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Teresa Kaho Week 1-3 responses

QUESTION 1 ANSWER The Voluspa is one of the most notable poems that is part of the Poetic Edda and contains traces of Norse cosmogony, history, gods, men, and monsters, along with a world origin story and prophecy of an apocalypse understood by North Germanic peoples (Kuiper, 2011). According to Wessen (as cited in Wanner, 2008) the Edda’s purpose was to provide the mythology, stylistics, and metrics of ancient Scandinavia. With features of Icelandic scenery in the poem, Kuiper (2011) states that Voluspa is often thought to have been composed around the year 1000 in Iceland; a time Icelanders believe was the approach of Christianity and the fall of their ancient gods. This is also addressed by Bellows (1923) in where he alludes to the Christian influences pointed out by critics, with one example (from Extract 3 in Voluspa): She sees the earth      rising again out of the waters,      green once more; an eagle flies      over rushing waterfalls, hunting for fish  

Post 1, W1-3

Post 1 Weeks 1-3 1. What genres do the following texts belong to, and how do their intended period contexts, purposes, and intended audiences differ? Voluspa is an example of a mythological poem. With its many references to the ‘gods’ defining its genre, “Far-famed Thor”, “the son of Odin”, (Terry, 1990, 1966). Put to writing around the 10 th century it is thought to be much older and originating within the oral traditions. The old Norse text appears in a few sources, The Codex Regius, the Hauksbók manuscripts and the Prose Edda. Not a lot is known about the history of Voluspa, but it clearly details the creation of the world and its ultimate destruction (Voluspa Translations, 2012). Its purpose was probably to remind those listening or reading of their creation story, and inform them about the end of the world, and what the warning signs of that end would be. (Gay, 2015)   Volsunga Saga is a legendary saga by genre, we see this because instead of it dealing with mythology an

Week 1-3

Q1. What genres do the following texts belong to, and how do their intended period contexts, purposes, and intended audiences differ? Voluspa, Volsunga Saga, Beowulf, The Hobbi t and  Lord of the Rings . A. The following texts seem to be largely divided into ancient and new literature. Classical literature has Voluspa, Volsunga Saga and Beowulf and modern literature has The Hobbi t and  Lord of the Rings . To further refine, we can see that Voluspa is a genre of a Mythological poem, as the following references to gods from the poetry illustrate: "Far-famed Thor, the son of Earth, goes north to fight the Snake (l.75-76)". Also, Volsunga Saga is a legendary prose of Iceland's Volsung Family in the 13th Century, and Beowulf is an epic poem with heroic figures: "He thought of his youth on his way to attack the dragon. In the final battle, as the king of the country, Beowulf killed an evil dragon for his people, but at the same time he lost his life." Th

week 1-3

Q. What genres do the following texts belong to, and how do their intended period contexts, purposes, and intended audiences differ? The Voluspa is an example of a mythological poem due to the reference of gods and the telling of the beginning of worlds and the prophetic telling of the end of the worlds. “The sun turns black, the earth sinks below the sea, no bright star now shines from the heavens; flames leap the length of the World Tree, fire strikes against the very sky.” From Voluspa, Terry, P. (Trans). (1990, 1966). Poems of the Elder Edda. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. The Voluspa was written sometime between the 10th and 12th century in northern europe a very christian but previously Norse area. Although it is likely it was an oral tradition before that. The hobbit and the lord of the rings are both examples of fantasy novels shown in this exchange “"Which king?" said another with a grim voice. "As like as not it is the marauding fire of the