Curated OER
An Introduction to the Odyssey
Epics, like the Odyssey, were told over the span of several days and drew quite a crowd. Before starting the famous work with your class, review this presentation to gain some insight into the structure and history of epic poems.
Curated OER
Poetry: The Most Compact Form of Literature
Introducing or need to review literary devices and terms for a study of poetry? Though text heavy, the explanations and examples of key poetic devices will provide learners with the vocabulary they need to discuss and craft poems.
Curated OER
Beowulf
Students read the epic, Beowulf and examine the nature of good and evil. They compile a list of questions about loyalty tests and take turns asking and answering them. they create Beowulf comic strips and research other epic tales.
Curated OER
Other Poetic Types
Rather than a lesson plan, this resource is a list of poetic forms and young poets are encouraged to try their hand at composing poems of various types.
Curated OER
The Odyssey Plan
Ninth graders read and analyze The Odyssey. They apply note-taking skills to identify enemy, type of enemy, and traits demonstrated throughout the book. Students create a storyboard that illustrates the selected episode from the book...
Other
Abney Website: Ap Vergil's Aeneid
This comprehensive teacher-created resource provides many resources for teaching the "Aeneid." Lots of help on vocabulary, scansion tests, and figures of speech. Activities for every book.
University of Toronto (Canada)
University of Toronto: "Beowulf" Full Text
This site from the University of Toronto offers "Beowulf" in its entirety with the original Old English lines and their modern English translations alternated, line by line.
![America Dept. Of State: Outline of American Literature [Pdf] eBook](http://content.lessonplanet.com/resources/thumbnails/410155/large/bwluav9tywdpy2symdiwmduymc0yotc0ny0xzhf5cgiwlmpwzw.jpg?1589985629 "America Dept. Of State: Outline of American Literature [Pdf] eBook")
Other
America Dept. Of State: Outline of American Literature [Pdf]
This online book presents an overview of American literature chronologically. Eras and movements are explained and biographies of significant authors are provided. This is a good way to understand the background and influences of...
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Mit: Internet Classics Archive: Virgil
This site gives access to texts by Virgil in English. The translations given are NOT exact, but are poetic interpretations of the original Latin.
Library of Congress
Loc: 1900 America: Primary Sources and Epic Poetry
To better understand the United States at the end of the nineteenth century, this interdisciplinary lesson integrates analyzing historical primary resources with literary analysis. Students work in groups and express themselves...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Neh: Edsit Ement: A Story of Epic Proportions: What Makes a Poem an Epic?
In this lesson plan, students will consider "A Story of Epic Proportions: What makes a Poem an Epic?." The plan includes worksheets and other student materials that can be found under the resource tab.
Friesian School
Friesian: Comments on the Bhagavad Gita
Summary of passages and comments on the eighteen chapters as translated by various sources. Includes a chart of the books of the Mahabharata.
Other
Virgil.org
This site is devoted entirely to the study and appreciation of Virgil and his work. A great place to start a study.
Other
The Augustan Period, Vergil, and the Aeneid
Explores the relationship between the Augustan period of Roman literature, its most famous poet, and his greatest work. Provides good background to the life of Vergil and the genre of epic poetry.
The English Teacher
The English Teacher: A Beowulf Test
The test can serve as a model for your own assessment of your students' understanding of the Old English epic poem.
The English Teacher
The English Teacher: Beowulf Lesson Plans
These teaching notes for Beowulf provide a model for your own lesson plan and as a basic resource to study Beowulf. These notes can help you remember the pertinent points of Anglo-Saxon epic poem and help to deepen your understanding.
ReadWriteThink
Read Write Think: Teaching the Epic Through Ghost Stories
This lesson plan uses the oral tradition of ghost stories (anchored in the Gothic) as a means of explaining the oral tradition of the epics. Included in the lesson plan is an overview, practice, objectives, resources, preparation, and more.
Authors Calendar
Author's Calendar: Virgil
This biography of Virgil, author of the famous Roman epic The Aeneid, is complemented by selected quotes from his works and a detailed bibliography.
University of Victoria (Canada)
The U Vic Writer's Guide: Literary Term: Epics
The University of Victoria's English department gives a comprehensive definition of the "epic" poetic form. Short examples included.
Able Media
Reading Vergil's "Aeneid"
Comprehensive site delves into the reading and study of Vergil's master work, "The Aeneid". Begins with discussions about the genre of epic and the historical events that influenced Vergil's work. Finally, the author gives a multitude of...
Encyclopedia Mythica
Encyclopedia Mythica: Mythology
Enhance your study of world mythology with these articles from Encyclopedia Mythica. Learn about mythic locations, creature, deities, and phenomena from Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, and Oceania.
Other
Mesopotamian Civilization: The Land Between the Rivers
This detailed article on the Sumerians provides information on Sumerian writing, myth, education, city-states, and artifacts. Part of a larger world history website, "The Land Between the Rivers," is an excellent introduction to the...
Virtual Salt
Virtual Salt: A Glossary of Literary Terms
This site provides a long list of literary terms complete with full definitions and examples.
Other
Uwm Libraries: Traditions and Interpretations
An in-depth look at John Milton's Paradise Lost. Contains many illustrations and interpretations of the text, and includes its publishing history.