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K. McDermott Content Investigations Holes and Goals Products Fall 2010 Limericks and Legends: Greek and Western Mythology Poems Most of these poems are based on the more widely-accepted Homerian and Olympian versions of the Greek myths. I created several limerick poems, but a few of them are not in this form. Limericks are short, five-line poems with an a-a-b-b-a rhyme scheme. Traditionally, these poems are meant to be witty and obscene. The sing-songy rhythm of the limerick may make it a good mnemonic device for some students to remember basic plots or information for tests. Like the haiku, the limerick forces the student to condense essential information into a few lines. Total Poems: 18; each based on a Greek Myth unless otherwise indicated Please read me Homer’s Illiad, And maybe Virgil’s Aeneid Those Greek epic poems make me swoon and then moan— the dactylic hexameter drives me mad! Oedipus loved his own mother A little too much like a lover— He killed off his dad, And then he felt bad, He gouged out his eyes and he suffered “Oedipus and the Sphinx,” after a Greek pottery image (1890s?) Archimedes, the very good thinker, Found solutions to mathematical stinkers When taking a bath He let out a laugh: ―Eureka! The volume is silver!‖ (Greek legend) Dear Daedalus, Dad, I thought you were smarter— You crafted a dance-path for King Minos‘ daughter; Inventor and master of artisan feats You built Minotaur‘s Labyrinth on Island of Crete But Icarus, I, flew too near to the sun On your wings made of wax Gee thanks, Dad, You‘re dumb! “Daedalus constructs wings for Icarus,” after a relief in the Villa Albani, Rome (Meyers Konversationslexikon, 1888). Zeus was the rageful king-father of deity sons; goddess daughters— The youngest of Rhea, was married to Hera, but had Aphrodite with Dione “The Chariot of Zeus,” from an 1879 Stories from the Greek Tragedians by Alfred Church Athena, the goddess of Wisdom, Was wisest in all of the kingdom— In birth she was had From the head of her dad; The Athenians thought her quite winsome "Athena," Charles Mills Gayley, The Classic Myths in English Literature and in Art (Boston: Ginn and Company, 1893) Odysseus travelled from Troy To get to his wife and his boy— In Ithaca met them, After ten years of bedlam With Cyclops and sirens ahoy! Penelope waited for Oddy; afraid he‘d end up a dead body Propositioned for marriage By that cat, Mnesteres, She waited ten years for her hubby Odysseus Overcome by Demodocus' Song, by Francesco Hayez, 1813-15 King Arthur, he had a round table, composed of all knights who were able— At the good king‘s behest, he like Lancelot best ‗til Sir and Gwen did him most shameful! (British legend) Statue of King Arthur, Hofkirche, Innsbruck, designed by Albrecht Dürer and cast by Peter Vischer the Elder, 1520s Gessler to William Tell said, ―If you shoot your son‘s eye out, you‘re dead!‖ The arrow did soar Through the red apple‘s core And the Tells got to walk free instead (Swiss legend) Persephone, picking some flowers Was abducted by Hades, the coward Demeter was sad, He made wheat-fields go bad, And all the Greeks starved by the hour Helios saw with his eye When Persephone let out her cry ―Hades has got me! He‘ll rape me and rob me! Send Hermes to save me or I‘ll die!‖ Hades had tricked her to eating The seed of a fruit from the ceiling ―You eat underworld grub, Well, now, here‘s the rub: Each winter you‘ll visit me, sweetie!‖ The Return of Persephone by Frederic Leighton, oil painting, (1891) Nymphs enjoyed fun and flirtation, And muses gave men inspiration; When writing their views Poets called to the muse: ―O Muse!‖ was the great invocation Calliope was a great muse By poets she was often used Homer would boast That she liked him the most— Gave the Odyssey and Illiad fuel Orpheus, father of songs Sang and played lyre all day long Followed his wife Down to hell when she died— His dirges brought tears to the gods Eurydice, wife of this piper Had died when attacked by a viper— Hades‘ deal, Orpheus took, But he turned back and looked And Eurydice vanished forever Christian Gottlieb Kratzenstein, Orpheus and Eurydice, 1806, Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen Sources: Buxton, R. (2004). The complete world of Greek mythology. London: Thames & Hudson Ltd. Untermeyer, Louis. (1964). The world's great stories: 55 Legends the live forever. New York: M. Evans Company. Greek vs. Roman Deities I created a chart comparing the gods‘ names in Greek and Roman mythologies. I also composed a limerick to help me remember its significance: The Romans, they thought themselves chic: They stole all their legends from Greeks Their gods were the