Syllabus

AP Literature

Mr. Kreinbring

Length:

Year Long Course

Prerequisite:

This course is open to students who have achieved junior standing or above.

Texts:

Various Novels to be purchased by the student as needed

Course Requirements:

Students are required to complete all major assignments.

Evaluation:

Students will be evaluated based on the quality of their assignments according to the criteria for each assignment. All major assignments may be rewritten any number of times without penalty.

Classroom Policies:

The classroom policies are the same as those found in the handbook

Safety Procedures:

Follow posted signs

Rewrite Policy:

You are encouraged to submit any written work before it is due. All work turn in on time may be rewritten and revised any number of times for no penalty.

How to Be Successful:

In order to be successful the student should do quality work in a timely manner. He should approach the class honestly with a desire to learn.

General Objectives:

It is the objective of this course to provide the student with the opportunity to learn and improve his skills. It will provide students with the opportunity to develop his/her ability to read and interpret complex texts and communicate in writing with a mature audience.

Classroom Policies

Grading:

Essays are weighted as follows:

AP Style Essays and Graded Homework 20%

Major Essays and Projects 40%

Research Project 20%

Tests 20%

Attendance:

This class adheres to the school’s policy.

Texts:

Much of the poetry and prose can be found in the Norton Anthology of English Literature Volume 2 and 1, but it can also be found on the internet. You may wish to buy the books-if you find them used and inexpensive-but it is not required.

The following are to be purchased by the student-Think ahead, some of these books may have to be ordered. Aslo this list is always subject to change based on what we as class want to do-keep your recipts.

Norton Anthology of English Literature Volume 2 and 1             

Homer The Odyssey Robert Fagles Translation

Milton Paradise Lost

Shakespeare King Lear or MacBeth

Wilde The Picture of Dorian Gray or The Importance of Being Earnest

Conrad Heart of Darkness

Vonnegut Slaughterhouse Five

Ellison Invisible Man

Morrison Song of Solomon

Hof The Dao of Pooh

Various Novels to be purchased by the student as needed

Summer Reading:

The Road Cormac McCarthy

Truth and Beauty Ann Patchett

The Autobiography of a Face Lucy Grealy

The Kite Runner Khaled Hosseini 

Summer Reading:

During the summer you are required to respond to the reading on a blog. On this website you will do all of the following. Every so often, 2-3 chapters or so, you will highlight a passage in the book that appeals to you then write about it on the blog. Discuss why you chose the quote, react to the idea, and comment on the writing, anything that occurs to you. The purpose here is to keep you engaged and thinking about the ideas and how they’re being communicated to you.

We’re looking for “quality” and for a place to start our discussions when school starts. If you want to please feel free to email me your questions, comments and ideas

Here are some basic expectations for your responses:

• Respond to your classmates postings. You may agree or disagree and explain.
• Each posting should be at least 5 good, complete sentences.
• Use correct grammar and spelling; do not use slang or abbreviations. (Watch capitalization-this isn’t a text message.)
• It is a good idea to type your response in a word processing program first to eliminate basic errors.
• Then copy and paste it into the discussion board. Proof carefully!
• Any postings that are defamatory or the least bit obscene will be deleted and will receive no credit.
• Be creative, thoughtful, and open, but remember, your comments are now public.

Summer Reading Schedule:

June

Read: The Road Cormac McCarthy

Write:

Respond on the Blog. You’ll also be using a feature of Google Earth called Lit Trips.

July

The Autobiography of a Face Lucy Grealy

Write:

              3-5 blog entries. Focus on the style of writing. This is nonfiction so you’re looking for the way that Patchett and Grealy deliver their messages. Also respond to the controversy Pachett’s book created when it was required reading at Clemson.

August

Read:

Truth and Beauty Ann Patchett

Write:

              3-5 blog entries.

Read:

Bible King James Version
In light of frequent allusions to biblical texts in English literature, students will read those selections chosen for their prominence and relevance in many classical and contemporary texts.   Selections are from the King James version, both Old and New Testaments.  While the readings do not provide an exhaustive list of biblical allusions, many of the familiar stories are included.

Required Selections:
Old Testament
Genesis 1-3, 4, 6-9, 11 (The Creation, Adam & Eve, Cain & Abel, Babel)

The Old Testament is the History of a single people offering itself as the authoritative universal history. 

