W4 Literature introduction to the Middle Ages

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• vwo
• Leerjaar 4

On the following pages, you will see an overview of the lesson aims for the  first part of literature: the middle ages. For each aim, you can indicate whether or not you already meet this criterium. 

1. I know what my teachers expect in terms of knowledge and skill come test week 2.

1. Yes
2. No
3. Partly

2. I know what society in the early and late middle ages looked like in Britain.

1. Yes
2. No
3. Partly

3. I have revised what I already knew about the middle ages.

1. Yes
2. No
3. Partly

4. I know what Beowulf is, what language it is written in and a little bit of what the story is about.

1. Yes
2. Beo-who?
3. Partly

5. I know what fables are and I know the story of the fox and the wolf

1. Yes
2. No
3. Partly

6. I know the story of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

1. Yes
2. No
3. Partly

7. I know the tripartite structure and the framework story of the Canterbury Tales

1. Yes
2. No
3. Partly

8. I know the prologue and storyline of the Wife of Bath's tale

1. Yes
2. No
3. Partly

9. I have read and researched one of the other stories in the Canterbury Tales

1. Yes
2. No

I know the most common stylistic devices used in Medieval times.

1. Yes
2. No
3. Partly

EARLY MIDDLE AGES: 

BEOWULF 

LATE MIDDLE AGES: 

SIR GAWAIN AND THE GREEN KNIGHT 

THE FOX AND THE WOLF 

CANTERBURY TALES 

What should you KNOW at the end of the course? 

1. Storylines / meaning of all the works we've read. 

2. Symbolism and background of said stories

3. Information about the author, if he is known. 

4. Characteristics and brief history of early middle ages, late middle ages, renaissance, humanism. 

5.  Stylistic devices and how you recognise them 

6. Characteristics of epic poems, frame stories, sonnets, metaphysical poetry 

What should you BE ABLE TO DO come TW 2:  

1. Answer questions about content and background of the works of literature.

2. Recognise stylistic devices in a certain work. 

3. Decide which period a work is from, based on information that you have. Example: if it rhymes, it is not from the early middle ages. 

4. Analyse a poem that you've never seen before.  

What do you know about the early Middle Ages?

What do you know now that you didn't know before?

What is NOT another name for the Middle Ages?

1. The light ages
2. Medieval times
3. The dark ages
4. Medieval history

What marked the beginning of the Middle Ages?

1. The fall of the Roman Empire
2. The invasions of the vikings
3. The death of Charlemagne
4. The conversion to christianity

True or false: during this time period, being a Christian meant being a Catholic.

1. True
2. False

The Middle Ages are in the middle of what?

1. Rise of Christianity and rise of Islam
2. Age of hunters - gatherers and age of wigs and revolutions
3. Mongolian invasions and viking invasions
4. Roman empire and Renaissance

What two germanic groups invade and take over Britain before the viking invasions?

1. Danes and Saxons
2. Romans and Angles
3. Angles and Saxons
4. Huns and Danes

Which is NOT a motif in early medieval English storytelling?

1. Romantic love
2. Blood vengeance
3. Contrast between pagan and Christian values
4. Heroic value

True or false: stories in medieval times were told many times before someone wrote them down

1. True
2. False

True or false: during the early middle ages, England was one country, led by a strong leader

1. True
2. False

The greatest shame for a man in medieval times was

1. Not knowing how to read and write
2. Cheating on his wife
3. Betraying his king
4. Walking away from battle

People in the middle ages still believed in monsters, witchcraft and pagan gods

1. True
2. False

One final question: would you like the teacher-talking-part of the lessons in English or in Dutch?

1. English
2. Dutch
3. Neither, but Swedish would be nice.

HOMEWORK:

Read and summarise page 2 - 4 of the literature reader. 

How far do you think you can still go back to still understand what people are saying?

Our first story, Beowulf, is from the early middle ages. This is why 

- We will read modernised versions of the text

- Most of the story will be told by your teacher