same, But they had different names— ‘cept Apollo, the only un-tweaked Major Gods and Goddesses Greek Name: Roman (Latin) Name: Aphrodite Apollo Ares Artemis Athena Demeter Hades Hephaestus Hera Hermes Hestia Kronos Persephone Poseidon Zeus Venus Apollo Mars Diana Minerva Ceres Pluto Vulcan Juno Mercury Vesta Saturn Proserpina Neptune Jupiter Mythologies that are Similar Across Cultures and Faiths Egyptian Sacred Texts Creation Stories No unified scripture The Beginnings Mesopotamian The Flood The Afterlife Enuma Elish – humans from clay Gaia & primordial gods emerge from Chaos Utna-pishtim Deucalion & Pyrrha Lands of the Dead, Underworld Generations of man Day of Yaweh; Book of Revelations Day of Resurrection (Qiyama) End of Kali age, Vishnu return as Kulki Shambhala – good triumphs over evil, no destruction Gilgamesh Hesiod‘s Theogony JudeoChristian Muslim The Torah The Bible Genesis - Adam & Eve Noah & the ark Heaven, Hell, Purgatory The Qur‘an (Koran) Qur‘an - Adam & Eve Noah & the ark Heaven, Hell Hindu The Vedas, Upanishads Manu Buddhist Mahayana sutras; Pāli Tipitaka Multiple Lord Vishnu and the egg Anda, Brahma Samsara Reincarnation & Nirvana, samsara Reincarnation & Nirvana, samsara Various: Navajo = Spider Woman, Mayan = Popol Vuh Popol -Vuh Scientific Big Bang Theory Hero-Quest Myths Osirus Greco-Roman Native American The Apocalypse (Chines Yu) (Hopi) The emergence of the 5th world Theseus, Odysseus, Oedipus, Aeneas Abraham, Moses Abraham Krishna Gautama Buddha, the Bodhi tree Wunzh, Kutoyosis, Quetzalcotl meteorites, environmental disaster, entropy Sources: Campbell, Joseph. (1988). Historical atlas of world mythology. New York: Harper & Row. Leeming, D.A. (1990). The world of myth: An anthology. New York: Oxford University Press. Using Washington Post Magazine in the Classroom Halsey, A and Parker, L. (2010). 18 hours. Washington Post Magazine. 28 Nov. 11-17. Montgomery, D. (2010). The apollo kid. Washington Post Magazine. 28 Nov. 19-23 Oftentimes, in my 7th grade placement, my teacher gives reluctant male readers excerpts from news or history articles. Many boys are reluctant to read fiction if it is not action-oriented For example, she instructed one student to read an excerpt from a book about the bombing of Pearl Harbor and also an article summary of the event. He had not been enthusiastic about his book responses and had not completed any for the quarter, but he completed a response for this reading. He also has severe ADHD and it helped him to read the information in chunks. The article, ―18 Hours,‖ is a well written story about a group of people who survived the fatal plane crash that Senator Ted Stevens died in. Newspaper magazine articles are often written in a more narrative style that regular articles—this story about the crash employs suspense and tension well. It almost reads like a Gary Paulsen story. Articles like these can be used to scaffold reluctant or poor readers up to novels like Paulsen‘s. In this issue, there is also an article about an 18 year old becoming a well-recognized local musician through his hard work and dedication to practicing and performing. The young man eventually played his guitar for a large audience at the Apollo Theatre in Harlem. An article like this may appeal to a very wide range of students: it is about pop music and perseverance and it is particularly relevant because it is about a Maryland teenager achieving something in which many students have an interest. Analyzing Print Media: Parade Magazine Cover Newman, Judith. (2010). Inside the teenagers brain. 28 Nov. 4-6. Parade Magazine is written at a much lower reading level than the Washington Post Magazine—both publications are good for teaching concepts of print because they contain a wide range of writing types besides serious articles: food reviews, cartoons, advertisements, how-to articles, advice columns, and interviews. The cover of this issue is for the main article, ―Inside the Teenager‘s Brain,‖ could make for an excellent writing prompt that encourages students to think critically about the way people are portrayed in the media. Students could be asked to write about both the image and the article and how they relate to one another. Even middle schoolers need to be taught about the ways in which information is framed and how that affects our reading. Possible response prompts: Describe what you see in the cover photo. What kind of impression does the cover give about teenagers? Is this representation of your generation fair? What does this make teenagers seem like? What does the article say about teenagers? Why do you think the people who wrote the magazine decided to use a controversial cover page for a reassuring article?