GREAT BOOKS: EUROPEAN LITERATURE

OVERVIEW OF MODULE 2
The second module is named “Great Books: European Literature”. This module will give you a
background about the selected literary pieces from Europe, including its underlying culture and
connection to its author. In order for learners to grasp the concepts of the course, there are certain
subjects that will help them to achieve such, these are:

 Aesop’s Fables – Author, Literary piece, Values

 Antigone by Sophocles – Author, Literary piece, Values
 He is more than a hero by Sappho – Author, Literary piece, Values
 Shakespeare’s Sister by Virginia Woolf – Author, Literary piece, Values

WORK PLAN

Midterm Period:
Course Intended Learning Week Module / Coursework Target Date
Learning Outcomes Lesson Activity / of
Outcomes Assessment Submission
List down the Discover the deeper 7-8 Aesop’s Integrated MWF-
manifestations meaning of the fables Fables assessment: October 2,
of magic of Aesop Fable creation 2020
realism in the based on the
story story and TTH –
lessons of October 1,
Antigone 2020

Compare and Criticize the actions 8-9 Antigone by

contrast the of the characters in Sophocles
various literary the play and apply it
elements in making fair
judgements
 State the Connect the issue of 10 He Is More Integrated MWF-
essential sexuality to deepen Than A Hero assessment: October 16,
information the understanding of by Sappho Poems about 2020
about the the literary piece women
authors that are empowerment TTH –
linked to the and love October 15,
themes of the 2020
literary works
State the Assess the role of 11 Shakespeare’s
essential women in our present Sister by
information time Virginia
about the Woolf
authors that are
linked to the
themes of the
literary works
12 Midterm Group Fable Week of
Requirement Collection E- Midterm
Book Examination
 MODULE 2:
AESOP’S
FABLES

INTRODUCTION LESSON OBJECTIVE:

These fables teach us truths about life, love, and friendship. Discover the deeper
These simple truths are applicable in our daily personal lives, meaning of the fables of
and help us see the world better. Aesop

a. Fables about friendship and gratitude

b. Fables about self-interest

c. Fables about foolishness and wisdom / wit and wisdom

d. Fables about learning from mistakes

PRE-ACTIVITY
Retell a fable you have heard or read, citing the character/s’
traits and motives.
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lines provided.
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Greece has more
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than 2,000 islands,
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of which about 170
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are inhabited;
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some of the
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easternmost
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Aegean islands lie
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just a few miles off
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the Turkish coast.
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CRITICAL THINKING

Critical thinking is a fundamental skill by which we objectively

analyze the means by which we objectively analyze advantages
Flag of Greece
and disadvantages a situation in order to make good decisions.

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:

Greece has more than 2,000 islands, of which about 170 are
inhabited; some of the easternmost Aegean islands lie just a
few miles off the Turkish coast. The country’s capital is Athens,
which expanded rapidly in the second half of the 20th century.
Attikí (ancient Greek: Attica), the area around the capital, is now
home to about one-third of the country’s entire population.
Greece
A Greek legend has it that God distributed soil through a sieve
and used the stones that remained to build Greece. The
country’s barren landscape historically caused the people to
migrate. The Greeks, like the Jews and the Armenians,
traditionally have been a people of diaspora, and several million
Aesop, the
people of Greek descent live in various parts of the world. supposed author
Xeniteia, or sojourning in foreign lands, with its strong overtones of a collection of
of nostalgia for the faraway homeland, has been a central Greek fables,
element in the historical experience of the Greek people. almost certainly
a legendary
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
figure.
Aesop, the supposed author of a collection of Greek fables,
almost certainly a legendary figure. Various attempts were
made in ancient times to establish him as an actual personage.
Herodotus in the 5th century BCE said that he had lived in the
6th century and that he was a slave, and Plutarch in the 1st
century CE made him adviser to Croesus, the 6th-century-BCE
king of Lydia.

