Epitaphs: What Are They?6th Grade ELAR GT

September 2012

In the next few days, we are going to learn about the epitaph (pronounced “ep-i-taf”):

Last year in 5th Grade, you learned about autobiographies and biographies. Both are types of literary nonfiction that are written about real people.

This week we’ll be looking at another type of nonfiction text that is also about people – it is called an epitaph.

Let’s quickly define epitaph:

A written item in praise or reflecting on the life of a deceased person.

What Do You Know?

Has anyone ever read what you think might be an epitaph? Who was it honoring? Do you recall any other details about an epitaph?

Let’s take a close look at some examples.

Epitaph Poem ~ Steve Jobs (who died in October 2011)

Steve died I cried

I weep Can't sleep

I phone Cry, mourn

I pad Note sad

I pod Hymn God

I touch No glitch

I mac Whiz pack

Icloud Wowed.

~by Yasmin Khan

Note that an epitaph can be written with poetic techniques andfigurative language devices.Can you find any in thisepitaph? How is the poem’smeaning made stronger?

Apple

Consider the Epitaph…

Now that we’ve looked at one example of an epitaph, let’s review its definition one more time:

An epitaph = a written item in praise or reflecting on the life of a deceased person.

Let’s look at two more examples for a famous person who recently died…

Epitaphs ~ Neil Armstrong (who died Aug. 25, 2012)

“an eclipsing moon

bids a tearful farewell

to the moonwalker.”

~by Yasmin Kahn "See him walking the golden wire

A million miles from his starting place

and see the world reflected in his face..."

~by Anonymous Author via Facebook, Aug. 26, 2012

Was figurative language used? To what effect?How do these examplesfulfill the definition of an epitaph?

One More Example of an Epitaph From…

The King of Rock & Roll!

Can you guess who this was?

Elvis Presley! An Epitaph for Him Has a Different Writing Style:

“He became a living legend in his own time;Earning the respect and love of millions.

God saw that he needed some rest andCalled him home to be with Him.

We miss you, Son and Daddy. I thank GodThat He gave us you as our son.”

~by Vernon Presley

Epitaphs do not always need to be poems, but can be written in narrative form.

Elvis Presley (died in 1977)

Consider…

Have any of you ever read what is called an obituary? How would you describe it? Do you think the obituary’s purpose and form are the same or different than an epitaph?

Let’s examine examples side by side to compare and contrast.

Compare and Contrast Neil Armstrong’s Epitaph and Obituary

Epitaph:

“an eclipsing moon

bids a tearful farewell

to the moonwalker.”

~by Yasmin Kahn

Obituary:

“Neil Armstrong, born on August 5, 1930 in

Wapakoneta, Ohio, was an American

astronaut. He died on August 25, 2012 in

Cincinnati, at the age of 82.”

~posted on “Necropedia” website, August

26, 2012

Review Of Academic Vocabulary

Epitaph = a written item in praise or reflecting on the life of a deceased person.

Obituary = a notice of a person's death usually with a short biographical account.

We’re to the Final Step of This Lesson! Please create a Venn diagram to compare

and contrast an epitaph and an obituary. You may discuss ideas with your table partners.

See how many similarities and differences you can come up with!

I will review your individual Venn diagrams, which will be given a daily grade.