Miorita: A Pastoral Poem from Romania

This resource contains two PowerPoint presentations, each with its own teacher script, note--taking lesson, and rubric. The activities are designed to assist your students in achieving the following goals.

1. Students will understand and practice two styles of note-taking skills, academic and casual.

2. Students will develop an understanding of the ancient tradition of sheep herding.

3. Students will develop knowledge about the southeast European country of Romania, home of Bram Stoker's "Count Dracula."

4. Students will become familiar with the beauty of literature written in other parts of the world.

5. Students will review literary devices.

Romania's National Ballad, "Miorita" (Little Ewe), is considered one of the world's most beautiful pastoral poems. It was composed during prehistoric times and has been translated more than one-thousand times.

PowerPoint Presentation I

The first presentation has twelve slides that describe the story setting and the guidelines for taking clear and precise notes. The teacher script from which the students will take detailed notes includes topics such the following:

• Romania's ancient Dacian culture
• the Carpathian Mountains and their wildlife
• the transhumance shepherding tradition
• Romania's invaders
• Romania's Communist period
• the domestication of sheep
• an ancient legend about shape-shifting
• ancient Dacian beliefs in werewolves

Excerpts from Part I Teacher Script

The Greek historian, Herodotus, described the Dacians as fierce warriors. Other ancient writers called them the “Wolf Warriors” because of their practice of wearing wolf skins and wolf-head masks during battle. As they approached the enemy, the Dacians growled viciously, convincing their opponents they possessed the ability to shape-shift into ferocious canines.

Traditionally, Romania was an agrarian and pastoral society. Its people survived by growing and harvesting their food and herding animals. It was also a transhumance society, meaning that the people moved their herds to lowland grazing pastures during the winter and to the mountain highlands in the summer. In doing so, they continued a 10,000-year-old tradition, that of domesticating wild sheep for using their wool, meat, and dairy products. Ancient herders also used the sheep’s skins to create parchment for making scrolls.

PowerPoint Presentation II

The second presentation contains twenty-four slides, part of which describes the steps for creating sketch notes. The teacher script provides an analysis of "Miorita" from a historical perspective. It also discusses the theme, motifs, and literary devices (simile, personification, monologue, and metaphor) within the poem.

Excerpts from Part II Teacher Script

In verse one, three shepherds from the Romanian regions of Moldavia, Vrancea, and Transylvania, are bringing their flocks down from the summer grazing lands in the Carpathian Mountains. Envious of the Moldavian shepherd’s appearance and wealth, his companions, the Vrancean and Transylvanian herders, plot to murder him. The phrases, “near the low foothills” and “at Heaven’s doorsill” serve as the poem’s first literary devices, metaphors for a mythical realm.

In verse five, the Moldavian begins a lyrical monologue, a long speech rich in emotion. It reflects his intense belief in immortality. This monologue continues throughout the remainder of the ballad. Again, the author uses a literary device, personification, with phrases such as, “All my listening sheep will draw near and weep.”