 35: Unit 5: Folk Literature Epics. What is folk literature? Folk literature refers to a body of cultural knowledge and beliefs passed from one generation.

• Ancient epics are still relevant in contemporary society.

• After reading an epic, ask yourself:– How does this epic offer insights into ancient

cultures?– How does it forge connections among diverse

cultures?– What aspects of humanity are shown in the choices

and actions of the characters?– What lessons in virtuous behavior are evident?

SUMMARY: Epics