THE EPIC GENRE

Bernini's Aeneas Carrying Anchises (1618-19)
Prof. Janet Moser
English 3181/CompLit 18.1
Fall 2010
Office: 2314B
Hours: Tuesday, 10-2
X5195
jmoser@brooklyn.cuny.edu
 
 
 
 
 
 
Bernini's Aeneas Carrying Anchises (1618-19)
 
 

Texts: You MUST use the edition and translation indicated:
Gilgamesh, Sanders (trans.), Viking.
Beowulf, Heaney (trans.), Norton.
Walcott, Derek, Omeros, Farrar, Strauss, Giroux.
Packet available at Far Better Copy (after classes begin):
with excerpts from The Iliad, The Odyssey, The Ramayana, The Aeneid, The Inferno, Son Jara, Orlando Furioso
Grades:
2 short papers (3-4 pages, worth 10% and 15%), and one longer final research paper (5-7 pages, worth 20%)
5one-page response papers (15%).
midterm exam (15%) and final exam (15%).
Quizzes count towards the participation portion of the final grade (10%participation, including quizzes): 10%
Course Assignments
 
 
Gilgamesh
Iliad
Odyssey
Aeneid
 

Ramayana
Beowulf

Son Jara
Omeros

 

 
 

Gilgamesh  
Gilagamesh and Enkidu

map of mesopotamia

summary

study guide

Humbaba mask. U. of Penn. Museum
Sumerian statuette
Oriental Institute, U. of Chicago

Cuneiform Tablet. British Museum

Due Wednesday, Sept 1: Look at this ancient harp player from the Met website: http://www.metmuseum.org/explore/Greek/Bel1.htm
Look at this website on Mesopotamia from the Met: http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ht/?period=02&region=wam

Read p. 61-84 in Gilgamesh. Be sure you have the Penguin/Viking edition with the Sanders translation (availabe at Shakespeare, and a few copies available in the Bookstore). Be prepared to discuss Study Guide questions 6-13.

Due Wednesday, Sept. 8:

Finish Gilgamesh. Be prepared to discuss all questions on the Study Guide

One-page RESPONSE paper on Gilgamesh. Due Monday, Sept. 13. You may focus on any of the 4 themes below, meant only as suggestions, or write on any aspect of the text that interests, troubles, surprises you.

1. The role of women in Gilgamesh.
2. The role of dreams in the narrative structure of the epic.
3. Gilgamesh as a reflection of the values of his society.
4. Journey as revelation
 
Iliad: Read Books 1, VI for Monday, Sept 13 (p. 4-17 in Packet) If you're not using the Packet, you must use the Fagles translation.

LOOK AT THE FOLLOWING WEB PAGES FROM THE MET FOR MORE INFORMATION ON ANCIENT GREECE:

Ancient Greece, 1000 BC - 1 AD.: http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ht/04/eusb/ht04eusb.htm
Greek Gods and Religious Practices. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/grlg/hd_grlg.htm
Warfare in Ancient Greece. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/gwar/hd_gwar.htm
Art of Classical Greece: http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/tacg/hd_tacg.htm

Museum Assignment: OPTIONAL: DUE BY OCTOBER 15:.
This is meant to give you a general idea of the shape of this assignment. It will be refined:
Turn left after you enter the Great Hall from 5th Ave. and enter the Greek and Roman galleries. The works you want to see will be in the first room you enter and in the room immediately to your right.
You want to look at and compare Greek Geometric period (c. 8th-century BCE) with earlier bronze age Mycenaean (c. 1200 BCE) objects. You want to especially look at the 3 large Geometric kraters (large vases) --- two are in the center room and one is in the room to your right. The most important one is the one on the right in the center room. These kraters were grave markers for aristocratic families. What were these families trying to convey about their heritage?
In the room to your right, on the left side of the room, are cases labeled Geometric and Mycenaean. There are both geometric and Mycenaean terracotta works portraying a goddess sitting in a chair. See especially how alike these two pieces are. Why is this similarity significant? What does it tell you about these civilizations?
Further along in the galleries on your right are Greek vases portraying stories about the characters in the Iliad. (These stories don't appear in the Iliad but come from other sources, now lost). There are several versions of a very popular theme---Achilles and Ajax playing a board game; there are also portrayals of the combat between Achilles and an Amazon; the judgment of Paris; Helen returning to Menelaus. Choose one portrait of a character from the Iliad and discuss what this depiction brings to, or how it differs from, your concept of that character from the written text.