Genesis is as much about Power as it is about Spirit. Power grants life and favor, takes it away, grants it again through a special compact that is renewed and repeated by the blessing of sons-some sons-by their fathers. This pattern is taken up by Milton. Examine the relationship between God, Satan, Adam, and Jesus.

At first power asserts itself without reason. It simply exists and then compelled one to obey without explanation. Later Power subsides into law and mercy (We’ll see this again ParadiseLost. Examine the way that God avoids having to damn Man through an act of sacrifice and mercy.)
 

Exodus 13-14, 19-20 (Parting of the Red Sea & The Ten Commandments)
Job 1-3, 7, 10-14, 31, 38-40, 42

New Testament
The Gospel of Matthew (The Story of Jesus) (abridged)
The Gospel of John 11 (The Story of Lazarus)
Book of Revelations (abridged - The Four Horseman, The Seven Seals, the fall
of Babylon)
 

While reading...
Literature logs, annotation and highlighting, or marginal notes are recommended for the Advanced Placement reader.   Note any thematic and/or symbolic elements, motifs, and elements of style (diction, detail, syntax, etc.).   Notes may be utilized as necessary in reference to allusions in texts studied during the year.

Optional Write:

There will also be a place for you to respond and discuss your ideas about the biblical selections on the blog.
 

AP Literature

What follows should give you a rough idea of what we will be covering during the course.

September

Vocabulary Development Ongoing Assignment:

Vocabulary Development is ongoing and integrated into the required reading and writing assignments which requires students to acquire and use rich vocabulary, with this in mind, students are expected to develop the following:

• a wide-ranging vocabulary used appropriately and effectively                                                             
• vocabulary in the context of the literature and with college level word lists; to help students advance in vocabulary skills to cope with unfamiliar language

The following provides a link to the AP Literature and Composition Master Vocabulary List. Please make use of it to become familiar with the level of vocabulary expected.

http://www.mshogue.com/AP/vocab%20list%2006_07.pdf

The following is a list of commonly used vocabulary from the course. The student is expected to learn and use this vocabulary as part of his/her study and practice.

Reading Vocabulary:

physiognomy, capacious, hastened, satiate, enticements, laborious, prognosticate, annihilation, diligence, incredulous, reprobate, panegyric, exculpate, obdurate, predilection, apathy, phraseology, virtuous, perambulate, salubrious, fortnight, paroxysm, enigmatic, inestimable, and any other non familiar words that we encounter in our reading

Key Terminology: (Note that the most common terms-ones you need to know well are in bold)

allegory, alliteration, allusion, anaphora, anecdote, antagonist, antithesis, apostrophe, archetype, assonance, asyndeton, attitude, ballad, ballad stanza, blank verse, caesura, caricature, chiasmus, colloquial, complication, conceit, connotation, consonance, couplet, climax (turning point), dactylic, denotation, dialect, diction, dramatic monologue (soliloquy), elegy, enjambment, epic, exposition, extended metaphor (conceit), falling action (denouement), farce, foreshadowing, formal diction, flashback, free verse, genre, hyperbole, iambic, imagery, informal diction, in media res, irony, jargon, juxtaposition, limited point of view, lyric, message, metaphor, meter, metonymy, mood, narrative structure, narrator/persona/speaker, occasional poem, ode, omniscient point of view, overstatement, oxymoron, parable, paradox, parody, parallel structure, pastoral, periodic sentence, persona, personification, Petrarchan sonnet, plot, protagonist, quatrain, realism, refrain, rising action, rhyme, rhythm, sarcasm, satire, scansion, setting, Shakespearean sonnet, shaped verse, simile, soliloquy, speaker, stanza, stereotype, stock character, structure, style, symbolism, synecdoche, syntax, terza rima, theme, tone, tragedy, troche, turning point, voice, couplet, quatrain, cinquain, sestet, heptatich, octave, trimeter, tetrameter, pentameter, hexameter

Grammar terms:

Transitive verb, intransitive verb, irregular verb, regular verb, case, person, number, indefinite pronouns, possessive pronouns, reflexive pronouns, objective pronouns, subjective (nominative pronouns, limiting modifier, concrete noun, gerund, participle, predicate, predicate adjective, predicate nominative, declarative sentence, imperative sentence, exclamatory sentence, interrogative sentence, interjection, positive degree, comparative degree, superlative degree, elliptical clause

Short Story Boot Camp

Address Fundamental Literary Techniques:

How are these used to create meaning?
 

