English 12 2016

Hávamál

The Words of the High One (Odin) from the Poetic Edda teach the listener how they should conduct themselves in day-to-day situations. They are short proverbs for daily living in the Norse world. They did not come easily. To get them Odin had to go through quite a bit, including sacrificing himself to himself, giving up one of his eyes and more!

Most of it is good advice for today too. While you don't have to read them all, it is worth sampling some of them to get a sense for what type of people told these stories.

Step 1: Reflections on Odin's Wisdom

Step 2: The Wisdom of Odin Discussion

Step 3: Norse Governance Compared to the U.S. Democracy

Step 4: Using Norse Ideals in the Modern World