Ancient Myths, Modern Voice: Crafting Presence from The Mabinogion

Materials Needed:

• A copy of The Mabinogion (any translation is fine, but the Sioned Davies or Patrick K. Ford translations are recommended for their clarity).
• A copy of "Crafting Presence: The American Essay and the Future of Writing Studies" (or the specific chapter/section you are focusing on).
• A journal, notebook, or word processing document for writing.
• Access to a few examples of modern personal essays (optional but helpful). Suggestions: "Goodbye to All That" by Joan Didion, excerpts from "The Book of Delights" by Ross Gay, or "The Crane Wife" by CJ Hauser.

Lesson Plan & Activities

Part 1: The Spark - Finding the Narrator (15 minutes)

The goal here is to start thinking about the *how* of storytelling. The stories in The Mabinogion feel ancient and powerful, but who is telling them? And how does their style affect our experience?

1. Choose a Passage: Open The Mabinogion to any page in the First Branch ("Pwyll, Prince of Dyfed"). Read one or two pages aloud.
2. Initial Reflection Questions: In your journal, spend a few minutes jotting down answers to these questions:
   • Who is telling this story? Can you picture the narrator? Are they a character? An observer? Just a voice?
   • How does the narrator feel about the events? Are they excited, sad, neutral? How can you tell? (Or why can't you tell?)
   • What does the narrator focus on? Actions? Scenery? The internal thoughts and feelings of the characters?
3. Observation: You'll likely notice the narrator is very distant. They report events almost like a court record: "And then he did this. And then she said that." There is very little exploration of a character's inner world. This storytelling style has immense power, but it's very different from most modern writing. Let's call this the "Bardic Voice."

Part 2: The Theory - What is "Presence"? (25 minutes)

Now, let's switch gears to your academic text. This part is about giving a name to what we feel is "missing" from the Bardic Voice and what is so central to the modern essay.

1. Active Reading: Read the key sections of "Crafting Presence" that define what "presence" means in writing. As you read, highlight or take notes on the core components. Look for concepts like:
   • Voice: The unique personality of the writer on the page.
   • Reflection: The writer thinking *about* the events, not just reporting them.
   • Vulnerability: The writer sharing their own doubts, feelings, and uncertainties.
   • Interiority: Access to the writer's or a character's internal thoughts and emotional landscape.
2. Compare and Contrast: Create a simple two-column chart. On one side, list the characteristics of the "Bardic Voice" from The Mabinogion. On the other, list the characteristics of "Crafting Presence."
   Example:
   Bardic Voice: Third-person, focuses on action, objective/impersonal tone, little interiority.
   Crafted Presence: First-person ("I"), focuses on reflection, subjective/personal tone, deep interiority.
3. Connect to the Future: Consider the subtitle of the academic text: "...and the Future of Writing Studies." Why do you think modern writing (blogs, personal essays, even social media) values "presence" so much? What does it give a reader that the "Bardic Voice" doesn't?

Part 3: The Creative Challenge - Giving Presence to the Past (60-90 minutes)

This is the heart of the lesson. Your task is not just to understand the difference between these two styles, but to act as a bridge between them. You will rewrite a piece of The Mabinogion as a modern personal essay, infusing an ancient story with a powerful, present voice.

The Task:

Choose a character and a key moment from The Mabinogion. Retell that moment from the character's first-person ("I") point of view, using the techniques of "Crafting Presence."

Step-by-Step Guide:

1. Choose Your Subject: Pick a character and moment that fascinates you. Some powerful options:
   • Rhiannon, as she is forced to sit at the gate and tell her story to strangers after being falsely accused of killing her son.
   • Blodeuwedd, the woman made of flowers, on the evening she first conspires against her husband, Lleu. What was she thinking? Was she afraid? Vindicated?
   • Pwyll, during his first night in the Otherworld, sleeping beside the wife of Arawn, the king he is impersonating.
   • Manawydan, as he sits alone after the enchantment falls on Dyfed, having lost all his companions.
2. Brainstorm the Interior World: Before you write, brainstorm what your chosen character is *actually* thinking and feeling. The original text won't tell you, so you must invent it. What are their hopes, fears, sensory details (the smell of the castle, the weight of a crown), and private thoughts?
3. Draft Your Essay (approx. 500-750 words): Start writing. Don't just retell the events. Inhabit the character.
   • Use "I." Make it deeply personal.
   • Reflect. Pause the action to think about what is happening. "When he said that, a part of me froze. Not because of the words themselves, but because..."
   • Show, Don't (Just) Tell. Instead of saying "I was sad," describe the feeling: "A cold weight settled in my stomach, the same weight I felt the day the hounds went missing."
   • Embrace a Unique Voice. Is your character bitter? Hopeful? Resigned? Witty? Let their personality shine through in your word choice and sentence structure.

Part 4: Reflection - The Author's Note (15 minutes)

After you finish your creative piece, write a short paragraph (an "Author's Note") explaining the choices you made. This is where you connect your creative work back to the academic theory.

• Which specific techniques from "Crafting Presence" did you try to use?
• What was the most challenging part of giving a modern, internal voice to a mythological character?
• How did this exercise change your understanding of either The Mabinogion or the modern essay?

Extension Ideas (Optional)

• Podcast Episode: Record yourself reading your essay. Hearing the words spoken aloud can add another layer to the concept of "voice."
• Find a Modern Myth: Read a modern essay by one of the suggested authors (or another you enjoy) and identify how they use mythic or archetypal themes in their personal stories.
• The Other Side: Write a short response to your essay from the perspective of another character in the scene.