World Literature
Writing about Selections from Early Medieval Literature:
The Song of Roland, How Siegfried Was Slain from the Nibelungenlied, Perceval
by Chretien de Troyes, The Lay of the Werewolf by Marie de France, and Dante’s
selections from the Divine Comedy from the Inferno.
Focusing of traditional themes: Loyalty, Betrayal, Tragic Flaw, and Symbolism:
(Textbook Pages 557 to 617)
Name _____________________________________ Date _______
Guidelines to Remember: This is a literary essay writing assignment. Please do a
rough draft and hand it in with your final copy. Please also provide a title page. Be
sure to double-space your final copy, and use headers and footers. Since any specific
references to works we have studied should be written in literary style, you must write
in third person and present tense whenever you refer to a work of literature!
Additionally, use at least two quotations in each paragraph. (Do not use the
pronouns I, me, my, we, us, you or yours.)
Option A: (100 points) Literary Style Explanation and Interpretation
For this project, you should decide what message or theme the Medieval authors of at
least three of the selections we have read (The Song of Roland, How Siegfried Was Slain
from the Nibelungenlied, Perceval by Chretien de Troyes, and The Lay of the Werewolf by
Marie de France) are conveying, illustrating, and in a sense teaching through their
various narratives, both poetry and prose. You need to formulate your own
interpretation of any three of these selections, but you are required to include in your
analytical focus the traditional Medieval Germanic, Frankish and Celtic themes of
loyalty, betrayal, tragic flaw, and symbolism. Base your interpretations, analysis
and explanations on carefully selected quotations from the readings to express your
point of view about each author’s message. Include relevant facts and events from
Medieval History when useful and appropriate. Your essay should be at least three
and a half pages long.
The Visual Aid
Also, you need to create a very nicely done colored visual aid that is at least 11’ by
14’ in size that shows effort and thought, or for extra credit you can create a six slide
power point presentation including relevant and appropriate graphics and text based
on the time period we are studying. Always provide the required APA documentation
on each slide and in your essay whenever you borrow graphics or textual quotes or
ideas from outside sources, such as web sites or reference books. Provide an outline or
a content frame to organize your ideas
Criteria for Assessment
Ask yourself; Have I:
 made this a high quality document?
 checked your spelling and followed directions?
 provided a title page and used headers and footers?
 edited your sentences?
 used at least two quotations from the readings in your paragraphs?
 been detailed, clear and specific in your explanations
 provided the required APA documentation in textual citations?
 provided necessary documentation for outside sources?