English 4
Mr. Baumann
Anglo-Saxon Creative Writing Assignment
Requirements:
___ Minimum of twenty-five quality lines
____Approximately ten syllables per line (no less than, eight no more than twelve)
____Is entertaining/creative
____Is free from errors in spelling and grammar
____Is double-spaced with a properly formatted heading
____Has an original, creative title (5 pts.)
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. 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.
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.