Mr. Watson, English II THE EPIC OF GILGAMESH: DAY TWO

METAPHORS AND ALLUSIONS Imagine if we only spoke only in metaphorical allusions – phrases that referenced stories we all should know. For example, if I said: “Cinderella sweeping ashes. Stepsisters at the ball. Fairy godmother with dress. Cinderella have dress, at ball.” In this new language, that might mean: “My current situation is unhappy, and others do things I wish I could do. But I will get help when I least expect it and will accomplish my dreams.” However, even if you could read the words in the second bullet above, you wouldn’t understand the intention without knowing the story of Cinderella. Imagine if you came across aliens that spoke such a language. You might have a machine that translated their words into English, but since you don’t know the alien culture’s stories, the phrases wouldn’t make sense.

STAR TREK: TNG EPISODE CLIP You will now watch a video clip on the iPad. It’s a short scene from an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. The story so far: Captain Picard is kidnapped down to a planet along with an alien that only speaks in metaphorical allusions. They have trouble communicating. Right before the clip begins, a monster on the planet attacks and badly wounds the alien. Go to the iPad Safari browser, find our class wikispace, choose your period (look on the right), and click on Mr. Watson’s YouTube channel link. Watch the “Darmok” clip. Look for the Gilgamesh reference!

MOODLE I will pass out directions for enrolling in our class Moodle page. On the iPad Safari browser, type “moodle” in the address bar, then enter. Click on the “You are not logged in” tab (upper right). Your username is your computer “short name” (for example, John D. Smith would be jdsmith) and the password is the same as the one you use for the library’s computers. Go under “High Schools,” “South Oldham High School,” and find our class. Use the enrollment key on your directions to enroll in the class.

DISCUSS… What is a parody?

PARODY A parody is “a mocking imitation of the style of a literary work” in order to make fun of the work, its subject, the style it is written, or the author him- or herself. Before we get to your activity, go to the iPad Safari browser, then our class wikispace, and find the Multimedia page (look on the right). Scroll down and play the YouTube clip of the Ramones covering “The Spider- Man Theme.” You will be writing a parody of this song! I’ll hand out directions for your “Gilgamesh Theme Song” activity. Read them carefully. Your lyrics will be posted on a class forum on Moodle. Be prepared to share online and off!