SE2598: Island Stories: Literatures of the North Atlantic
School | English Literature |
Department Code | ENCAP |
Module Code | SE2598 |
External Subject Code | 100319 |
Number of Credits | 20 |
Level | L6 |
Language of Delivery | English |
Module Leader | Professor Carl Phelpstead |
Semester | Autumn Semester |
Academic Year | 2016/7 |
Outline Description of Module
This module involves the comparative study of sagas, short stories, and novels written during the medieval and modern periods in island communities of the North Atlantic: Orkney, Shetland, the Faroes, and Iceland. The focus will be on two dominant influences that have shaped the literatures of these communities: their natural environment as islands in the North Atlantic and their Norse and Viking cultural inheritance. The modern literatures from these islands are written in several different languages (English and Scots, Faroese and Danish, Icelandic), but Old Norse was the language spoken in all these islands (as well as in mainland Scandinavia) throughout the Viking Age and medieval period: modern Icelandic and modern Faroese are both descended directly from, and remain very closely related to, Old Norse, and a form of Norse, known as Norn, survived in Orkney and Shetland until the eighteenth century and is the source of many dialect words still in use in the islands.
Most of the surviving medieval literature in Old Norse was written in Iceland from the late twelfth century onwards; the earliest extended narratives set in Orkney, Shetland, and the Faroes (Orkneyinga saga and Færeyinga saga) were also written Iceland, in the thirteenth century. The first half of this module explores a selection of the medieval Icelandic prose narratives known as sagas, focusing on the ‘sagas of Icelanders’ genre. The second half of the module is concerned with twentieth- and twenty-first century fiction in which writers engage with the natural environment of the North Atlantic and with the cultural inheritance from Old Norse; the texts studied include: short stories by the acclaimed Orcadian poet, novelist, and prose writer, George Mackay Brown; an historical novel by Margaret Elphinstone set in twelfth-century Fair Isle and Shetland; short Icelandic novels by the Nobel prize winner, Halldór Laxness, and the contemporary poet, novelist, and Björk lyricist, Sjón; and the novel chosen by Faroe islanders as their book of the twentieth century, Heiðin Brú’s The Old Man and his Sons. Key themes that will be explored in relation to both the medieval and the modern texts include: time and the relationship of past to present; issues of local, regional, and national identity (including post/colonial experiences); literature and the environment; literary representations of island life; and ideas of ‘North’ and ‘Northerness’.
Medieval and modern Icelandic and Faroese texts will be read in modern English translations, but the module will also include some language classes in which students will be able to acquire basic reading skills in Old Norse, skills which should enable them to understand saga prose with the help of an Icelandic-English dictionary or glossary and enhance their appreciation of Icelandic literature read in translation.
On completion of the module a student should be able to
- demonstrate a basic understanding of Old Norse-Icelandic grammar by writing a critical and stylistic comparison of a passage of Old Norse prose with two or more published English translations of the passage
- write an informed and appropriately documented critical essay on medieval and/or modern literature from Iceland, the Faroes, Orkney and/or Shetland
- demonstrate a capacity to undertake comparative literary study across different periods and/or different national literatures
- demonstrate an informed awareness of key issues in the study of the set texts
- think critically about the interrelation of texts and their contexts and make appropriate use of contextual material and published criticism in assessed work
How the module will be delivered
There will be one lecture and a two-hour seminar per week. The lectures will introduce and analyse each of the set texts, focusing on the key themes of the module, and will also provide appropriate contextual information. In the first half of the semester the seminars will concentrate mainly on Old Norse language, translation, and comparison of excerpts from saga texts with modern English translations. In the second half of the module the seminars will focus on close reading and literary analysis of the modern set texts.
WHAT IS EXPECTED OF ME?
Students are expected to attend and participate in the lectures and seminars for all modules on which they are enrolled. Students with good cause to be absent should inform their module leaders, who will provide the necessary support. Students with extenuating circumstances should submit the Extenuating Circumstances Form in accordance with the School’s procedures.
The total number of hours which students are expected to devote to each 20-credit module is 200. Of these, 30 hours will be contact hours with staff (lectures and seminars); the remaining 170 hours should be spent on self-directed learning for that module (reading, preparation for seminars, research, reflection, formative writing, assessed work, exam revision). There are also additional seminars and workshops that students are able to attend.