Iliad

 

See Cranach's Judgment of Paris from the Met: http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ho/08/euwc/ho_28.221.htm
See the Met's vase, Judgment of Paris: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ggnyc/3163704431/

map of ancient greece
study guide
 

Perseus Encyclopedia article on Homer

Ransom of Hector

See Thetis and Achilles sculpture: http://www.metmuseum.org/Works_of_Art/collection_database/Thetis_and_achilles_Pierce_Francis_Connelly/objectview.aspx?OID=20010858&collID=2&dd1=2

Due: Monday, Sept 20:

1. Read Books XVI, XVIII

Due: Wednesday, Sept.22:

XXII, XXIV (through p.56 in Packet)
Response paper 2: Any topic that interests you in your reading. Or, suggested topics:
1. fire imagery and Achilles
2. The relationship between gods and mortals
3. The portrait of women
4. Achilles as hero

The Odyssey
Amphora with Athena: http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/athl/ho_16.71.htm#

 

Monday, Sept 27: Read Books 1, 5, 8 of the Odyssey (in the packet)

 

Return of Odysseus (Metropolitan Museum of Art)

papyrus fragment from the Odyssey

Due: Wed., Sept 29:
Read Books 9, 11, 21, 22 of the Odyssey

http://classics.mit.edu/Homer/odyssey.html

Due Wednesday, Oct. 6 (NOTE CHANGE OF DATE): 3-4 page paper:

Choose one of the following topics. Be sure to support your arguments with specific references to and quotes from the text.
1. Compare the role of the gods in the Iliad and in the Odyssey.
2. What attributes make Odysseus an epic hero?
3. Describe and analyze the role of women in the Odyssey.
4. One critic has said that the Iliad is the story of death and the Odyssey is the story of life. Explain.
5. Hospitality as a criterion of civilization in the Odyssey.
6. Parallels between Books 1 and 24 of the Iliad.
7. Aristotle said that the man who is incapable of working in common, or who in his self-sufficiency has no need of others, is no part of the community, like a beast or a god. Discuss the figure of Achilles in the light of this statement.
8. Homer’s preferred medium of poetic comparison is the simile rather than the metaphor, and his similes are extended”: the simile does more than establish a likeness between A and B; it goes on to describe B in great detail, some of the details not like A at all. Yet these details, the apparent development of B for its own sake, often do suggest points of comparison that lie below the surface, and often, too, they make significant comments on broader aspects of the situation in which they appear. Discuss the function of the extended simile in the following passages:
. XXII. lines 194-251
or
. XXIV. lines 563-67

 

 

The Aeneid

Due: Monday, Oct. 4: Read Books 1 and 2 of the Aeneid

Due: Wed., Oct. 6: Read Books 4, 6 of the Aeneid
Due Wed., Oct 13: Book 12 of the Aeneid; review for midterm.

 

   

MIDTERM: Monday, Oct 18: (Gilgamesh, Iliad, Odyssey, Aeneid).
Part I: Identifications
Part II: Quotes---a) source; b) who's speaking and in what setting; c) relevance (what does this reveal about the character, the plot, etc).

Wed., Oct. 20: Read the first half of the Ramayana (up to Book 4 in Packet) Be prepared to discuss the role of dreams, omens, hospitality, the concept of dharma, and the fantastic elements in the Ramayana.