Basic Format

Before Class:
Arrive in Class with a marked highlighted copy of the assigned story. Students without this will not be allowed to join a discussion group.

Day 1   
Check for Understanding-Do you know what the technique is and how it works?

In Discussion Groups of 3-5

Discuss and deconstruct the use of device within story.

As a Class:

Present your ideas to the group for discussion
Day 2

Assign In Class Essay using essential question as prompt.
*Essential question prompt: 

Write an essay to explain the writer’s use of device to create meaning.  Use textual evidence to support your ideas.

Day 3

Bring in typed and original copy of essay for discussion and evaluation.

Assign new short story.
I. Characterization: 

Walker 

"Everyday Use"
Olsen

"I Stand Here Ironing"

II. Setting: 

Gilman

"The Yellow Wallpaper"

London
               "To Build a Fire"
III. Point of View: 

Faulkner

"A Rose for Emily"

Gilman
                "The Yellow Wallpaper"

Poe
                "The Tell-Tale Heart"

Carver
                "Cathedral"
Theme: 

Crane

“The Open Boat"

Welty

"A Worn Path"

Hawthorne 

"Young Goodman Brown"      

Summer Reading:

              Discussion:

 Truth an Beauty Essay

Writers often present characters who argue against the standards of the society in which they live. Find an example from Truth an Beauty that illustrates this, and discuss how Patchett portrays the complexity Grealy's struggle with  societal expectations (do not summarize the plot-focus on how Patchett writes) then transition to an example from your own experience that also illistrates this conflict. Do not exceed 3 typed pages.

Write:

Timed Essay AP format:

              AP Prompt based on summer reading.

You will write 3 in class essays based on the three summer reading assignments. As homework you will read someone else’s essay and write a guided response. You will also grade it on a 9 point scale. We will discuss the essays in class. You will choose 1 essay to submit to me.

Allusions and Classical Literature

Ongoing Allusion Assignment

Biblical and Classical Allusions

Read:

Classical Allusions:

1. Pandora's Box
2. Prometheus and Epimetheus
3. Paris and the Golden Apple
4. Tantalus and Ixion and Sisyphus
5. The Twelve Labors of Heracles
6. Echo and Narcissus
7. Cupid and Psyche
8. Pygmalion and Galatea
9. Demeter and Persephone

Biblical Allusions

1. Pilate and Jesus [Matt.27]
2. The agony of Christ [Mark 14]
3. The Great Flood
4. Samson and Delilah [Judges 15, 16]
5. David and Goliath [I Samuel 17]
6. The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah [Genesis 18-19]

Write:

Allusion Assignment

Two basic sources from which writers, especially poets, draw allusions and metaphors are the Bible and the ancient classical writings [mainly Greek and Roman]. From the very beginning of the literary canon, writers have borrowed characters, plots, and themes from these sources. Knowledge of the characters and stories contained in the Bible and in the body of myths and legends will add appreciably to the enjoyment and understanding literature of all kinds.

Starting with the First Week of September one Classical or Biblical Allusion Analysis is due on every Monday.

You may proceed in any order you wish.

Structure of the Allusion Analysis

 Name of story

1. Source (Biblical, Greek, Roman, etc.-Also include the textual source and translation.)
2. 50 or fewer word summary of the story
3. A 150-word commentary and reaction on the piece, which may include conflict, significance, general analysis, and the like. Avoid re-summarizing the story and concentrate on why the myth has persisted. It some cases it may only a fragment of symbol from the original myth that remains.

Note: We will discuss the myths as well as your reactions in class and individually as needed.

Read:

Homer

Selections from The Iliad

Books 1, 22, 24

The Odyssey

                            You Are Telemachus…

Write:

Greek Cheat Sheet

Create a single presentation page, web page, whatever with everything you can about ancient Greece, and The Illiad. Address people, places, ideas, quotes, genealogy, gods, etc There must also be at least one map, and one picture. Be as creative as you can by linking the places quotes ideas together. Use this first page to create another one for The Odyssey. If you use Google Documents make me a collaborator. kreinbring65@gmail.com 

Journal Assignment:

Consider the question of identity, both Odysseus and Telemachus are unsure of who they are when the poem opens. Odysseus lies about who he is. You are all Telemachus-teenagers who need to find out who you are and what your quality is.

