The purpose of this project is to demonstrate your knowledge of elegies, either by explaining, or by writing one of your own.

Here is your goal for this assignment:

Respond to a theme of Anglo-Saxon poetry.


Choose one of the options below.

1. What Christian attitudes do you find reflected in the two elegies "The Wanderer" and "The Seafarer"? Quote from both works to support your points. Remember to document your quotes properly, using MLA format.This option should be an essay of 400-500 words.

2. Think of a ruin in or near your town (or one that you have visited). Try to describe it in such a way that all of the history, the life behind that ruin would be apparent to a reader. Reread "The Ruin" to get ideas. This option should have the same tone, description, and length as "The Ruin"—about 40 lines. Include an original title for your poem.

Your essay will be graded based on the following:

your attention to the instructions given above
well developed coverage of your topic
use of proper punctuation, spelling, grammar, and sentence construction (commonly called "conventions")
NOTE: Check with your teacher to determine whether there may be other special requirements.

This project will be graded using the essay rubric.