Check this site for pictures

http://ramayana.berkeley.edu/images/kandas3-7gallery/index.html

http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00routesdata/bce_299_200/ramayana/ramayana.html

animated video: Sitayana:
Sita Sings the Blues, a film by Nina Paley: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzTg7YXuy34&feature=player_embedded#!
Hanuman saves Sita: http://clusterfunction.com/video/ninapaleydotcom/Sitayana/HanumanFindsSitaMedLow.mov
Trial by Fire
http://clusterfunction.com/video/ninapaleydotcom/Sitayana/sitayanaquicktime.html

Prince of Light, YouTube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwVZeCLEWrE

Monday, Oct. 25- Wed., Oct 27: Read second half of Ramayana
Additional website for background on Hinduism: http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/hind/hd_hind.htm
For Wednesday, Oct. 27: Response paper #3: Choose one topic---one page
1, How does the ending of the Ramayana fit with your knowledge of the Hindu world view?
2. How is Rama a particularly eastern hero? In what ways is his heroism different from that of the Greek heros?
3. Write about any aspect of the Ramayana that interests you.

Shiva Vishnu (see Met website above)

 

For Monday, Nov. 1: Read Son-Jara (through Episode 4, p. 199-213 in Packet)
Check this website for characters and summary: http://www-english.tamu.edu/pers/fac/dickson/SonJara.htm
and here to listen to a griot singing the beginning of the Son-Jara: http://www.hackettpublishing.com/content.php?page=sunsup

Be prepared to discuss the following themes in Son-Jara:

1. Epic vs. folkore elements

2. biblical themes

3. Parallels to Mohammed

4. role of the griot

5. role of Fa-Koli

6. female roles

7. Son Jara's ancestry as a metaphor for the Mali empire

Monday, Nov. 8: finish Son-Jara.
Response paper 4: Any topic that interests or puzzles you in Son Jara.

Wednesday, Nov. 10: Beowulf, pp. 3-33.

Check this site for maps and images: http://www.heorot.dk/beowulf-on-steorarume_front-page.html

Monday, Nov. 15:
Beowulf, part 2 (through line 2200)
Read and be prepared to discuss: Acheaelogy and Beowulf, p. 212-223; Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics, p. 103-130 (pay particular attention to p. 120-125

Wed., Nov. 17:
Beowulf, part 3 (finish);
Response paper 5: light and dark imagery; mothers; family; any topic that interests you.
introduction to Omeros

Due Monday, Nov. 22: 3-4 page paper
1. Ramayana, like Homer's Odyssey, is an epic poem that recounts the adventures of a hero who goes into exile and eventually returns home to regain his throne. Both heroes meet strangers who help or threaten them, who either grant them powers or test their strength. Consider the similarities between Rama and Odysseus. What makes them epic heroes? How do their encoutners with the unfamiliar and their wanderings shape their characters?
2. Both the Aeneid and the Ramayana display a unity of purpose and focus on the morality of their heroes. How does the virtue of "piousAeneas" compare with Rama's devotion to his dharma, or sacred duty? How do both heroes enact the founding of a new civilization or culture?
3. Analyze the characters of Sita and Dido from a feminist perspective.
4. Comparison of Hector's funeral and Beowulf's funeral
5. The dragon as metaphor in Beowulf.
6. Biblical imagery in Beowulf.
7. Summarize and comment on the criticism in p. 120-123, discussing the Aeneid and Beowulf.
8. Close analysis of a passage of your choice from Beowulf or the Aeneid. (this means studying both the content and the rhetorical devices: alliteration, pace, rhythm, caesura, enjambment, allusions, imagery, metaphor, simile , onomatpeoia, metonomy, etc.

Monday, Nov. 22: Read Omeros, Book 1 (p.3-76)

Wed, Nov. 24: Omeros, 79-132
.Interesting link:
http://faculty.scf.edu/jonesj/lit2090/OmerosOutline.htm
and http://faculty.scf.edu/jonesj/lit2090/OmerosOutline.htm

Monday, Nov. 29
Omeros, 133-168

Wed., Dec. 1:
Omeros,Books 6 and 7

Due Wed., Dec 1: Hand in paper proposal:
A clear, limited topic for your paper, stating the question that you will explore and the argument you will make.
A list of at least 3 secondary sources (some of these can come from the Norton critical editions we have been using). This should be in MLA format.
A list of at least 3 passages from the primary text that you will analyze closely in your paper as support for your argument. You will not merely summarize the passages, but rather subject them to a close, detailed reading that yields evidence to support your argument.

