Literature you'll love!
Book Catalog
Quick Order Catalog
HomeScholar Books Publications
Lessons from the Lord of the Rings
Resources to Encourage Readers
Great Books for Girls
Tales from the Prairie and the Old West
Curriculum Information
Anne of Green Gables Curriculum
Little House on the Prairie Curriculum
Support Materials Articles on HomeSchooling
Student Resources for Literary Lessons
Teacher Resources for Literary Lessons
Lessons Plans for Literary Lessons
About Us
About Our Company
© 2003 by Amelia Harper. All rights reserved
Unit Eight- Fantasy Literature
General Information for Book Four
Example of Riddles from the Books of Exeter-- See Teacher's Edition page 322
The culminant lord of victories, Christ,
Created me for battle. Often I burn
Countless living creatures on middle-earth,
Treat them to terror though I touch them not,
When my lord rouses me to wage war.
Sometimes I lighten the minds of many,
Sometimes I comfort those I fought fiercely
Before. They feel this high blessing
As they felt that burning, when over the surge
And sorrow, I again grace their going.
OLD ENGLISH VERSION
Mec gesette soš sigora waldend
Crist to compe. Oft ic cwice bęrne,
unrimu cyn eoržan getenge,
nęte mid niže, swa ic him no hrine,
žonne mec min frea feohtan hatež.
Hwilum ic monigra mod arete,
hwilum ic frefre ža ic ęr winne on
feorran swiže-- hi žęs felaš žeah,
swylce žęs ožres, žonne ic eft hyra
ofer deop gedreag drohtaš bete.
SOLUTION:
THE SUN
The Book of Exeter Texts and Translations-Contains each of the riddles in Old English and modern translation. Also contains a page of probable solutions.
Old English version of The Book of Exeter - Contains most of the poems in the Book of Exeter in the Old English form.
Riddle Poems and How to make them- An excellent resource for teachers looking for a way to help students create their own riddle poems. Brings on in Tolkien connection. Not recommended for students as it does make reference to one of the Exeter riddles with a double (more sensual) meaning.
The Tempest-- Notes on the Tempest-- See Teacher's Edition page 331
$3.50
Tales from Shakespeare-- The Charles and Mary Lamb classic prose retelling of some of Shakespeare's most beloved plays. Retold for young people. This resource contains the stories of all the Shakespearian plays mentioned in this curriculum. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED RESOURCE for Literary Lessons from the Lord of the Rings
Shakespeare's The Tempest-- Here you can find the complete text of the play. A
Recommended film version is the BBC version directed by John Gorrie if you can find it available.
LINKS FOR UNIT STUDY EIGHT- Exploring Genre--
Fantasy as Literature
Refracted Light-- A Christian Perspective on Fantasy- I have not read all the reviews on this site, but the ones I have read seem quite good. This is a great site to explore other fantasy works that may be suitable for you or your students. All the works reviewed are not necessarily recommended, but you will get a good idea of what the stories involve. As always, use your own judgment and discretion about the reading material you choose.
"On Fairy Stories" by J.R.R. Tolkien. This original essay by Tolkien is the best work to define the history and impact of fantasy. We discuss a good bit of this in the fantasy unit, but for those who are serious about fantasy (or literature) and want to read the whole thing, you can find it in The Tolkien Reader.Caution: it is not an easy read, though full of golden nuggets.
$7.99
"On Three Ways of Writing for Children" by C.S. Lewis. This excellent essay is shorter and easier to read and defines Lewis's approach to fantasy literature. He confesses that he owes much of his approach to Tolkien's "On Fairy Stories," which he calls the best work on the subject. The best place to find this essay is in the hardcover version of The Chronicles of Narnia.
$30.00
For more great Fantasy resources, please visit our Fantasy Bookshelf
Understanding and Explicating Poetry
-- A general step by step guide to understanding the meaning of a poem. Not everyone will need all these steps, but it is particularly helpful to those who have think they cannot understand poetry.Listening Booth: Listen to poets read their work with access to than 150 audio clips as well as information on nearly 60 CDs. -- This site has several great links for educators: lesson plans, essays, poems to teach, and more. Haiku for people-- This site gives more information about haiku-- definitions, history, samples, and how to make your own. Haiku for the 21st century. These haiku are helpful for those seeking humorous alternatives for those boring messages on the computer. Here are some samples:
Yesterday it worked.
Today it is not working.
Windows is like that.
Three things are certain:
Death, taxes,
and lost data.
Guess which
has occurred.
For more great poetry resources, please visit our Poetry Page
The links above are given for aid in studying Literary Lessons from the Lord of the Rings. Others are welcome to use the information, though most of the material on this site is copyrighted. You are welcome to link to these pages. However, please get our permission before copying any of this to another site. For more information on the curriculum, Literary Lessons from the Lord of the Rings, please click here to explore more of the information on this site.
Click here for Content Information
Click here to see Course Objectives
Click here to see Table of Contents
Click here to See Literary Terms Covered
Click here for Curriculum Samples
Click here for Comments and Reviews
Click here for Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Click here for Teaching Resources (including lessons plans)
Click here for Student Resources (including unit study links)
Click here to see who else carries the curriculum
Click here for more Tolkien Resources