Honors British Literature
Mr. Masser
Anglo-Saxon Creative Writing Assignment
(100 Points)
Grading Requirements:
___ Minimum of twenty quality lines (20 pts.)
____Ten syllables per line (5 pts.)
____ Contains examples of at least five of the different Anglo-Saxon literary devices we studied
(Highlight the example and write the number of the term from your definition sheet next to it
on your final draft—you may include an example that counts for two devices at once, e.g. an
example of variation that is also parallelism would count as two examples) (25 pts.)
____Closely mimics/resembles the style and feel of Anglo-Saxon poetry **Rhyming will
significantly detract from this portion of the grade!** (20 pts.)
____Is entertaining/creative (10 pts.)
____Is free from errors in spelling and grammar (10 pts.)
____Is double-spaced with a properly formatted heading (5 pts.)
____Has an original, creative title (5 pts.)
***Due Date:____________________________________________________***
Writing options:
1.) Write a heroic boast that establishes your credentials as a hero. Who are you? Where do you come
from? Why should we believe you are a hero? Mimic Beowulf’s style in introducing himself to the
Danes at Herot. Use information based on your own experience but feel free to exaggerate/adapt
material. Remember, modesty and sensitivity were not values expected of an Anglo-Saxon hero!
2.) Describe an event worthy of inclusion in an epic. Like an Anglo-Saxon scop would, tell your audience
of a memorable event or character so epic that he, she or it deserves to be preserved forever in the
memory of the tribe . . . I mean class. Pattern your description after the description of Beowulf’s fight
with Grendel. While this should be based on a real event, you may take liberties with reality as you fit!
3.) Show your sentimental side and write an elegiac poem that mourns for a better time that is now
lost. This can either be from your own personal experience or you could imagine yourself as an AngloSaxon and deal with a topic of their concern.
4.) Write a riddle describing something in a way that will puzzle the reader, yet still makes sense. Model
your writing after the examples in the textbook or the ones I have read to the class. You must include
an answer.