1 AP Literature and Composition Summer Project 2017 Athens HS Contents: Biblical Allusions Assignment -------2 Beowulf Reading Assignment --------3 Beowulf Creative Assignment --------5 You may type or neatly handwrite each assignment. If typing, your paper must be typed in size 12 Times New Roman font, double-spaced, with an MLA heading. If handwriting, write only on one side of the paper and use an MLA heading. All assignments need to be turned in on the first day of school. Please make sure each part has your name on it and has a title that clearly identifies which part of the entire project it is. Copies of Beowulf are available for check-out from the high school. If you wish to purchase and use your own book, make sure you use the translation and edition with the following ISBN number: ISBN-13: 978-0451003355. To complete the Biblical Allusions assignment, use the King James version of the Bible. You may procure your own copy to use for the assignment or search for the relevant sections online. There are many places online where it is free to view, print, and use. If you would like a print-out of the needed sections, please notify Ms. Hurley ( shurley@athensisd.net ) prior to May 31. You are responsible for obtaining the items needed to complete the assignment or contacting a school official to help you obtain items. As a future AP Literature and Composition student, you need to take ownership of your learning and seek out help and clarification when you need it.
PART 1 - Bible as Literature and Biblical Allusions The Kings James Bible (1611) is considered a great work of literature in its own right, and it has influenced countless Western literary works, including many novels and poems that we will read in AP English. Thus, you are required this summer to read key books of the Bible and become familiar with common biblical allusions. Below is a short list of quotations, places, names, phrases, etc. Many of these will be found in Genesis, Exodus, Matthew, and Luke. You must read these four books carefully and in their entirety. Read Numbers Ch. 31, Deuteronomy 34, Psalms 8, 22 and 23. You will need to look in some of the other books for some other items. 2 For each bulleted item below, list the item, its meaning, and the context of the item (What was going on the passage when this phrase was used?). It is highly likely you will be quizzed on these items (know the book and context for each item.) and key points of required books during the first week of school. Expect also a short essay test on some literary aspect of one of the four required reading books (Gen., Ex., Mat., Luke) HINT: Books and chapters are provided for you. You have to match them. Adam's Rib Alpha and Omega Am I my brother's Keeper? Ark of the Covenant Ashes to ashes, dust to dust Babel Be fruitful and multiply Break bread Burning bush By their fruits shall ye know them Camel through the eye of a needle Cast the first stone Water into wine Chariot of fire Consider the lilies of the field Crown the thorns David and Goliath Daniel and the Lion's den Doubting Thomas Eye for eye, tooth for tooth Forty days and forty nights Four horsemen of the Apocalypse Gain the whole world but lose your own soul Gold, Frankincense, and myrrh Golden calf Golden rule Good Samaritan Harden your heart Jonah and the whale Lamb of the slaughter Let my people go Loaves and fishes Manna from Heaven Mark of Cain Methuselah Midianites (connection to Moses) Noah's Ark Out of the mouth of babes Parting of the waters Prodigal son Seven Pillars of Wisdom Sodom and Gomorrah Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof Thirty pieces of silver This my body Tree of Knowledge Turn the other cheek Valley of the shadow of death Voice crying in the wilderness Way of all flesh Who lives by the sword shall die by the sword Wisdom of Solomon Words made flesh
BIBLICAL REFERENCES MADE ABOVE Genesis : 1:22-23; 2:9,16-18; 2:21-22; 3:17-19; 4:9-10; 4:15-16; 5:25-27; 6:13-16; 7:12-14;11:8-9; 18:20-21 Exodus :3:1-2;4:21;5:1;14:15-17;16:14-15;21:23-25;25:10;32:4 Numbers 31:10-18; 1 Samuel 17:4,8-9; Isaiah 40:1-3; Daniel 6:16; Proverbs 9:1; Joshua 23:14; 1 Kings 3:16-28 Matthew 2:11,6:26-34,7:12-16,16:24-36,19:23-25,26:14-15,26:26-29,26:49-54,27:27-29 Luke 6:29,10:30-34,15:11-15; Revelation 1:7-8,11,5:1-10,6 2 Kings 2:9-12; Jonah 1:2; Psalms Nos.8,22,23 3 PART 2 - Beowulf Over the summer, secure and read Burton Raffel s translation of Beowulf. Note: While there are recent translations, the epic itself was written down from the oral tradition by anonymous Christian priests, somewhere between the 8th and 11th centuries, who sought to Christianize the pagan Anglo-Saxons whose story Beowulf is. Because of this mission, the poet superimposes his Christian beliefs and culture on the ancient pagan one. It will be more beneficial to your understanding of the piece to complete the Biblical allusions portion of the assignment first. INSTRUCTIONS Choose one question from each section below and compose a well-crafted, one-page, multi-paragraph response to each including cited contextual evidence and extensive commentary. (If handwriting, each response must be between 500-700 words in length.) Do not research your answers, but format your responses in MLA style. For an example of heading, spacing and pagination, go to the OWL at Purdue http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/. Number your responses appropriately. Section I: Study Guide Questions 1. Discuss the history of the Danish kingdom. Why is Beowulf s arrival so important to the Danes? Why does Beowulf want to go to a foreign country and risk his life? What purpose does his arrival have to do with the overall meaning of the work? (Overall meaning has to do with the rhetorical purpose, the attitude held by the anonymous poet.)
