BODY BIOGRAPHIES 

Another visual tool is the use of body biographies to portray different aspects of characters.  In responding to Hamlet, students used butcher-block paper to draw body biographies of the different characters in the play that included their interpretations of the different character attributes (Smagorinsky & O’Donnell-Allen, 1998; Smagorinsky, 2002). These “body biographies” served to foster interpretations of some of the conflicting attributes and allegiances of the different characters in the play. 

The following are some directions for constructing body biographies:

1. Have students in small groups cut a 7-foot-long sheet from a roll of paper. Place the sheet on the floor and have one student lie down on it. Another student draws an outline of the first student's body on the paper.

2. Students in each small group then fill in the body outline with artistic representations of the character's traits, relationships, motivations, and experiences. These may include relevant quotations and original text about the character. Body biographies require students to think carefully and reflectively about both content and aesthetic details. The following concerns might underpin a rubric for evaluating students' Body Biographies:

- Placement of the artwork is important.

- Students should be advised to help their audience visualize the character's virtues and vices.

- Using color helps symbolize traits of the main character.

- Using symbols also helps capture the character's essence.

- Using poetry can be effective for portraying hidden dimensions of the character.

- Consider contrasting the character's self-view with the views of others.

- As most characters change across the events of a novel, consider using artwork to show this transformation.

Students can also create coats of arms that portray different aspects of a character or illustrations of characters (for example, coats of arms, illustrations, and body biographies).