Cody Wilkinson -- A Metamorphosis of One's Own

   While your metamorphosis is fine and quite well-written, it is 
   essentially exactly the same story about the death of Hercules 
   that is a standard Greek myth.  The story is included, for instance, 
   in Ovid's Metamorphoses in Book IX (starting on page 293 
   in the Mandelbaum translation).  I say "essentially" because there 
   are a few details in your story that do not match
   the standard version, so it's not completely the same.  
   For instance, in the usual versions, the tunic that Deianira 
   gives to Hercules to kill him is soaked in the venom of the Hydra 
   (one of the beasts Hercules had killed in his labors), not in the 
   blood of the Centaur Nessus. 

   So I don't think you have really followed the instructions of the 
   assignment (at least not the way that I intended for you to follow 
   them!)  The idea was to think up a transformation story of your own 
   that would NOT follow anything in Ovid this closely, then come up 
   with a rationale and explanation of what you were trying to do.
   The low grade in the "Content" part is a reflection of the fact
   that you were following Ovid (or other actual Greek myths) too
   closely and not using your imagination to come up with your own
   story.  Please come and talk to me about this if you want to
   discuss it.

   Content:  C
   
   Mechanics:  A