ENGLISH 4270/5250 SUMMER 2018

Imitation assignment rubrics

Select one of the following options to satisfy the literary imitation requirement:

Mandeville’s Travels imitation; due Monday June 4

(a) Write a five- or six-page imitation of Mandeville's Travels. Describe your trip to a place you've never been before, some of the things to be seen there, and some of the things you encountered on your travels. Weave your text out of other texts, as the author of the Travels did: borrow from other writers' accounts of your destination and subtly insert yourself as a character/narrator. Don't bother to footnote, but do include a list of the sources from which you've borrowed. Do your best to capture Sir John's style and tone, remembering that what you're writing is less than a story but more than a set of directions.

or

(b) Write an account of St. Louis that details its urban legends and accounts for its unusual landmarks, using Sir John's account of the Holy Land as your model.

Piers Plowman imitations due Wednesday June 20

Write an estates satire in the manner of the Prologue to Piers Plowman. Your poem must be at least 30 lines long and must be in the aa/ax alliterative style of Langland and Sir Gawain. (The better the meter and alliteration, the better the grade!) You may--and probably should--satirize modern rather than medieval social estates; be sure to reread Langland's prologue carefully and to attend to his style—both the style of his verse, and his attitude towards his subject.

or

Write a confession scene modeled on Passus 5 of Piers Plowman. Your poem must be at least 30 lines long and must be in the aa/ax alliterative style of Langland and Sir Gawain. (The better the meter and alliteration, the better the grade!) You must choose one (and only one!) of Langland’s Seven Deadly Sins, but your personification should probably indulge in modern rather than medieval behaviors. Be sure to reread the confession scenes in Passus 5 carefully, attending to Langland’s style and attitude. Try to keep it clean.

In either case, on a separate page, write a paragraph or two about your poem, describing what’s Langlandian about its style, meter, and subject.