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
General Information for Book Three
General Information for Book Three
Examples of ubi sunt poetry-- see Teacher's edition on page 242
A excerpt from the Anglo-Saxon Poem "The Wanderer"
Translated by Michael Alexander
Where is that horse now? Where are those men? Where is the hoard-sharer?
Where is the house of the feast? Where is the hall 's uproar?
Alas, bright cup! Alas, burnished fighter!
Alas, proud prince! How that time has passed,
Dark under night's helm, as though it never had been!
Ubi Sunt Qui Ante Nos Fuerunt?
Anonymous (c. 1275)
Were beth they biforen us weren,
Houndes ladden and havekes beren
And hadden feld and wode?
The riche levedies in hoere bour,
That wereden gold in hoere tressour,
With hoere brightte rode?
Eten and drounken, and maden hem glad;
Hoere lif was al with gamen ilad;
Men kneleden hem biforen;
They beren hem wel swithe heye;
And, in a twincling of an eye,
Hoere soules were forloren.
Were is that lawing and that song,
That trayling and that proude gong,
Tho havekes and tho houndes?
Al that joye is went away,
That wele is comen to "Weylaway!"
To manie harde stoundes.
Hoere paradis they nomen here,
And nou they lien in helle ifere;
The fuir hit brennes hevere.
Long is ay, and long is o,
Long is wy, and long is wo;
Thennes ne cometh they nevere.
Where
by David McCord
is
a contemporary example of the ubi sunt model:
Where is that little pond wish for?
Where are those little fish to fish for?
Where is my little rod for catching?
Where are the bites I'll be scratching?
Where is my rusty reel for reeling?
Where is my trusty creel for creeling?
Where is the line for which I'm looking?
Where are those handy hooks for hooking?
Where is the worm I'll have to dig for?
Where are the boots that I'm too big for?
Where is my boat for rowing?
Where is …?
Well, anyway, it's snowing.
Another Example of the modern use of the ubi sunt model:
Lyrics to the 60's anti-war song "Where Have All the Flowers Gone"
words and music by Pete Seeger performed by Pete Seeger and Tao Rodriguez-Seeger Where have all the flowers gone? Long time passing Where have all the flowers gone? Long time ago Where have all the flowers gone? Girls have picked them every one When will they ever learn? When will they ever learn? Where have all the young girls gone? Long time passing Where have all the young girls gone? Long time ago Where have all the young girls gone? Taken husbands every one When will they ever learn? When will they ever learn? Where have all the young men gone? Long time passing Where have all the young men gone? Long time ago Where have all the young men gone? Gone for soldiers every one When will they ever learn? When will they ever learn? Where have all the soldiers gone? Long time passing Where have all the soldiers gone? Long time ago Where have all the soldiers gone? Gone to graveyards every one When will they ever learn? When will they ever learn? Where have all the graveyards gone? Long time passing Where have all the graveyards gone? Long time ago Where have all the graveyards gone? Covered with flowers every one When will we ever learn? When will we ever learn? ©1961 (Renewed) Fall River Music Inc All Rights Reserved.
see Teacher's Edition page 261
The Tragedy of MacBeth-- A Link to the Shakespearean play
Unit Studies Six and Seven- Exploring Beowulf
The whole Beowulf- A full copy of the Francis Gummere translation excerpted in the text of Literary Lessons from the Lord of the Rings.
Beowulf in hypertext- This site provides both the poem both in Old English and in modern English. Also includes more information about the history involved and the cast of characters. A great site!
An adaptation of Beowulf- You can read Dr. David Breeden's adaptation of the poem online. Interesting sketches accompany each episode.
The Electronic Beowulf- This site is rather complicated to navigate, but it is great for learning about the history of the Beowulf text. Lots of images of the original manuscript.
Resources for the Study of Beowulf: This amazing site has tons of resource links from fun links to the more educational. Well worth a look!
Hear Old English read- This site offers brief audio clips of Beowulf read in the original language. This gives you a feel of how the poem sounded when it was originally recited by the ancient scops.
Looking for a way to sing the story of Beowulf? Feel free to set this original poem to tune of your own! Please, no rap versions! If you do, I don't want to hear about it. :)
THE BALLAD OF BEOWULF
by Amelia Harper
Beowulf, he was a man, and a big brave man was he.
He came to help them Danish folk from over the big sea!
He did not deign to use a sword against his worthy foe.
But grabbed its arm and yanked it off and caused a world of woe!
Woe! Oh! Woe! Oh! He caused a world of woe!
But momma monster, she did come to seek her tender young.
She was so mad when from the roof she saw his arm there hung!
She grabbed a thane and whisked him off to her old smelly pool,
And there she ripped his bald head off (which was a little cruel.)
Woe! Oh! Woe! Oh! Which was a little cruel!
Beowulf, he chased her down and this time grabbed a sword
He did not even stop to breathe or grab a divers cord,
But jumped right in and swam on down until he reached the dame,
And this time killed her truly dead and earned his lasting fame
Woe! Oh! Woe! Oh! And earned his lasting fame!
Now Beowulf, he ruled awhile and then he grew quite old.
Then came along a dragon-worm who just had lost some gold.
He ripped and roared and flew above and turned a town to toast;
But Beowulf was not too fond of the dragon's people roast.
Woe! Oh! Woe! Oh! Of the dragon’s people roast.
He took some thanes and went to seek the big old fiery worm,
But as they neared the dragon's lair, those thanes began to squirm.
So Beowulf and one brave thane gave that old worm the rout.
They slew that sneaky dragon foe and put his fierce fire out!
Woe! Oh! Woe! Oh! They put his fierce fire out.
But Beowulf fared not so well, for he had gotten bit
Though he had bravely fought his foe and did not ever quit.
He gave his thane his crown and bid him do as he was told,
And then he died while gazing at his hard-won dragon gold.
Woe! Oh! Woe! Oh! At his hard-won dragon gold.
Woe! Oh! Woe! Oh! And now his tale is told.
© 2003 by Amelia Harper 2003. All right reserved. Contact the author for reprint permission
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.SUGGESTED BOOKS FOR FURTHER STUDY:
Beowulf: A New Translation by Seamus Heaney $13.95
A modern and highly acclaimed translation by renowned poet Seamus Heaney. Also contains the parallel poem in Old English.
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