British Literature
- Aug 20
- 2 min read
The Beowulf Artifact
Create a visual artifact representing Beowulf.
It cannot simply be a drawing of Beowulf.
You have to choose ONE central idea, symbol, or tension from the epic and represent it visually.
Some possibilities:
The Hero — What makes Beowulf heroic?
The Dragon — mortality, greed, destruction, the end of an age
Grendel's Arm — victory, reputation, violence
The King — how Beowulf changes from young warrior to old king
The Sword — power, fate, strength, human limitation
The Funeral — mortality and the desire to be remembered
Fame — why Beowulf cares so much about reputation
The Dragon's Hoard — treasure, greed, and what ultimately matters
The Shield — loyalty and protection
The Journey — youth → greatness → old age → death
You can make it artistic, symbolic, weird, dramatic, minimalist--whatever.
BUT...
At the bottom of your paper, you have to write a solid paragraph explaining what your artifact represents.
First-person Narrative
Have them choose one character and write a first-person scene from that character's perspective that takes place during or immediately after an important event in the story.
Characters could include:
Wiglaf
Hrothgar
Unferth
Grendel
Grendel's mother
Beowulf
one of the Geat warriors
one of Hrothgar's Danes
You cannot simply retell the story.
You have to write something that the original Beowulf doesn't give us directly: the character's private thoughts, observations, fears, motives, or reactions.
Requirements
500–700 words
Must include:
first person (“I,” “me,” “my”)
a specific event from Beowulf
at least 3 accurate details from the text
the character's thoughts/feelings/motivations
dialogue or internal monologue
a clear sense of the character's personality
Your goal is to make me believe this character could have written this scene themselves. Don't tell me what happened in Beowulf. Show me what it was like to experience it through their eyes.
Work on your memorization.