Creative Projects
For British Literature I (02F)
ENGL205-010

Due:             Friday, November 15, 2002, at class time

Length:         Varies. Option 1: 35 lines minimum; Option 2: 14 lines; Option 3: at least 25 lines; Option 4: two pages of double-spaced dialogue

Assignment: A requirement of this course (15% of your course grade) is that you complete a creative project. The purpose of this is for you to engage the course material in a way that allows you to experience first hand what the earlier writers achieved. You have three choices for this:

1. Compose an alliterative poem of not fewer than 35 lines in the style of Beowulf or of Caedmon's Hymn from the viewpoint of Grendel or Grendel's mother (from Beowulf). In this poem you should justify Grendel's lineage from Cain and heroically defend Grendel's deeds at Heorot.  Try to write as many lines of this poem as possible using three words that alliterate and one that does not.  Here are a couple of examples from Heaney's translation of Beowulf.  First, alliteration on g: "God-cursed Grendel came greedily loping" (line 711); alliteration on p: "Past and present, and God's will prevails" (line 1057); alliteration (assonance) on the vowel e: "will enjoy and endure more than enough" (line 1061).

Some hints if you do this project: (1) Put your verses flush left, not centered.  (2) Double space.  (3) Number your lines (every 5 lines) flush right.  (4) Number your pages.

I will judge your effort on its fidelity to the style and drama of heroic, alliterative verse; on your skill in handling the alliterative line; on your treatment of theme and point of view; and on how your style and content harmonize to create a readable, enjoyable poem.

For an example of a modern poem ("Casey at the Bat") rendered into alliterative verse, see http://www.loyno.edu/~MidAges/kmcderm.html


2. Write a sonnet. You may compose either a Petrarchan or a Shakespearean sonnet, either with a concluding couplet or not.  (For the difference between the Petrarchan and Shakespearean sonnets, consult your Glossary of Terms.)  Some hints about completing this assignment successfully.  First, try not to sacrifice meaning (sense) for rhyme and sound.  Make certain that your poem makes sense as English verse sentences.  Second, work on a conceit (a witty metaphor), in the Elizabethan way.  Some of the way you express yourself may be modern, but the goal of this project is to understand how Elizabethan sonnet writers like Sidney and Shakespeare composed their sonnets.  Third, include a "turn."  Number your lines (every 5 lines) flush right.

I will judge your effort on its fidelity to the goals and subject matter of early modern sonneteers; on your skill in handling meter; and on the way your style and content harmonize to create a readable, enjoyable poem.

3. Create a new pilgrim for the Canterbury Tales and compose in Chaucer's style a portrait of her/him for the General Prologue. Do not write an entire story, just a portrait of no fewer than 25 lines. Your poetic lines should have five poetic feet, mostly in iambs (iambic pentameter, like Chaucer). You may write in modern English but you will get special credit for archaic words (like eke or gentil) if you include them appropriately.  But don't introduce archaic words unless you are certain of their meaning and how to use them.  You might be helped by consulting how Edmund Spenser, author of The Faerie Queene, deliberately archaizes his poetry with Chaucer-like words.  For help with medieval occupations, consult this web site.  Even better, though, after consulting that list, choose your own.  Be sure to include Chaucer's techniques of gentle satire in your own portrait.

Some matters of style: (1) Put your verse lines flush left, not centered.  (2) Double space.  (3) Number your lines (every 5 lines) flush right.  (4) Number your pages.

I will judge your effort on the appropriateness of the character you select; on your skill in handling meter; on your faithfulness to Chaucer's techniques of satire (or idealization if you create an ideal pilgrim); and on your ability to create a readable, enjoyable portrait.


4. Compose a scene from an allegorical drama in the style and manner of an early modern morality play like Everyman. For this you should characters other than Death and Everyman, but you must include a protagonist (like Everyman) and an antagonist (like Death) so that there is some dramatic situation. The morality issues should be ones early modern people would care about. In order to complete this, which should be two pages, double-spaced, you should study the techniques of creating allegorical drama.

Some hints & matters of style: (1) Include a Cast of Characters at the beginning, even though you are doing just a scene.  (2) Don't introduce archaic words unless you are certain of their meaning and how to use them.  (3) Number your lines (every 5 lines) flush right.  (4) Number your pages.

I will judge your effort on the appropriateness of the characters you create; on your skill in handling meter; on your faithfulness to early modern techniques of dramatizing morality material; and on your ability to create a readable, enjoyable dramatic scene.