Skills that will be practised and developed
Students will develop an ability to read and interpret Old Norse prose texts in the original language (with the assistance of a glossary or dictionary). They will also practise essay writing skills and critical analysis of texts in modern English. They will develop their capacity to undertake comparative study of texts from different periods and/or places. In seminars students will be able to develop oral communication by contributing to class discussions.
The written and oral communication skills, analytic skills, and skills in textual analysis which students will practise and develop on this module are transferable skills that may prove valuable in a wide range of future careers.
How the module will be assessed
The language work will be assessed by a mid-term assessment involving critical and stylistic comparison of a passage of Old Norse saga prose with two or more published translations of the passage. For the end-of-module essay students will choose from a variety of essay questions on the key themes of the module.
The module is assessed according to the Marking Criteria set out in the English Literature Course Guide. There are otherwise no academic or competence standards which limit the availability of adjustments or alternative assessments for students with disabilities.
THE OPPORTUNITY FOR REASSESSMENT IN THIS MODULE:
In accordance with University regulations, students are allowed two attempts at retrieval of any failed essay, for a maximum module mark of 40%. Resit assessments are held over the summer.
Assessment Breakdown
Type | % | Title | Duration(hrs) |
---|---|---|---|
Written Assessment | 30 | Essay 1 (Mid-Term) | N/A |
Written Assessment | 70 | Essay 2 (January) | N/A |
Syllabus content
The set texts are listed in the Reading List at the end of this module description. This is an indicative programme for the module:
Week 1
Lecture:
Introduction: North Atlantic Literatures
Two-hour Seminar:
Old Norse language: pronunciation, nouns, pronouns
Week 2
Lecture:
Hrafnkel the Priest of Frey (Hrafnkels saga Freysgoða)
Two-hour Seminar:
Old Norse language: verbs; Hrafnkels saga
Week 3
Lecture:
Hen-Thorir (Hænsa-Þóris saga)
Two-hour Seminar:
Old Norse language: style and translation
Week 4
Lecture:
Audun and the Bear (Auðunar þáttr)
Two-hour Seminar:
Old Norse language: Auðunar þáttr
Week 5
Lecture:
George Mackay Brown, Hawkfall and Other Stories
Two-hour Seminar:
Old Norse language: Orkneyinga saga
Week 6
Reading week:
Week 7
Lecture:
Margaret Elphinstone, Islanders
Two-hour Seminar:
Elphinstone, Islanders
Week 8
Lecture:
Sjón, The Blue Fox
Two-hour Seminar:
Literature and Environment: Sjón and George Mackay Brown
Week 9
Lecture:
Faroese fiction
Two-hour Seminar:
Heiðin Brú, The Old Man and His Sons
Week 10
Lecture:
Halldór Laxness, The Atom Station
Two-hour Seminar:
Laxness, The Atom Station
Week 11
Lecture:
Island Stories
Two-hour Seminar:
Comparative readings
Essential Reading and Resource List
Essential Set Texts (in order studied)
Gwyn Jones, trans., Eirik the Red and Other Sagas (Oxford: OUP, [1961] repr. 2008)
George Mackay Brown, Hawkfall and Other Stories [1974] (Edinburgh: Polygon, 2004)
Margaret Elphinstone, Islanders ([1994] repr. Edinburgh: Kennedy & Boyd, 2008)
Sjón, The Blue Fox [2004], trans. Victoria Cribb (London: Telegram, 2008)
Heðin Brú, The Old Man and his Sons [1940], trans. John F. West [1970] (London: Telegram, 2011)
Halldór Laxness, The Atom Station [1948], trans. Magnus Magnusson [1961/2003] (London: Vintage, 2014)
Materials for the Old Norse language part of the module will be supplied as handouts in the first half of the semester: a specially prepared Grammar Guide and weekly worksheets.
