English 9

What’s the Target?

At the end of the lesson, I can:
Share prior knowledge about a text topic;
Identify the distinguishing features of notable Anglo-American
lyric poetry, songs, poems, sermons, and allegories: epic poem;
Skim to determine key ideas and author’s purpose;
Use appropriate segmentals (sound of English) and
suprasegmentals (prosodic features of speech) in a speech choir, jazz
chants, and rap;
Compare and contrast the qualities of fictional superhero and
real-life hero; and,
Create an acrostic for the word EPIC about your real-life super
hero.
 Activity 1:
I Am A Hero

Every day, countless acts of

heroism are performed by
unsung and unnamed
heroes.
Considering your age and your lack of
superpowers, how would you respond to the
following situations?
1. Typhoon, flood, Philippine flag is floating in raging
flood water
2. A classmate being bullied, helping may subject you to
the same bullying
3. A handicapped is crossing the street, unguarded
4. An old lady who is standing inside a moving bus
5. A foreigner asking for directions
 What does it
mean to be
courageous?
Does having
courage make a
Who are the Anglo-Saxons?
Anglo-Saxons were the Germanic conquerors of Britain
during the 5th century A.D. They first established a number of
separate kingdoms, principally Northumbria, Mercia, and
Wessex, but eventually England was unified under the Anglo-
Saxon dynasty. Kings ruled with the assistance of a witan, a
council of wise men. Popular government and justice at the
local level took the form of hundred courts. They were
eventually converted to Christianity. The Anglo-Saxons
developed a rich art and literature and their language is known
as Old English.
Beowulf is the greatest piece of literature from the Anglo-
Saxon. An epic, it tells the story of Beowulf, a Norse hero and
warrior who fought and conquered several monsters that
terrorized Denmark and Sweden. The poem combines the
elements of Anglo-Saxon culture with Christian moral values in
an extraordinary adventure story.
 Beowulf
- The only known surviving manuscript
from c. 1000. some historians believe it
might date right back to c. 750.
A Little focus shall do!

• Comrades • Dwellings
• Prowed • Banquet
• Mast • Gabled
• Adrift • Fiend
• Kinsmen • Spawned
How well did you listen?
a.An evil spirit: a demon or devil
b.The bow of a ship; the forward part of the ship
c. Produces; laid; developed
d.A place where a person lives
e.Close friends you have worked with
f. Floating on the water without being tied to anything or controlled by
anyone
g.Male relatives
h.A long pole rising from the deck of a ship, supporting the yards, booms
and riggingCharacterized by a triangular wall enclosed by the sloping
ends of a ridged roof

i. Energetic or vigorous
j. A formal dinner for many people, usually to celebrate a special event
Comprehension Check!

1. How was Shild described

in the Prologue of the
epic? How about Beo
(Beowulf)? Read the lines
that prove your answer.
Comprehension Check!

2. How was Healfdane

described in the first part
of the epic? How are
Beowulf and Shild related
to him? Read the lines that
prove your answers.
Comprehension Check!

3. Who was Hrogthgar?

How was he related to Beo
(Beowulf)? Read the lines
that prove your answers.
Comprehension Check!

4. Describe Herot. What

was its importance to the
warriors of Hrothgar?
Comprehension Check!

5. Discuss an overview of
the Old English world
based on the excerpt of
the epic.
Comprehension Check!

6. What social patterns of

the Old English world are
reflected in the epic?
Comprehension Check!

7. Based on the excerpt, what

would you say were the qualities
deeply esteemed by the people
of the Anglo-Saxon era? Would
these qualities be equally
esteemed in our country and
times? Justify your answer.
Comprehension Check!

8. In what ways does the

epic bring out the
following Anglo-Saxon
ideals of conduct:
hospitality and love of
freedom and glory?
Comprehension Check!

9. What are the proofs

that the author of the epic
may possibly be a
Christian? Read the lines
that prove your answer.
Comprehension Check!

10. Locate and read the

parts where the so-called
“Song of Creation” is
found.
 Features
of Notable Anglo-
American Lyric Poetry,
Songs, Poems, Sermons,
and Allegories
Anglo-Saxon Poetry

