Middle Ages Literature

[ABQmom]

I just want to know your opinions of the following for my rising 8th and 10th graders. I'm trying to narrow down a list. Is the book a must read or no? Do you have suggestions for a translation that you like best?

 

1. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

2. Canterbury Tales

3. Beowulf

4. Oliver Twist

5. Pilgrim's Progress

[ILhsMOM]

just know that while the Canterbury Tales are considered to be fine literature, having read and taught SOME of them to high school, public school students, they are pretty vulgar. I think you might only want to do a story or two from them for 8th graders. I am sure you have proofed it, but the book is a collection of stories that these "pilgrims" make up to pass the time on their trip to Canterbury...each one becomes more vulgar and rounchy (sp?) as the story progresses. Hope this helps... Leesa

[cathmom]

IMO, Beowulf is a must read.

 

Oliver Twist is not medieval. :confused:

[ABQmom]

just know that while the Canterbury Tales are considered to be fine literature, having read and taught SOME of them to high school, public school students, they are pretty vulgar. I think you might only want to do a story or two from them for 8th graders. I am sure you have proofed it, but the book is a collection of stories that these "pilgrims" make up to pass the time on their trip to Canterbury...each one becomes more vulgar and rounchy (sp?) as the story progresses. Hope this helps... Leesa

 

Didn't know this. I did see that in the SL catalog they only recommend a couple of the stories. Is it worth reading any of them if they are mostly vulgar? Any opinions on this one?

[ABQmom]

IMO, Beowulf is a must read.

 

Oliver Twist is not medieval. :confused:

 

Thanks. Heehee--Didn't mean to put that one on my list. :blushing:

[Lori D.]

1. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

We really enjoyed the Tolkien translation, but others prefer the more modern Simon Armitage version (downloadable audio of Armitage's version are linked in the past thread, Audio Download for Sir Gawain and the Green Knight). I think with a study guide and family/group discussion, an 8th grader can tackle this work without too much trouble.

 

You may find these past threads helpful:

- Sir Gawain and the Green Knight: appropriate for 7th and up?

- Sir Gawain and the Green Knight: input needed, please (a great "book discussion" thread)

 

 

2. Canterbury Tales

You may want to consider a modern retelling (I think it's the one by Geraldine McCaughrean) -- a narrative rather than verse version, and I believe it is "clean". That would definitely be more accessible to an 8th grader. We read an online modern translations of 4 stories; of the 4 we did, I recommend the 3 below -- or, if pressed for time, skip the very long Knight's Tale, but DO read the other 2 (they are short). Also be sure to read the conversations that go before and after each tale, as the characters comment on each tale -- and on each other -- giving you a fuller sense of the times and culture and the variety of social classes and their different mindsets. (That is really one of the major reasons why I would suggest reading some of the Canterbury Tales.)

 

In addition to reading SOME of the Prologue, I suggest also reading Chaucer's Retraction.

 

- The Nun's Priest's Tale -- the most famous tale; Chaunticleer the Rooster outfoxes the fox

- The Pardoner's Tale -- three men go looking for Death -- and find it

- The Knight's Tale -- like an ancient Greek tragic epic

 

A helpful resource: the No Fear section of Sparknotes online also has side-by-side original and translation text for the Tales, while the literature guide article on Sparknotes has background info on Chaucer, and analysis of the tales.

 

This past thread on the Canterbury Tales had some very helpful information on translations, but especially on Chaucer and on resources for understanding Chaucer. And this past thread on Teaching the Canterbury Tales had some very helpful ideas, while Is the Canterbury Tales Worth Teaching? might help you decide whether or not to include some of the work in your Medieval literature studies. And finally, the past thread Canterbury Tales: Which Ones? may help you narrow your choices down.

 

 

3. Beowulf

We really enjoyed the Seamus Heaney translation; really captures the rhythm and alliteration of the original language. A good choice for grades 8 and up. For something a little different in the way of a guide, we used The Great Books guide for Beowulf -- it is a Q&A format as a guided discussion on the Christian worldview in the work. We also used the free online Glencoe Literature Library guide for the work, too. (That guide is based on the Raffel translation, but the Heaney translation is SO lovely, I really recommend going with it.) And in the past thread Reading Schedule for Beowulf, I listed a suggested breakdown of how much to read and how long it would take to do the Heaney version.

 

The past thread Since We've Been Talking About Beowulf, has some helpful comparisons of Beowulf with the modern novel of Grendel (written from Grendel's point-of-view), AND of the Beowulf film that came out a few years ago. The past thread Beowulf Question suggests a great resource by Beowulf scholar JRR Tolkien for digging further into the work.

 

 

5. Pilgrim's Progress

We did the very gentle George Schmidt retelling, with illustrations by Barry Moser. Very accessible to middle/high school students. We did not use any guides; just read the retelling. The past thread Which Version of Pilgrim's Progress may help you decide which version you would like, while How Much Time for Pilgrim's Progress... includes some helpful tips on scheduling, as well as some very good additional resources to go with the work.

Edited May 11, 2011 by Lori D.

[Hyzenthlay in Pa.]

1. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

2. Canterbury Tales

 

3. Beowulf

 

 

5. Pilgrim's Progress

 

 

Thank you for taking the time to post all this, most helpful.

[ABQmom]

Thank you Lori! Very helpful indeed.