Discussion:                           

Consider:

• What do you make of the obvious patriarchal nature of the poem and Greek society? What moral ethical issues arise for you and is it fair to bring a modern perspective to history?
• Why does Odysseus make Telemachus kill the suitors and then the Slave girls?
• Consider what happens to the heroes when they rest. Eat or be eaten plays a significant role, also, it seems to matter where, what and when one eats. What do you make of this?
• When does Penelope recognize Odysseus? Many readers of the poem disagree as to when the recognition occurs. Is it possible, as some readers believe that Penelope always knew it was Odysseus but pretended not to? 
• Much of the poem focuses on how the heroes die or are killed once they return home or stop to rest. What is Homer trying to say?
• Keep careful track of the gods. What do they do and why?

Read:

“Tell the Truth but tell it Slant”-Dickenson

Write:

In Your Journal:

Apply this concept from Emily Dickenson to explain why Odysseus lies so easily.

Read:

“Ulysses”, “The Lotos-Eaters”-Tennyson, Yeats “Leda and the Swan”

Write:

Annotate these poems and be prepared to discuss them in class.  Note the enduring influence of these myths as well as the way that each writer adapts them to his own purpose.

Write:

Timed Essay- AP format-Homer

Milton and Shakespeare 17^th Century Poets

Milton 

Paradise Lost

Pre Reading:

(If you didn’t read this over the summer then now’s the time to familiarize yourself with the basis of Milton’s Epic)

              Genesis 1-3, 4, 6-9, 11 (The Creation, Adam & Eve, Cain & Abel, Babel)

The Old Testament is basically the history of a single people offering itself as the authoritative universal history. 

Discussion:

Consider:

• Genesis is as much about Power as it is about Spirit. Power grants life and favor, takes it away, grants it again through a special compact that is renewed and repeated by the blessing of sons-some sons-by their fathers. This pattern is taken up by Milton. Examine the relationship between God, Satan, Adam, and Jesus.

At first power asserts itself without reason. It simply exists and then compelled one to obey without explanation. Later Power subsides into law and mercy. Notice the way that God avoids having to damn man through the act of sacrifice and mercy.

• Milton's use of epic conventions and classical literary motifs, e.g. the invocation of the Muse, twelve-book structure of PL, various classical allusions, the "catalogue" of characters (the "roll-call" of false Gods in Bk. 1), the "descent into Hell," etc. Consider these motifs in light of what you know about the epic tradition. What does he have in common with Homer?
• In claiming to "justify the ways of God to men," is Milton guilty of Satanic pride?
• To what extent is Milton's Satan a heroic figure? Compare/contrast with other heroes who act in an un-heroic manner e.g. Achilles, Odysseus.
• What positive qualities does he embody? Why is he appealing? At what point does he start to lose his charm? How does Satan's temptation of Eve pick up the motifs of overweening pride and the fatal desire to emulate God?
• What causes Eve's downfall? Is she guilty of pride? Of envy? Of vanity? Is she capable of resisting Satan's temptation? Who is blamed for her fall and why?
• Note Milton's treatment of Adam and Eve, particularly his opinions concerning marriage and the gender roles appropriate to each sex. Based on the depiction of Eve, what can you deduce about his attitude towards women
• Consider the depiction of the forces of Good and Evil in this epic, including the treatment of the "Fortunate Fall" (felix culpa) and the question of free will.

Write:

Milton Research Assignment

Part 1

Inquiry Based Research:

We will field trip to the local College Library for a tutorial on scholarly research. You are to find, and read 3 articles/books on Milton’s Paradise Lost.

Part 2

Précis Assignment

              Choose 1 book from your research and write a précis, a shortened version of a written text, containing the main points and omitting minor details, that is no longer than 1/3 the length of the original. It should start with a cited source, author, title etc, and end with a reaction.

Use the following guidelines:

• Topic sentence must be a clear statement of the main idea of the original.
• Try to state each idea in a single sentence followed by such explanation as needed.
• Concentrate on using vivid efficient writing so your précis will be concise.
• Use a concluding sentence that ties points together and brings your summary to an effective close.

