Doggerel Verse

Background notes for students:

A long-held fascination with the undiscovered Southern Continent inspired authors to imagine and write about this mythical land. As a literary and philosophical genre, imaginary voyages to Terra Australis Incognita were almost as popular in their day as authentic travel accounts, featuring utopian landscapes and curious inhabitants. Italian Giovanni Botero (1540-1617) was one of the many writers inspired by this uncharted region. Botero's Le Relationi Universali (1618) included fifteen woodcuts of imaginary monsters that he believed likely to inhabit the lands to the east and south. These evolutionary fantasies, partly the work of artist Hans Burgkmair, were a wild mix of man and beast.

Narrative Writing: Choose one of Botero's monsters from the Library's collections, below, and use it as the basis to write your own tall tale to be published as a broadside. 

Include:

• Hyperbole
• Descriptive language – particularly comparative techniques such as similes and metaphors
• Some references to facts – to make the tale seem like it could possibly be true
• The main character might have some superhuman abilities
• Use the chosen woodcut as the illustration