Frigga’s Day, August 16: Gilgamesh King of Uruk

EQ #1: What are characteristics of a Quest Heroic Epic?

EQ #2: How does The Epic of Gilgamesh fulfill this model?

  • Welcome! Get pen/cil, paper, wits!
  • Review:Heroic Monomyth
  • Reading: The Epic of Gilgamesh
  • Group Project: Cuneiform Me

ELACC12RL-RI1: Cite strong and thorough textual evidence

ELACC12RL-RI2: Determine two or more themes or central ideas of text and analyze their development over the course of the text

ELACC12RL3: Analyze the impact of the author’s choices

ELACC12RL6: Analyze a case in which grasping point of view requires distinguishing what is directly stated in a text from what is really meant.

ELACC12RL-RI9: Analyze works of British literary and historical importancefor theme, purpose and rhetoric

ELACC12RL10: Read and comprehend complex literature independently and proficiently.

ELACC12SL1: Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions

ELACC12SL2: Integrate multiple sources of information presented in diverse formats and media in order to make informed decisions and solve problems

ELACC12SL4: Present information, findings, and supporting evidence

The Epic and Monomyth: The Quest Hero

What is an epic?

  • Long narrative (story) – often poem – in fancy language
  • Tells the story of a people – who they are, what they’ve gone through
  • Hero – stands for the best in a people, folk or nation
  • Quest – what hero goes through for self and people

Monomyth: The Heroic Quest for Identity

A Herorealizes that s/he is unlike anybody else, and goes on a Quest to figure out who s/he is, and what his/her place is in the world. The hero’s identity is defined and developed through a series of conflicts with:

  • His/Her Own Kind (Man vs. Man)
  • Self/Family –often unusual circumstances w/ birth, parents, etc.
  • His own Folk – usually not like the rest – superior and/or outcast
  • All People Everywhere
  • The Natural World (Man vs. Nature)
  • Plants and Animals (may include monsters)
  • Elements and Forces (weather, mountains, oceans, etc.)
  • The Supernatural (ultimately, Man vs. God)
  • Magic, monsters, etc.
  • God/Gods

At some point, the hero fails, encountering an adversary or obstacle which cannot be overcome. The hero now knows his/herlimits and, therefore, his/her essential nature – who s/he is.A hero is defined not by response to victories, but by response to defeats; because only in defeats does the hero find his or her limits.

Freewrite (90 words added to yesterday’s)

Think of a heroic story you know, and outline the hero’s quest as a series of struggles:

  • His/Her Own Kind (Man vs. Man) (30 words)
  • Self and Family – unusual circumstances w/ birth, parents, etc.
  • His own Folk – usually not like the rest – superior and/or outcast
  • All People Everywhere
  • The Natural World (Man vs. Nature) (30 words)
  • Plants and Animals (may include monsters)
  • Elements and Forces (weather, mountains, oceans, etc.)
  • Laws of Nature
  • The Supernatural (ultimately, Man vs. God) (30 words)
  • Magic, monsters, etc.
  • God/Gods

CLOZE: Mesopotamia

  1. The Epic of Gilgamesh is about a famous king of ______, a Sumerian city in the modern country of ______(the names sound very similar).
  2. Mesopotamiacomes from Greek words meaning “______the ______”
  3. What two rivers frame Mesopotamia?
  4. The area was sometimes called “The ______Crescent” because:
  1. The first ______in the world were built there.
  2. For that reason, Mesopotamia is sometimes called “The ______of ______.”
  3. Cuneiform was first used in ______in about the year ______BCE.
  4. Define cuneiform: ______
  5. The Epic of Gilgamesh probably existed in oral form in about ______BCE, and written on a cuneiform tablet in about ______BCE.

WorldLitComp Group Project: Cuneiform Me!

Complete this worksheet and submit it today. I will use it to remind you of your mission.

Group Name:

Group Members’ Names:

Below, write out the code you will use to write your message.

On the back of this page, write out your message and its translation.

WorldLitComp Group Project: Cuneiform Me!

Complete this worksheet and submit it today. I will use it to remind you of your mission.

Group Name:

Group Members’ Names:

Below, write out the code you will use to write your message.

On the back of this page, write out your message and its translation.