Myth and Folklore

Zed and the Monster The castle was lonely, empty of even the bravest of dormice, and Zed wondered when the Beast had last had any sort of guests.  Well, besides his father - whose desire to comply with the young boy's simple request had spurred this whole locked-in-a-castle mess.  It wasn't an ugly castle, not be any stretch of his imagination, but it severely lacked the beauty of a crowded home. Image from DeviantArt Image from Wanted In Rome To escape the haunting emptiness of the castle and its brooding beast, who had taken very little time to get to know Zed what so ever, he would wander the gardens.  It was when he was sitting among the luxurious roses that he ever felt comfortable.  Honestly, as patient as he was, Zed was a little annoyed that the woman hadn't made any attempt to even frighten him.  She was supposed to be a dark gruesome monster - not a quiet hiding mouse! It was on one of his morning walks, however, that he first caught a gli

The Story of Crivoliu Crivoliu is born from an incestuous relationship between a brother and a sister who lost their parents.  On his back, his father made a cross and wrote: "Crivoliu, who is baptized, son of a brother and sister." This story really reminds me of the Greek tale about Perseus whose mother and he were thrown into a box when Zeus impregnated her.   They were also sent to the sea and found by a fisherman.  Crivoliu is also found by a fisherman and is raised by their family.  The brothers' jealousy also reminded me of Joseph from the bible, AKA King of Dreams. In the story, Crivoliu becomes the Pope even though he is a child born of sin.  I thought this was interesting because of how much importance is placed on penance - it wasn't even a sin he committed, but because he repented and prayed, he as considered holy enough to become the Pope.  The Cardinals had been searching for a long time before they found him, so when the dove alighted on his head

Zelinda and the Monster This story is a lot like Beauty and the Beast that is so popular, except for the addition of "Belle" or Zelinda's sisters, Rosina and Marietta.  Her sisters of jealous of her beauty and kindness, and she is definitely her father's favorite. The beast has "the figure of a dragon" and of course is furious when the father "steals" a rose and "destroys" his precious rose bush.  This leads to the part where Zelinda ends up a prisoner in the castle.  The beast doesn't really learn any sort of lesson in this version.  The only stipulating is that a beautiful woman must agree to be his wife - she doesn't necessarily have to love him or does he have to learn to love. It's a lovely tale, but I think it would be fun to add in some different twists.  Perhaps if Zelinda was a boy, Zed, and he had two brothers that envy him through their (still) father adores the youngest boy.  And the beast is a princess

I think I would write my story during the breakfast the morning of the wedding contract.  This is the day after Lady Mary has witnessed Mr. Fox and his murderous secrets.  I would like to do Mr. Fox's point-of-view because as a nervous person I think it would be easier to write the sweaty-palmed anxious Mr. Fox than the cool demeanor Lady Mary as she recounts her "dream" and reveals she knows his secret. The story really plays on rhyme/rhythm in the dialogue, which would be interesting to use on my own.  The characters, when replying to each other, really play off what the other is saying; it has an essence of parallelism that really resonates when they're speaking.  This was really apart of the literature at that time, so I guess if I wanted to give it a more modern twist I could make it less apparent in its "parallel" voice. An interesting thing about the story is that we don't know why Mr. Fox has all those bodies.  Serial killing wasn't really

Mr. Fox Lady Mary: * young and fair (beautiful) * two brothers * countless lovers Of Lady Mary's countless lovers, Mr. Fox stood out the most. Mr. Fox: * brave * gallant * meet Lady Mary at her father's country house * "surely rich" --- has a castle Lady Mary only cared for him out of all her lovers, so it was decided they would wed.  They go to live in his castle, but Lady Mary is unsettled when she gets there. Written on the gate is "be bold, be bold," a rather encouraging statement that could be mistaken for some family motto.  Yet, written over the doorway is a warning: "be bold, be bold, but not too bold."  Then, above the door to a room, is written: "Be bold, be bold, but not too bold, lest that your heart's blood should run cold." Lady Mary is, of course, horrified to find skeletons and mangled bodies in that room.  She runs, but Mr. Fox returns carrying the body of a beautiful young maide

