[Charles H. (The_r0nin)]

My sixth grader is reading Tolkien's translation of Sir Gawain. A high school honors English class should be comfortable with Beowulf, Caterbury Tales, and Sir Gawain in the original dialect, and they ought to be (but generally aren't these days) getting to know some Latin as well. Modern standards for schools suck, vide Dr. Moose (yeah, he's got a Ph.D.).

I agree, though I would say that they should be reading the Canterbury Tales in Middle English rather than all of Sir Gawain in it, simply because Chaucer's London dialect is more closely related to modern English than is the Pearl poet's. They've already done Beowulf (God, I love that poem!), and Canterbury Tales is next. At the end of the year, if we have the time, I'll let them read The Hobbit as a reward, though they'll have to discuss it in the context of Tolkien's response to the idea of hero expressed in Beowulf. Though I wouldn't want to dumb down the curriculum... </sarcasm>

[Seeking the truth]

You described what you are teaching as honors English.

When I graduated from HS in 1965, all students were taught that which you have described as normal coursework; not as honors or AP.

[SwordofTruth]

I agree, though I would say that they should be reading the Canterbury Tales in Middle English rather than all of Sir Gawain in it, simply because Chaucer's London dialect is more closely related to modern English than is the Pearl poet's.

Wrong answer public school teacher. They should be reading the Holy Bible in either American Standard English or the New King James version. This way they get to read a great book (the greatest ever written) and learn the truth about where they came from and why they are here.

[slimer]

You have mail!

[eno_]

Of the three, Beowulf is the toughest going, although about 100 words will do for reasonable comprehension. Sir Gawain is a bit easier. Most editions in Middle English are extensively footnoted so you can get a jump-start just looking up the unfamiliar characters, words, and pronouciation as you go. It's only a little harder than making out what Joel Chandler Harris's African Jack is saying in the Brer Rabbit stories.

While Tolkien's translation of Sir Gawain is a masterpiece in its own way, it also illustrates why you want to read the original: Tolkien imposes sensible interpretation where there sometimes is no sense in the original - where words are used just because they are pretty. These works were not written with literary critics in mind, and quality was measured differently. That's part of what reading them is supposed to convey.