Beowulf Final Project Options
For your Beowulf final project, choose one of the following options. You may work independently, with
a partner, or as part of a small group. Use this as an opportunity to showcase your creative side!
Option 1: Beowulf Graphic Novel
Create a visual representation of the Beowulf epic. Your final product may be a short graphic novel
(comic book), a poster or series of posters, or a digital storyboard.
Where to Begin: Examine some of the various Beowulf graphic novels that I have in the classroom to get
some ideas of how to block out your story. Examine the text of Beowulf to identify key moments of the
story and quotes that you want to include in your project. Decide on particular scenes that you wish to
depict, and sketch out a draft of storyboarding panels.
Option 2: Create Your Own Epic
Create your own original epic. It can be written in poem or prose, or can be presented in any other
medium of your choice (i.e. graphic novel, digital storyboard, etc.) Your final product should include
some of the following elements: kennings, a taunt, dialogue, heroic and villainous archetypes, elements
of the monomyth (hero’s journey), a ring-giver character, and a comitatus.
Where to Begin: Examine your “Defining Elements of the Epic” handout and your notes on Joseph
Campbell’s monomyth model. Create an original hero based on one or more of the archetypes, and
then brainstorm the stages of his journey.
Option 3: Reconsidering the Perspective
Rewrite the story of Beowulf, but from the perspective of another character in the tale (such as
Grendel). Your final product should reflect the stages of the plot of Beowulf, but should be distinct in its
point of view. Your final product may be a poem, a prose narrative, a graphic novel, or any other
medium of your choice.
Where to Begin: Review the opening chapter of John Gardner’s novel Grendel, which retells the story of
Beowulf from Grendel’s perspective. Consider and discuss the sympathetic depiction of Grendel in
movies like Beowulf and Grendel and Neil Gaiman’s Beowulf. Brainstorm ways that you can make the
new point of view distinct.
English 10, Honors and Standard
Medford High School Humanities Department