In-class presentations: Monday., Dec. 6, Wed., Dec 8, Mon., Dec. 13. The last 3 class sessions will be devoted to presentations on your final research paper. These presentations will be brief (5 minutes), and will, I hope, be organized loosely by topic. Ideally, the class will be divided into groups by epics or themes, and the presentations will be grouped accordingly. You must e-mail me your annotated bibliography the day before your presentation. If you are absent on the day you are supposed to present, you will be able to present ONLY if there is sufficient time on the last day class meets (Dec. 13). If you do not present, your final paper grade will be reduced by one letter grade.

Final Paper Topics:
Choose one of the topics below as the subject for a 5-7 page, MLA-formatted paper. This paper requires at least four outside sources.. Be sure to proofread carefully, be specific, avoid retelling the plot, and document any quotes you use.
Due: Dec. 22, by midnight, by e-mail. No late papers will be accepted.

1. Images of lamentation. Choose three heroic characters who weep (for example, Achilles, Odysseus, Achille), or for whom others weep (Hector, Enkidu, Beowulf). What does the grief of these heroes, or of those that mourn them, reveal about their roles in society? How is grief, pathos, related to heroism?

2. Choose one pre-Christian and one post-Christian epic. How does the introduction of Christian ideals change the values that shape society’s image of the epic hero?

3. Discuss the role of women in the heroic culture of any three epics we have read this semester.

4. What does the hero’s choice of weapons tell us about him as a fighter and as a person. Compare the weapons and the means of dealing with their enemies chosen by Achilles, Odysseus and Beowulf.

5. Discuss the concept of justice in the Odyssey, the Aeneid, and Beowulf.

6. Discuss the role of dreams in three of the epics read this semester.

7. Compare one character from Omeros with his Greek Homeric counterpart.

8. Discuss the role of the fantastic in Omeros, Son Jara and an older epic of your choice.

9. Mothers, fathers and sons in Omeros and one other epic.

10. Cities have important functions in the heroic works of the ancient and premodern world.
What characteristics do these epic cities --- places like Uruk and Troy and Carthage--- share?

11. Close reading of any passage from any of the works we've read this semester.

Extra credit: Watch the film The Searchers (John Ford, director). Write a 2-page paper analyzing the ways in the which this film can be described as an Amercian epic. Due Monday, Dec. 13 (last day of classes).

FINAL EXAM: December 20, 1-3PM, room 3153B
Part I: Identifications (characters, eras, historical events)
Part II: Quotes: setting and how they are relevant
Part III: Short essays

Be sure to review the names and roles of the main characters; the background information (in the introductory pages before the texts in the class packet, in the introduction to Beowulf, and in the class notes to Omeros, Son Jara, Ramayana, Beowulf); important dates (of the recording of the texts and of the historical events mentioned in class); stylistic techniques that characterize each epic.

There's nothing tricky on this exam. If you've done the reading and been in class for discussions, you will be prepared.
:

 

 

 

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3-4 page paper on one of the following comparative topics:


2. The relationship of fathers and sons plays an important role in epic poems. Speculate
on the critical nature of this tie in warrior cultures. Compare the paternal roles played in
the Iliad by Priam and in the Aeneid by Aeneas and by Anchises.

3. Cities have important functions in the heroic works of the ancient and premodern world.
What characteristics do these epic cities --- places like Uruk and Troy and Carthage--- share?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
   
Song of Roland

What do these 14th century images tell you about contemporary French impressions of the French people? of the Muslims?