The Rose-Tree This story was more morbid than I was expecting, as both the little girl and her (although evil) step-mother die.  I really liked the close bond between the brother and sister, as they shared a father but had different mothers.  Family is very important to me, so it was interesting and intriguing to see the importance of family/familial friendships reflected in the fairy tale. After the little girl's death, her brother buries her under a rose-tree.  Then in the spring, after her brother's tears have watered the tree, she reemerges as a beautiful white bird.  I think this metamorphosis is really compelling, because of all the symbolism involved in her human and bird form.  Firstly, when she is a little girl, she has lips like cherries and her skin is white as milk.  This resonates the idea of fairytales like Snow White/Sleeping Beauty with the innocent/virtuous maiden.  She has long hair that also emphasizes purity and beauty.  Then, as a bird, she is a wh

You may have heard the tales of Cinderella , of Snow White , and of Beauty and the Beast .   This tale of romance takes inspiration from these but do not expect the dainty princess and charming prince.   This is a clashing of man and beast – lovers who are hearty and monstrous, trained in warfare and battle, to fight without grief or remorse.   This is the tale of Beowulf and to the beast, which he gave his heart: the monster called Grendel… The first time Beowulf heard of the mysterious creature haunting the hall of Hrothgar, he sat in mountainous Geatsland only two seats down from King Hygelac.   Queen Hygd, the Wise and Fair, took her place beside his favored nephew.   Tales of the North were rare and he looked forward to the bard’s sweet-voice and song.   With only a nod from the greying king silence swept across the merry feast.   Even the children hushed, staring with awe-struck eyes at the figure standing at the King’s side. After being badgered by eligible women – an

Beowulf This time I chose both Grendel Attacks Firstly, this is the first time Grendel is really really seen in all his monstrous glory.  My favorite part of the beginning is how the fog closes back up behind him, making "a sucking sound."  The imagery there is fantastic and I really want to use it in my own retelling if possible.  When Grendel arrives at Herot he casts a spell that makes those already asleep sleep deeper.  Which is a nice sentiment if he hadn't then eaten a bunch of people. Beowulf finally sees Grendel, which will have a different tone in my version, but here is what the original describes: " And now, at last, Beowulf saw what manner of thing this Grendel was. His legs were like the trunks of trees, and they were covered with a kind of gray dry scale that made a noise like paper as the fiend moved this way and that. The body of the beast was shaped like that of a man, but such a man as no mortal eyes had ever before beheld, and the size

For the twelveth week, I chose the Beowulf unit.  I really loved the story of Grendel by John Gardener so Beowulf is also really interesting to me.  I've never actually read the story of Beowulf , which is what Grendel is based on, so it's nice to be able to look into his ballads/stories. The Wanderer's Song is really awesome.  It starts off with this little bit of imagery that I feel has a whole lot of symbolism: "...there was no sound in the whole length of the vast hall save the spluttering of the flares upon the walls and the snarling of two dogs over a chunk of meat on the earthen floor." First of all, the King Hygelac makes an entire hall of people go silent with a gesture - which gives him the characteristic of not only having a powerful role but being a powerful ruler.  The two dogs fighting over the meat also stuck out to me, because it seems to represent the struggle between Beowulf and Grendel. The minstrel's description begins him as

The BullFrog Lover There are three different versions mentioned in this story.  I like the one about the young girl who would go to sing at the river everyday.  She would hear a song about a bullfrog would marry her so when one appeared and transformed into a man she consented when he asked to marry her.  But there is a second part that is quite humorous in my opinion. He was really a tadpole who could take the shape of a human man, but he kept his tadpole mouth.  So he refused to eat and hide his face so they wouldn't see.  At last, his wife turned him around and the family saw his tadpole mouth.  The story says they ridiculed him so much that he left the house forever. I'm kind've curious as to how this tadpole was able to become human, and why couldn't he transform all the way?  It would be interesting to explore this, telling his origins and reasons why he chose this particular girl.  I'm not sure how much importance bullfrogs or frogs, in general, have in

I choose The Moon and the Thunders  for Week 11.  It starts off by introducing the two characters: The Sun - who lives in the East - and her brother, the Moon, who lives in the West.  He is also her lover, but she did not know his identity until later.  He comes only when the moon is dark - should've been a hint if you ask me - but the Sun doesn't know who her mysterious lover is.  So one night she rubs cinders on his face, blaming the cold, and the next night sure enough her brother has spots on his face. Since then he tries to keep away from the sun, and when he has to be close, he makes himself so thin so as to not be as seen.  He is ashamed. There is a lot more in the story, but I wanted to focus on this "love" story.  It really striked me as odd because it didn't seem like most Native American tribes would want to even put the idea of incest into their children's heads.  But I suppose in the end it is mainly telling you it is shameful to do so.