2. What purpose has fate in the lives of the Danes? Research the term wyrd (pronounced weird ). How does it compare and contrast with the idea of fate? How does the poet attempt to reconcile the Danes thinking with Christian beliefs? 4 3. Why is Beowulf s appearance so important to the Danes? 4. Why does the poet tell Unferth s story? Which characteristics of Beowulf are developed through this tale? 5. Choose one of the following and explain what it symbolizes in Beowulf. Provide textual evidence for your explanation: weapons, shield, hoarded treasure, dragon, lair, Beowulf s funeral Section II: Central conflicts: Discuss how the battles are significant to the overall meaning of the work. 1. Battle at the mead hall. What is significant about the light/dark imagery involved? Why is Grendel described as a descendent of Cain? What rhetorical purpose does this serve? Why is the use of swords not successful? How does Beowulf win this battle? What is significant about how he wins the battle? 2. Battle in Grendel s mother's lair. Discuss the imagery of the lair itself and the meaning implied. What is significant about the creatures? What is the source of the strange light? What is significant about how Beowulf wins this battle? 3. Does Beowulf feel prepared for the final battle with the dragon? What is the poet s rhetorical strategy at this point? 4. What is significant about the behavior of Beowulf s men during the final battle? 5. What does the behavior of the men suggest about the future of the kingdom? 6. The ending signifies a very sad, elegiac tone. Why? How does the poet use this final scene to bridge the pagan world of a war torn society to Christianity? Section III: Overall Meaning 1. In what ways is Beowulf a celebration of the barbarian culture? 2. In what ways does the epic demonstrate the end of the culture and beginning of a Christian heritage?
PART 3 - Beowulf Creative Assignment For the final portion of the AP Lit summer assignment, choose ONE of the creative options below to complete with flair. 5 Option #1 Write an original episode for Beowulf. Create some new foe for him to fight. Try to follow the Anglo-Saxon style. Final draft needs to be 2 complete typed pages or 900 words handwritten. Option #2 Choose a specific scene from Beowulf to illustrate, paying particular attention to specific details given in your selected passage. Attached to your scene, include a 1 page (typed) or 500 word (handwritten) response that explains your creative choices (why you portrayed the characters as you did). Be sure to also identify the scene you chose via book page numbers. Option #3 A trend in film today is to modernize old stories. (Example: the movie O is a modernization of Shakespeare's play Othello portraying the Othello character as the school's black star basketball player, dating a white girl. The Iago character, the coach's son, is jealous and seeks to destroy the Othello character). How would you envision a modern-day or futuristic Beowulf? Think about what modern-day or futuristic counterparts each major character might have and what roles they would play. Sketch out a storyboard and write a proposal for the movie. Think about what costumes, sets, and special effects might be needed. Film proposals need to include suggested actors, costumes, sets, and special effects. Be sure to explain each creative choice. Final draft needs to be at least 2 complete typed pages or 900 words handwritten. Option #4 Music is another powerful way to enhance a story. For Option #4, create a soundtrack for Beowulf. Choose a minimum of ten songs that would work in a soundtrack of your novel. Analyze each song to make certain it communicates ideas from the book. Include at least one song that relates to the message or theme of the book. For each song include the title, artist, and portion of the lyrics that support a part of the novel. In 7-15 sentences, explain the reasons why you chose it. Be sure you choose songs that relate to specific events, characters, and aspects of the story including the theme/mood/tone. Create an album cover to represent your soundtrack. Your album art should be 5 x5 around the size of a CD insert.