What’s New?

And what’s not?

New or not?

New or old?

)when what hugs stopping earth than silent ismore silent than more than much more is ortotal sun oceaning than any thistear jumping from each most least eye of star

and without was if minus and shall beimmeasurable happenless unnowshuts more than open could that every treeor than all his life more death begins to grow

end's ending then these dolls of joy and griefthese recent memories of future dreamthese perhaps who have lost their shadows ifwhich did not do the losing spectres mine

until out of merely not nothing comesonly one snowflake(and we speak our names

New or old?

Which?

New or old?

But . . . .

Cameron’s Avatar – New or Old?

Tolkien’s (and Peter Jackson’s) Smaug – which?

“The” ring – which?

Joyce Carol Oates’s “Where Are You Going? Where Have You Been?

Connie had to laugh at that. Arnold Friend was pleased at her laughter and looked up at her. "Around the other side's a lot more —you wanta come and see them?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Why should I?"

"Don'tcha wanta see what's on the car? Don'tcha wanta go for a ride?"

"I don't know."

"Why not?"

"I got things to do."

"Like what?"

"Things.”

Witches – which?

New or old?

Others too difficult to show:

Farts as comedy

Having one’s head chopped off – and surviving

Helping one’s father to “commit suicide”

Gouging out the eyes of an enemy

Going to war against God

Compare to other cultures

• Gilgamesh: Sumerian Civilization• Inanna : descended to the underworld to get back

her • Egypt: the story of Isis traveling all over the

known world to find Osiris• Homer:– Iliad and Odyssey

• Japanese: stories of Momotaro• China: Journey to the West (Monkey, Tripitaka,

Horse, Sandman, etc.)• India: Baghavad Gita and Ramayana• British Isles: Beowulf

What makes a hero?

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

Old heroes:

What do you expect from a heroic epic?