Background Reading and Resource List
Medieval Icelandic Sagas
Bredsdorff, Thomas, Chaos and Love: The Philosophy of the Icelandic Family Sagas, trans. John Tucker (Copenhagen: Museum Tusculanum Press, 2001)
Byock, Jesse, Feud in the Icelandic Saga (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1982)
Byock, Jesse L., Medieval Iceland: Sagas, Society and Power (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1988); now updated as Viking-Age Iceland (Penguin 2001)
Clover, Carol, and John Lindow, eds, Old Norse-Icelandic Literature: A Critical Guide (Ithaca: Cornell UP, 1985) [For finding further reading]
Clunies Ross, Margaret, ed., Old Icelandic Literature and Society (CUP, 2000) [Collection of useful articles on different genres]
Clunies Ross, Margaret, The Cambridge Introduction to the Old Norse-Icelandic Saga (CUP, 2010). [Excellent introduction to the sagas. Very highly recommended]
Gísli Pálsson, ed., From Sagas to Society: Comparative Approaches to Early Iceland (Enfield Lock, Middlesex: Hisarlik Press, 1992) [A collection of articles on various texts and topics]
Hallberg, Peter, The Icelandic Saga, trans. Paul Schach (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1962) [An introductory overview of the field, arranged by theme]
Jónas Kristjánsson, Eddas and Sagas: Iceland’s Medieval Literature, trans. P. Foote (Reykjavík, 1988) [A wide-ranging survey of the whole of medieval Icelandic literature which therefore necessarily treats individual texts quite briefly]
Jochens, Jenny, Women in Old Norse Society (1995, repr. 1998)
Jones, Gwyn, A History of the Vikings, 2nd edn (Oxford: OUP, 1984)
Jones, Gwyn, Norse Atlantic Saga, 2nd edn (Oxford: OUP, 1986)
Ker, W. P., Epic and Romance: Essays on Medieval Literature (1897; repr. 1957), Chapter 3 'The Icelandic Sagas'. [Although now very old, this chapter remains one of the best pieces of criticism on the Old Icelandic Sagas]
McTurk, Rory, ed., A Companion to Old Norse-Icelandic Literature and Culture (Oxford: Blackwell, 2005)
Meulengracht Sørensen, Preben, Saga and Society: An Introduction to Old Norse Literature, trans. John Tucker (Odense: Odense UP, 1993) [An excellent guide, especially strong on relations between literature and society]
Miller, William Ian, Bloodtaking and Peacemaking: Feud, Law, and Society in Saga Iceland (University of Chicago Press, 1990)
O'Donoghue, Heather, Old Norse-Icelandic Literature: A Short Introduction (Oxford: Blackwell, 2004) [See especially Chapters 1, 2, 3]
Pulsiano, Phillip, et al., eds, Medieval Scandinavia: An Encyclopedia (New York: Garland, 1993). [A useful reference work containing many articles of relevance]
Tucker, John, ed., Sagas of the Icelanders: a Book of Essays, (New York: Garland, 1989)
Vésteinn Ólason, Dialogues with the Viking Age: Narration and Representation in the Sagas of the Icelanders, trans. Andrew Wawn (Reykjavík, 1998)
Hrafnkel the Priest of Frey
Andersson, Theodore M. ‘The Displacement of the Heroic Ideal in the Family Sagas’, Speculum 45 no. 4 (1970), 573-93; also reprinted in John Tucker, ed., Sagas of the Icelanders: a Book of Essays, (New York: Garland, 1989), pp. 40-70.
Bredsdorff, Thomas, Chaos and Love: The Philosophy of the Icelandic Family Sagas, trans. John Tucker (Copenhagen: Museum Tusculanum Press, 2001) [Includes some interesting discussion of Hrafnkels saga in Chapter 5]
Herman Pálsson, trans., Hrafnkel’s Saga and Other Stories, Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1971. [See the introduction]
Nordal, Sigurður, Hrafnkels saga Freysgoða, trans. R. George Thomas (Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 1958)
Óskar Halldórsson, 'The Origin and Theme of Hrafnkels saga' in John Tucker, ed., Sagas of the Icelanders: a Book of Essays, (New York: Garland, 1989), pp. 257-71.
Audun and the Bear
Fichtner, Edward G. ‘Gift Exchange and Invitation in the Auðunar þáttr vestfirzka’, Scandinavian Studies 51 (1979), 249-72.
Miller, William Ian, Audun and the Polar Bear: luck, law, and largesse in a medieval tale of risky business (Leiden: Brill, 2008).
