The+Hobbit+-+Week+1

Activites for Week 1 - To be completed before the lesson in week 2.

Introducing Tolkien and His Worlds Tolkien's motivation in writing the Hobbit came from a desire to fill the void created in world literature by the Norman Conquest, which suppressed English storytelling traditions. The author of The Lord of the Rings asked himself a fruitful question. What might the lost tales and poems of the English peoples — the Saxons and other tribes — have been like? Might it be possible to weave these hypothetical narratives into an ambitious work of fantasy?

Runes, Riddles, and a Ring of Power The Hobbit is generally regarded as a "children’s story. It is considered a valuable prelude to [|__The Lord of the Rings__]  and an entrée into the larger world of heroic epic. The first page of The Hobbit, features Tolkien’s explanation of runes. The third sentence is remarkable: "English is used to represent the languages." In other words, Tolkien wants us to imagine that much of the dialogue in this story represents translations from other languages. Hobbits, dwarves, goblins, and elves all have their own distinctive tongues. The astonishing fact, of course, is that Tolkien didn’t simply posit these languages. He imagined what they might look and sound like, and in the case of the elven tongues — Quenya and Sindarin — he fashioned them in full. A brilliant philologist, Tolkien had a gift for devising syllables and syntaxes no one had ever heard before. Indeed, the author’s primary motive in creating Middle-earth was to give his invented languages a home. Although Tolkien did not write The Hobbit with a sequel in mind, in retrospect the book seems rather like a rehearsal for The Lord of the Rings.Before the story is done, we leave the folktale realm of trolls and goblins to behold a spectacular clash of armies. Like The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit is an epic fairy tale.

Preliminary Quiz 1. Name two of the three physical attributes that, in Gandalf's opinion, should make Bilbo an ideal member of the quest team.  Answer: Bilbo can fit through a hole too small for a dwarf; hobbits are quieter than anyone else; the dragon has never smelled a hobbit. 2. What is the Last Homely House? (Answer: the home of Elrond and the Elves in Rivendell.) 3. Name two kinds of unnatural creatures that menace Bilbo and the dwarves. (Answer: trolls, goblins, spiders, wargs, dragons.) 4. What happened to William, Tom, and Bert when the sun came up? (Answer: They turned to stone.) <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">5. What is particularly unusual about Beorn? <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #ffffff; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">(Answer: He can change into a bear.) <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">6. Who was Durin? <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">(Answer: In Thorin's words, "He was the father of the fathers of the eldest race of Dwarves, the Longbeards, and my first ancestor: I am his heir.") <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> 7. What was the "false riddle" that Bilbo used to stump Gollum? <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> (Answer: "What have I got in my pocket?") You have 4 tasks to complete this week.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #800000; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 14pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Writing in Runes. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> Using the information about Anglo-Saxon Runes, write your name in runes. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #800000; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 14pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Speaking in Riddles. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> In the novel Gollum and Bilbo have a riddle contest....Use the internet to find a selection of riddles. This type of puzzle exists in all cultures and throughout all ages. Who can find the strangest riddle? The most profound? The most delightful? The most outrageous? A riddle with several answers? Select 3 riddles, each from a different culture. Translate one of these riddles into runes, using the information above. Next week we will have a riddle contest reminiscent of the famous Gollum-Bilbo match.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #800000; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 14pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Inventing a Language. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> Working with a partner/or by yourself make up a name for a nonexistent language — Blorgolese, Arcanian, Friktic, whatever — then flesh it out with ten verbs, ten nouns, ten adjectives, and five prepositions. Prefixes and suffixes are allowed. Verbs will prove the biggest challenge. Do the speakers of this secret tongue look to the future, or do they live only for the moment? Can you write a sentence with your invented language? Come to the next lesson prepared to recite your sentence to the group.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #800000; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 14pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The Personal Epithet. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> Investigate the meanings of your own names to derive a personal — and perhaps delightfully absurd — epithet. Baby-name books are a useful resource here. If a person is called Fred Edwards, his personal epithet would be "Peaceful-Ruling Son of the Rich Guardian." If she is Linda Cooper, her epithet would be "Beautiful Barrel Maker." If she was Melinda May Bennett she would be "Blessed Honey, with a bitter heart".