Vuggesang i mørketiden
Beginner level.
This is a quick exercise which students might enjoy. We spent about 15-20 minutes class
time, then spent about the same amount of time the following class going over the
challenges. This was used in a community education class. Due to the nature of the class,
the instructions are left in English.
This poem is listed on the Norskklassen web site at:
http://norskklassen.ce-service.biz/vugge.htm
1. Listening Exercise – prior to handing out sheets, read the poem and have
students write down the words they recognize, no matter how small. I said
each line separately and paused so everyone could finish writing before the
next line. Hand out sheets after you are finished with this.
2. Quick translation – these are words that should be known, or can be looked up
quickly.
3. Fill in the blank – Have the students work in small groups of 2-3 people and fill
in the blanks, each group taking only one verse. As noted in discussion on
Norskklassen, it is common for “æ” to replace “e” in some dialects (længte =
lengte) and the last words of the poem mean “våkn glad”, in other words,
wake happy.
4. Class Discussion – Have each group give their translations. Blanks on the second
page can be filled in for the rest of the verses.
5. Speaking – Have class read out loud or repeat after you the entire poem.
6. Challenges – bring to the next class. We ended up with some very good haiku
and translations. Here are some haiku examples:
Da vinteren kom
Natten er så lang her nord
Kom lille lys nå
Natten var så lang
Himlens dag var tung og grå
Jeg går i stykker
This exercise was created by Marla Juhl, LCTL summer institute participant 2007, for her
adult Norwegian class, Sons of Norway, St. Cloud, MN
Vuggesang i mørketiden
Translate to English
dag
mor
dine
mørke
du
natten
eventyr
rødt
ingen
skal
lys
sov
Fill in the blanks with the words to the right of each verse.
____________________ er så lang her nord;
længte gjorde far og ____________________.
Midt i ___________________, frost og gru,
lille lys - kom ____________________.
mørke, mor, du, natten
Himlens ____________________ var tung og grå.
____________________ øyne skinnet blå,
blomsterkinden blusset ____________________;
lille lys - ____________________ søtt.
dine, sov, dag, rødt
____________________ sol imorgen gryr,
bare du, mitt ____________________.
Bare du ____________________ stråle da,
lille ____________________ - vågn gla.
eventyr, ingen, lys, skal
This exercise was created by Marla Juhl, LCTL summer institute participant 2007, for her
adult Norwegian class, Sons of Norway, St. Cloud, MN
Vuggesang i Mørketiden
av Nordahl Grieg
Natten er så lang her nord;
længte gjorde far og mor.
Midt i mørke, frost og gru,
lille lys - kom du.
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
Himlens dag var tung og grå.
Dine øyne skinnet blå,
blomsterkinden blusset rødt;
lille lys - sov søtt.
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
Ingen sol imorgen gryr,
bare du, mitt eventyr.
Bare du skal stråle da,
lille lys - vågn gla.
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
Challenge #1:
Did you notice how the first three lines of each stanza are seven syllables, and the last
line of each stanza is five syllables? Haiku are Japanese poems consisting of three lines.
Line one is five syllables, line two is seven syllables and line three is five syllables.
Since much of the work is done for you, write at least one Haiku, in Norwegian, using
lines of Vuggesang i mørketiden.
Challenge #2:
Poetry is difficult to translate. When you translate word for word, you lose the rhythm
and rhyme. Many times, you even lose the feel of the poem. See if you can translate the
poem into English, creating a new poem with rhythm and rhyme.
This exercise was created by Marla Juhl, LCTL summer institute participant 2007, for her
adult Norwegian class, Sons of Norway, St. Cloud, MN