Rowe, Elizabeth Ashman, and Joseph Harris, ‘Short Prose Narrative (þáttr)’ in Rory McTurk ed., A Companion to Old Norse-Icelandic Literature and Culture (Oxford: Blackwell, 2005), pp. 462–78.
Old Norse Language
Barnes, Michael, A New Introduction to Old Norse: Part 1. Grammar (London: Viking Society, 1999)
Zoega, Geir T., A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic (Oxford: OUP, 1910) [Can also be consulted online]
Modern Icelandic Literature; Halldór Laxness; Sjón
Hallberg, Peter, Halldór Laxness, trans. Rory McTurk (New York: Twayne, 1971)
Halldór Guðmundsson, The Islander: A Biography of Halldór Laxness, trans. Philip Roughton (London: MacLehose Press, 2008)
Hannity, Mary, ‘Interview with Sjón’, The White Review online issue (October 2012) http://www.thewhitereview.org/interviews/interview-with-sjon/
Neijmann, Daisy L., A History of Icelandic Literature (Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press, 2007)
Oslund, Karen, Iceland Imagined: Nature, Culture, and Storytelling in the North Atlantic (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2011, repr. 2013)
Popescu, Lucy, ‘In the Grandmothers’ Archipelago: An Interview with Sjón’ http://www.wordswithoutborders.org/dispatches/article/in-the-grandmothers-archipelago-an-interview-with-sjon/ (2010)
Stefán Einarsson, A History of Icelandic Literature (New York: Johns Hopkins Press, 1957)
Sjón’s author website: http://sjon.siberia.is/
Orkney and Shetland; George Mackay Brown; Margaret Elphinstone
D’Arcy, Julian Meldon, Scottish Skalds and Sagamen: Old Norse Influence on Modern Scottish Literature (East Linton: Tuckwell Press, 1996)
Fergusson, Maggie, George Mackay Brown: The Life (London: John Murray, 2007)
Gifford, Douglas, ‘Contemporary Fiction II: Seven Writers in Scotland’ in A History of Scottish Women’s Writing, ed. Douglas Gifford and Dorothy McMillan (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1997), pp. 604–29 [Elphinstone is discussed on pp. 604–07]
Hall, Simon W., The History of Orkney Literature (Edinburgh: John Donald, 2011)
Hermann Pálsson and Paul Edwards, trans., Orkneyinga Saga (Harmondsworth: Penguin Classics 1981)
Murray, Rowena, and Brian Murray, Interrogation of Silence: The Writings of George Mackay Brown, (London: John Murray, 2004)
Phelpstead, Carl, ‘A Viking Pacifist? The Life of St Magnus in Saga, Novel, and Opera’ in Old Norse Made New: Essays on the Post-Medieval Reception of Old Norse Literature and Culture, ed. David Clark and Carl Phelpstead (London: Viking Society for Northern Research, 2007), pp. 119–32. [Also available online at http://vsnrweb-publications.org.uk/ ]
Schoene, Berthold, Making of Orcadia: Narrative Identity in the Prose Work of George Mackay Brown (Frankfurt: Peter Lang, 1995)
Smith, Mark Ryan, The Literature of Shetland (Lerwick: Shetland Times, 2014)
Margaret Elphinstone’s author website: http://www.margaretelphinstone.co.uk/
Faroese Literature
Bønner, Hedin, Three Faroese Novelists (New York: Twayne, 1973)
Jones, W. Glyn, ‘Faroese Literature’ in A History of Danish Literature, ed. Sven H. Rossel (Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press, 2003), pp. 545–87
Oslund, Karen, ‘Chapter 5. Reading Backward: Language and the Sagas in the Faroe Islands’ in Iceland Imagined: Nature, Culture, and Storytelling in the North Atlantic (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2011, repr. 2013), pp. 123–51
Literature and the Environment
Clark, Timothy, The Cambridge Introduction to Literature and the Environment (Cambridge: CUP, 2011)
Garrard, Greg, Ecocriticism, 2nd edn (London: Routledge, 2011)
Phelpstead, Carl, ‘Ecocriticism and Eyrbyggja saga’, Leeds Studies in English, New Series 45 (2014), 1–18 [To be made available on Learning Central]