-refers to poetic works in

the Old English language, which
was spoken and written by the
Anglo-Saxon people
 According to the Venerable Bede, the Anglo-
Saxon people were a composite of three separate
tribes—the Angles, the Saxons, and the Jutes.
When the Romans withdraw from Great Britain to
settle troubles closer to home, the Britons found
themselves under constant attack by their Pictish
neighbors. Vortigen, the king of the Britons at
the time, hired Germanic mercenaries from
mainland Europe to help defend his people.
These mercenaries found Vortigen and his armies
weak.
 They rebelled, took the island of Great
Britain, and sent messages back to the
mainland for others of their people to
join them. The combined Germanic tribes
of the Angles, Jutes, and Saxons became
known as the Anglo-Saxons as they
homogenized.
 Recordings of the Anglo-Saxon language, also
known as Old English, was a composite of Briton
and Old Germanic. Old English demonstrates four
distinct dialects:
Northumbrian, which was spoken in the
northern parts of the island.
Mercian, which was spoken in central England.
Kentish, the dialect of the southeast.
West Saxon, spoken in southern and southwest
England.
 Out of these, the drive for
literacy by the West Saxon King
Alfred the Great made the
West Saxon dialect most
common in the surviving
literature.
Characteristics
of Anglo-Saxon
Poetry
 Anglo-Saxon poetry has a series of
remarkable and somewhat unique
literary characteristics. To some
degree, this consists of the strange
fusion of heroic saga literature and
Christian religious text. However,
Anglo-Saxon poetry also tends to
involve some particularities regarding
the physical form of the language,
which includes alliteration and
caesura.
 Christian
Ideals in
Anglo-Saxon
Literature
 The Anglo-Saxons were not originally
Christian—in fact, their conquest of the
Christian Britons reintroduced Germanic
paganism back to the British isles.
However, after the conversion of the
Anglo-Saxons that started around roughly
600 AD, the faith began to permeate
many of the Anglo-Saxon literary works
(which were primarily recorded in written
form after that second conversion.)
Christian elements in Anglo-
Saxon literature can include
the following elements,
among others:
Forgiveness
Heaven and Hell
Biblical links/stories
Christian elements in Anglo-Saxon literature
can include:
Forgiveness:
In contrast with the cultural tradition of
blood vengeance, later poems with
Christian elements frequently dwelled
on the ideal of the forgiveness of sins
and transgressions, promoting a
sympathetic response to slights instead
of violent reactions.
Christian elements in Anglo-
Saxon literature can include :
Heaven and Hell:
Characters contemplating the
afterlife and the rewards—or
punishments—they expect to
encounter in said afterlife
occasionally occur in Anglo-Saxon
poetry.
Christian elements in Anglo-Saxon
literature can include :
Biblical links/stories:
In addition to heaven and hell, other
references to Abrahamic stories
commonly appear within Anglo-Saxon
works. As a famous example of this,
both Grendel and his mother—the first
two monstrous antagonists in Beowulf—
are said to be the descendent of Cain,
the first murderer in the Abrahamic
Epic
Epic
-is a long, often book-length,
narrative in verse form that retells
the heroic journey of a single
person or a group of persons.
Elements that typically distinguish
epics include superhuman deeds,
fabulous adventures, highly stylized
language, and a blending of lyrical
and dramatic traditions.
Characteristics
of an Epic
There are several
characteristics of an epic
that distinguish it from
other forms of poetry: The
first and most obvious
characteristic of an epic is
the length of the poem.
An epic is an extensive and
prolonged narrative in verse, so
really it is more like a novel than a
poem.
Most famous epic poems have
been broken down into multiple
books. For example, Homer’s epics
are divided into twenty-four books
and John Milton’s Paradise Lost has
been divided into twelve books.
Another way to spot an epic is
its protagonist. An epic
focusses on the achievements
of a historical or traditional
hero. Epics explore the valour,
deeds, bravery, character and
personality of the protagonist.
 Exaggeration is also a
key part of an epic. The
poet often uses hyperbole
to exaggerate the
character and powers of
the hero.
 Supernatural elements are an
essential part of an epic. Poets use
characters like gods, demons,
angels, fairies, supernatural forces
like natural catastrophes to fill the
reader with awe and wonder.
Milton’s Paradise Lost, Homer’s
Iliad and Beowulf are all full of
these elements.
 The theme of morality is
always present in an epic poem.
The poet uses their writing as a
sort of moral lesson their
readers. Paradise Lost is a good
example of this; John Milton
uses the poem to justify the
ways of God to man through the
story of Adam.
 The language in epic
poems is always quite
lofty, poets never use
common or colloquial
language. The language
itself adds to the overall
sublime and epic feel of the
poem.
 Use of Epic Simile is another
feature that we often see in an
epic poem. Epic simile is a far-
fetched comparison between two
objects, which runs over several
lines to further describe the valour,
bravery and epic stature of the
hero. It is can also be called
Homeric simile (after Homer of
Iliad fame).
The epic poem is often set in
multiple settings. The actions
of the hero can span across
continents and even other
realms or worlds.
An epic also usually
has an omniscient
narrator who sees
and knows all. 
Skimming
Skimming
-is reading a text quickly to get a
general idea of meaning.
An example is when a student
understands a material by looking at
the title, introductions, and any
diagrams and sub-headings. Skim
reading is used to get a clear general
idea of what the text is about.
 Activity:
The Way
You Say It
Some lines spoken by Beowulf
himself are written. Imagine how
these lines are delivered. If you
would be Beowulf for a day, how
would you deliver these lines?
Which part will you deliver
emphasis? Observe variation in your
tone as well as in your voice
projection.
It is always better
to avenge dear
ones than to
indulge in
mourning.
Your deeds are famous,
so stay resolute, my
Lord, defend your life
now with the whole of
your strength. I shall
stand by you.
 He has done his worst but
the wound will end him. He
is hasped and hooped and
hirpling with pain, limping
and looped in it. Like a man
outlawed for wickedness, he
must await the mighty
Activity :
My Heroes
Using the Venn diagram, compare and contrast the qualities of your
favourite fictional superhero with your real-life hero. Fill in the
diagram with the qualities of your fictional superhero on the left and
the qualities of your fictional superhero on the right.

My Fictional Shared Qualities My Real-life

Superhero of My Heroes Hero
1.Why do monsters and epic
heroes coexist?
2.What does it mean to be
courageous? Does having
courage make a hero?
 Mini-Task: EPIC Acrostic

One of the most common types of

acrostic poems is where you use the first
letter to spell a word or phrase. You can
have a lot of fun with this format.
Instructions: Create an acrostic for the word EPIC about your real-life super hero. Be guided with following
criteria: Poetic Form, Focus, Spelling.

E-
P-
I-
C-