One tradition holds that he came from Thrace, while a later one
styles him a Phrygian. Other sources supposed that he was
Ethiopian. An Egyptian biography of the 1st century CE places
him on the island of Samos as a slave who gained his freedom
from his master, thence going to Babylon as riddle solver to
King Lycurgus and, finally, meeting his death at Delphi. The
probability is that Aesop was no more than a name invented to
provide an author for fables centering on beasts, so that “a story
of Aesop” became synonymous with “fable.” The importance of
fables lay not so much in the story told as in the moral derived
from it.
Aesop
The first known collection of the fables ascribed to Aesop
 was produced by Demetrius Phalareus in the 4th century BCE,
but it did not survive beyond the 9th century CE. A collection of
fables that relied heavily on the Aesop corpus was that of
Phaedrus, which was produced at Rome in the 1st century CE.
Fables are
Phaedrus’s treatment of them greatly influenced the way in
designed to
which they were used by later writers, notably by the 17th-
highlight both
century French poet and fabulist Jean de La Fontaine.
desired and
undesirable human FABLES:

behaviors: what to The origins of the fables pre-date the Greeks. Sumerian
do or what not to proverbs, written some 1,500 years before Christ, share similar
do. characteristics and structure as the later Greek fables. The
Sumerian proverbs included an animal character and often
contained some practical piece of advice for living (“You should
not boast; then your words will be trusted”). The writing style of
both the earlier proverbs and the later fables were simple and
direct. Neither contains many words. The situations re-counted
in the stories begin with some type of incident and conclude
with a punch line which would transform into the oft-recognized
moral of the tale. It is much later that writers would begin to
include the moral either at the beginning of the story (designed
to tell the reader the purpose of the tale upfront) or was added
to the end (to instruct the reader what the story was supposed
to teach). Ultimately, the fables are designed to highlight both
desired and undesirable human behaviors: what to do or what
not to do.

Fables are designed to highlight both desired and undesirable

human behaviors: what to do or what not to do.

Aesop’s Fables The fables, written down in Greek between the 10th-16th
centuries CE, may not be recorded in the exact words as when
they were first told. Over time, and largely due to the numerous
times the stories were re-told, words may have been changed
or eliminated in order to fit the storyteller’s purpose.
times the stories were re-told, words may have been changed
or eliminated in order to fit the storyteller’s purpose. Despite
these changes, one characteristic that most of the fables share
is the role of animals in the stories. The animals display human- Most of the tales
like qualities, especially the characteristics of speech and included here were
behavior. In effect, the stories are designed to mimic human life. translated and
Most of the stories/fables are meant to highlight bad or poor edited by Reverend
human decisions and behaviors. In order to allow the animals to George Fyler
appear in multiple tales and roles, Aesop did not restrict the Townsend (1814-
animals to behaving in a manner generally associated with that 1900) in England
particular animal e.g. the cunning fox, the slow turtle. These and published under
looser characterizations allow for the animals to appear in other the title, Aesop's
settings acting in different manners. Fables.

ABOUT THE COLLECTION:

Aesop's Fables is a collection of tales by the Greek storyteller

Aesop. Most of the tales included here were translated and
edited by Reverend George Fyler Townsend (1814-1900) in
England and published under the title, Aesop's Fables.
Townsend's translations were influential on many subsequent
collections of fables. Some of the tales included here were
taken from the book How to Tell Stories to Children and Some
Stories To Tell, by Sara Cone Bryant and published in London
in 1918. In some cases, we have included both Townsend's
version and Bryant's version of the same tale.

FABLES: Translated Fables

The Fox and the Goat

 By an unlucky chance, a Fox fell into a deep well from which he
could not get out. A Goat passed by shortly afterwards, and
asked the Fox what he was doing down there.

‘Oh, have you not heard?’ said the Fox; ‘there is going to be a

‘Never trust
great drought, so I jumped down here in order to be sure to
have water by me. Why don’t you come down too?’
the advice of The Goat thought well of this advice, and jumped down into the
a man in well. But the Fox immediately jumped on her back, and by

difficulties.’ putting his foot on her long horns managed to jump up to the
edge of the well. ‘Good-bye, friend,’ said the Fox, ‘remember
next time, ‘Never trust the advice of a man in difficulties.’

The Dog and the Shadow

It happened that a Dog had got a piece of meat and was

carrying it home in his mouth to eat it in peace. Now on his way
home he had to cross a plank lying across a running brook. As
he crossed, he looked down and saw his own shadow reflected
in the water beneath. Thinking it was another dog with another
piece of meat, he made up his mind to have that also. So he
made a snap at the shadow in the water, but as he opened his
mouth the piece of meat fell out, dropped into the water and
was never seen more. Beware lest you lose the substance by
grasping at the shadow.