   
Charlemagne and the Saracens
Charlemagne receiving the holy nail
   
Death of Roland
Flight of the Saracens

Due Tuesday May 7

Read When Lilacs Last in the Door-yard Bloom’d

ENGLISH 2

Fall 2005 Prof. Moser
2314B; W, 1:45-2:45; Th, 1:45-2:45
e-mail: jmoser@brooklyn.cuny.edu
English 2 Syllabus
Theme: Visions of Hell
Course objectives:
1. Students will read a variety of texts, from different eras and different cultures.
2. Students will analyze common themes and allusions in these works, and relate them to historical, cultural and social currents of the time.
3. Students will do close analyses of texts, discussing theme, imagery, poetic technique.
4. Students will write 2 short, 2-3 page papers, incorporating quotations from the primary texts to support their points.
5. Students will become familiar with research techniques, library and on-line resources, proper research format and documentation.
6. Students will write a 7-10 page research paper, using at least seven sources from both print materials and on-line sources.
Required texts: (Books available at Shakespeare & Co.)
Packet from Far Better Copy (Odyssey, Books 11,12,24; Aeneid, Book 6)
Bible. On line: http://etext.virginia.edu/rsv.browse.html
Dante. Inferno (trans. Mandelbaum). Bantam
Twain. The Mysterious Stranger and Other Stories. Dover
Bulgakov. Master and Margarita. Grove.
C.S. Lewis. The Screwtape Letters. Harper.
Hacker. Pocket Style Manual. Bedford/St.Martins.
Course requirements:
1. Students are expected to have read all the material due at each class meeting.
2. There will be frequent quizzes and reader response papers. Quizzes are graded P/F. There are no make-ups for missed quizzes.
3. There will be two 2-3 page papers, and a 7-10 page research paper.
4. Students are permitted 3 absences. Two latenesses = one absence.
5. Failure to complete all assignments on time and/or excessive absence will result in a lowered grade for the course.
6. All work is due when assigned. One of the short papers may be handed in late (your choice), but no more than one week late. No other late work will be accepted.
7. Students who are absent from class are responsible for getting the assignment from a classmate before the next class. Homework assignments will also be listed on the web site. Do not e-mail me for the homework.
8. Plagiarism will result in an automatic F for the course.
9. Possible grades range from A+ to F. The lowest passing grade is C-.
Grades:
15% Participation, quizzes
30% short papers
15% preparatory research (annotated bibliography, outline, notes)
40% research paper

Monday, Sept 12 and Thursday, Sept 15: Odyssey (from Packet)

Monday, Sept 19: Aeneid, Book VI.(from Packet)

Due Monday, Sept 26: 2-page paper comaring and contrasting the Greek and Roman views of the afterlife. Use only primary sources. Be sure to support your assertions with specific quotes and references to the texts.


Due Thursday, September 22:

Bring Style Manual

Aeneid:

What are the values most prized by the Romans (see Anchises' speech in Book 6).

Monday, Oct. 2

Read Matthew 24; Isaiah 14, 26; Revelation 20

Thursday, Oct. 6

Matthew 25; in-class writing

Tuesday, Oct. 11:

Read Cantos 1-5 of the Inferno

Monday, Oct. 17:

Read Cantos 6-15. Be prepared to discuss the study guide questions for Cantos 6-15.

Thursday, Oct. 20:

Read Cantos 16-22. Be prepared to discuss the study guide questions.

Monday, Oct. 24:

Finish the Inferno.

Think about topics for short research paper, due Monday, Oct. 31

3-4 pages. Choose one character (historical or mythological) from the Inferno and find some background information. Write a paper describing the character, with documentation from at least three sources, and discussing Dante's placement of the character in the Inferno. Only one source can be an internet source. The Inferno is your THIRD source.

Monday, Oct. 31:

Read the first half of Twains "Mysterious Stranger."

Thursday, Nov. 3:

Finish the Mysterious Stranger

Summarize Chap 10, p. 111-116 (...at that time)

Thrusday, Nov. 10

To hand in: Satan, Devil or Angel?

Read p. 1-97 in The Screwtape Letters

Monday, Nov. 14

Finish Screwtape Letters

Revise short research paper

Thursday, Nov. 17

Meet in Library, room 120.

Monday, Nov. 21

Read Chapters 1-4 in Master and Margarita

Have a lovely Thanksgiving.

Monday, Nov. 28

Read Chapters 5-12 in Master and Margarita

Thursday, Dec. 1

Read Master and Margarita, Chapters 13-20

Thursday, Dec. 8

Finish Master and Margarita

Monday, Dec. 12

Bibliography for research paper.

Thursday, Dec. 15

Annotated bibliography and outline for research paper.

Wednesday, Dec. 21

Research paper due (in my mailbox by 3PM, or e-mailed to me by 11:59PM). No late papers accepted.