Voices of Antiquity . . .

In Quest of King Arthur

Dramatic Monologue Activity

Try your hand at writing literature. The purpose of this activity is three-fold. The first is to help you gain a deeper understanding of the various people, places, objects, and ideas we will be studying as we read Arthurian legend. The second is to introduce you to a new literary genre (oooooh-oooooh!). The third is to allow you the intellectual and creative opportunities to compose both visual and verbal representations to help you remember the concepts related to the legends.

Step 1: Draw the topic you are to research.

Step 2: Research your character and use your notes to freewrite briefly about what you find. Three good sites to try are these:

http://www.britannia.com/history/artbios.html

http://www.geocities.com/vortigernstudies/links.htm

http://www.kingarthursknights.com

http://labyrinth.georgetown.edu/display.cfm?Action=View&Category=Arthurian%20Studies

(You will also find quite a bit of information by going to Yahoo: Literature and typing in your character’s name, maybe along with King Arthur or by trying Ask Jeeves.)

Step 3: From the freewriting, create a dramatic monologue, supposedly composed at some point by one your character, place, object, or idea.

Step 4: “Publish” your monologue (suitable for framing!) by neatly lettering or word-processing the content. Use visuals in terms of color and style; representations may be realistic or symbolic.

A dramatic monologue is a poem in which the only voice is that of a character who speaks to one or more listeners. Usually, the reader learns about the character’s personality through the words of the poem. Sometimes the reader learns more than the character may think he/she/it is revealing. The reader may also infer the setting, the situations, and facts about the listeners—such as how the listeners may be reacting as they hear the speaker and how that reaction then affects the speaker.

In other words, you are making a “word portrait” of your character or concept, much in the tradition a la Geoffrey Chaucer. Your monologue should consist of at least 10 lines from the point of view of your character or concept: Write from an “I” point of view and become your character or concept personified. You may write the lines in free verse, blank verse (it has a rhythm but doesn’t rhyme), or rhymed, rhythmic verse.

Your monologue should serve to introduce your character or concept to the rest of the class. It should include your name, your role in Arthurian legend (why you are famous or infamous, as the case may be), your comments about your role and your significance, and how you would like to be remembered. Other points you might consider: Do you have a spouse or other famous relatives? What places have you been? What was your mission or what were your goals? Were you successful? Did you secure a place in history? Why or why not? Has history been fair to you? What might your character or concept have to say about his/her/its triumphs, failures, joys and sorrows? How might your character respond to the question, “What secret(s) have you been keeping?”

Voices from Antiquity Scoring Rubric

_____ (10) Content: Your character speaks from an “I” point of view. Your character comments and reflects on his/her/its life and accomplishments. Your lines adequately develop your character (at least 10 lines).

_____ (5) Mechanics: The words in the monologue are spelled and punctuated correctly.

_____ (5) Visual Presentation: Your monologue is presented neatly and creatively.

_____ (5) Oral Presentation: You read your monologue clearly with appropriate volume, voice (expression), and pronunciation.