The Wolf and the Crane

A Wolf had been gorging on an animal he had killed, when

suddenly a small bone in the meat stuck in his throat and he
could not swallow it. He soon felt terrible pain in his throat, and
ran up and down groaning and groaning and seeking for
something to relieve the pain. He tried to induce every one he

give anything,’ said he, ‘if you would take it out.’

met to remove the bone. ‘I would give anything,’ said he, ‘if you
would take it out.’ At last the Crane agreed to try, and told the
Wolf to lie on his side and open his jaws as wide as he could.
Then the Crane put its long neck down the Wolf’s throat, and
with its beak loosened the bone, till at last it got it out.the Gratitude
whistling wind, carried upon the mighty swell of hope–hope in
the free abundance of new land that was to be their home and and greed
their children’s forever.
go not
Will you kindly give me the reward you promised?’ said the
Crane. The Wolf grinned and showed his teeth and said: ‘Be
together.
content. You have put your head inside a Wolf’s mouth and
taken it out again in safety; that ought to be reward enough for
you.’ Gratitude and greed go not together.

The Man and the Serpent

A Countryman’s son by accident trod upon a Serpent’s tail,

which turned and bit him so that he died. The father in a rage
got his axe, and pursuing the Serpent, cut off part of its tail. So
the Serpent in revenge began stinging several of the Farmer’s
cattle and caused him severe loss.

Well, the Farmer thought it best to make it up with the Serpent,

and brought food and honey to the mouth of its lair, and said to
it: ‘Let’s forget and forgive; perhaps you were right to punish my
son, and take vengeance on my cattle, but surely I was right in
trying to revenge him; now that we are both satisfied why
should not we be friends again?’ ‘No, no,’ said the Serpent;
‘take away your gifts; you can never forget the death of your
son, nor I the loss of my tail.’ Injuries may be forgiven, but not
forgotten.
 The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse

Now you must know that a Town Mouse once upon a time went
on a visit to his cousin in the country. He was rough and ready,
‘Better this cousin, but he loved his town friend and made him heartily
welcome. Beans and bacon, cheese and bread, were all he had
beans and to offer, but he offered them freely. The Town Mouse rather
bacon in turned up his long nose at this country fare, and said: ‘I cannot
understand, Cousin, how you can put up with such poor food as
peace than this, but of course you cannot expect anything better in the

cakes and country; come you with me and I will show you how to live.
When you have been in town a week you will wonder how you
ale in fear.’ could ever have stood a country life.’

No sooner said than done: the two mice set off for the town and
arrived at the Town Mouse’s residence late at night. ‘You will
want some refreshment after our long journey,’ said the polite
Town Mouse, and took his friend into the grand dining-room.
There they found the remains of a fine feast, and soon the two
mice were eating up jellies and cakes and all that was nice.
Suddenly they heard growling and barking. ‘What is that?’ said
the Country Mouse.

‘It is only the dogs of the house,’ answered the other. ‘Only!’
said the Country Mouse. ‘I do not like that music at my dinner.’
Just at that moment the door flew open, in came two huge
mastiffs, and the two mice had to scamper down and run off.
‘Good-bye, Cousin,’ said the Country Mouse, ‘What! going so
soon?’ said the other. ‘Yes,’ he replied; ‘Better beans and bacon
in peace than cakes and ale in fear.’

The Fox and the Crow

Fox once saw a Crow fly off with a piece of cheese in its beak
and settle on a branch of a tree. ‘That’s for me, as I am a Fox,’
said Master Reynard, and he walked up to the foot of the tree.
‘Good-day, Mistress Crow,’ he cried ‘How well you are looking
to-day: how glossy your feathers; how bright your eye. I feel
sure your voice must surpass that of other birds, just as your It is easy to
figure does; let me hear but one song from you that I may greet
you as the Queen of Birds.’ The Crow lifted up her head and
despise
began to caw her best, but the moment she opened her mouth what you
the piece of cheese fell to the ground, only to be snapped up by
Master Fox. ‘That will do,’ said he. ‘That was all I wanted. In
cannot get.
exchange for your cheese I will give you a piece of advice for
the future .’Do not trust flatterers.’

The Fox and the Grapes

One hot summer’s day a Fox was strolling through an orchard

till he came to a bunch of Grapes just ripening on a vine which
had been trained over a lofty branch. ‘Just the thing to quench
my thirst,’ quoth he. Drawing back a few paces, he took a run
and a jump, and just missed the bunch. Turning round again
with a One, Two, Three, he jumped up, but with no greater
success. Again and again he tried after the tempting morsel, but
at last had to give it up, and walked away with his nose in the
air, saying: ‘I am sure they are sour.’ It is easy to despise what
you cannot get.
 REFLECTION:

Reflect on the fable’s origin, the characters’ motives, and their

connection to one’s lessons in life.
Pause for a while
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and reflect on
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the statement.
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thoughts on the ___________________________________________________
lines provided. ___________________________________________________
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