Part 3             

Major Essay:

              Prepare a defense of Eve.

                            Write a researched and documented defense of the character of Eve in Milton’s Paradise Lost. Your Thesis must be original and well supported. You must use the text as well as critical essays to support your opinion.

October/November

Ongoing Poetry Assignments

Poetry/Prose Journals:

Read the following authors in this order.

Seventeenth Century Poets

You have to write about all of the poets but I will only grade 1 or 2 of your essays.             

              John Donne               

              “The Good Morrow”

              “Loves Alchemy”

                            “The Flea”

              “The Relic”

Ben Jonson 

              “On My First Daughter”

              “On My First Son”

              “To the Memory of My Beloved Master William Shakespeare”

              “To John Donne”

Robert Herrick

              “The Lily in a Crystal”

              “To Blossoms”

              “To Virgins to Make Much of Time”

George Herbert

“Virtue”

“Man”

              Andrew Marvell

                            “To His Coy Mistress”

Write:

Journal Assignment:

              Keep a response journal. For each poem you will do the following:

1. Read the Poem

Analyze and annotate the poem for literary techniques, themes. Etc

Respond to the poem in your journal. Discuss your reaction to the poem, ideas about the poet, make associations, whatever you need to do in order to understand and write about the poem.

2. Write:

Choose 1 poem from each poet (It does not have to be an assigned poem) and write a short essay using the following format.

Paragraph 1:

              What-Address the “what” of the poem in a 1 or 2 sentence thesis. What does this poem mean or is about.

Paragraph 2:

              How-Discuss how the author accomplishes the “what”. This is the longest paragraph and should include poetic and stylistic devices.

Paragraph 3:

              Why-Why did the author take on this topic or take on this topic in this particular way? Refer back to the how here.

Shakespeare

                            King Lear

We will read aloud and annotate this play in class.

Consider:

• The elements of tragedy.
• The manner in which dialog can used to create characterization.
• Note the Fairy Tale structure of the play. Lear has 3 daughters, two bad, one good, just like Cinderella. His counselor, another old man, has two sons, one good, one bad.
• What connections can you make of the blindness and eyes that dominate the imagery?
• Watch what happens as the basic structure of society, the family falls apart. What is Shakespeare saying by this? The next play he writes is Macbeth which has similar themes.
• What role is played by the fool? How is he ironic?  Why does he vanish halfway through the play?
• Look for Shakespeare’s use of negatives (“no’s” and “nothing’s”) to convey his themes. What is the impact of this kind of language? What is the significance of the frequently repeated discussions and references to “nothing”?  How does this word relate to the play’s other themes?
• The end of Lear is relentlessly sad, too sad some critics have complained. What is the effect of Shakespeare’s ending which has neither reconciliation nor justice? Would you rewrite the end, as dramatist Nahum Tate did in 1861, to make it more upbeat?
• King Lear has a strong subplot as well as main plot; how do these plots relate to each other? What do they add to each?
• Pay close attention to who learns what in King Lear.  What does Lear realize in the storm scene, how does he act on that knowledge?  What do Edgar, Albany, Edmund, Kent, or Gloucester learn?  How?
•   Many see this play as about redemption, others about apocalypse, others suffering and/or compassion?  What do you think is at the core of King Lear?
• Rhetoric, flattery, bluntness, and other notions of speech play a large role in the play; what are some of things Shakespeare might be saying about language and communication in this play?

November/December

Read:

Heart of Darkness

              For Conrad we will pursue a seminar format. You will be responsible for conducting the discussion (see handouts for rubrics and guidelines). After reading each Part we conduct a seminar discussion based on the questions you write.

Read Part I,II

Annotate your book-you will be required to have an annotated book to participate in the seminar.

Write

5 questions you want to discuss and submit them to me.

Seminar Part I-2days

Heart of Darkness supplemental reading

Read:

Trilling and Achebe’s Essays

Selections from T.S Eliot “The Wasteland”, “The Hollow Men”, “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”

Discuss:

In small groups annotate the assigned poem(s) and essays .Discuss the imagery, language and thematic elements and arrange your findings and present them to the class tomorrow.

Write:

              Journal response to readings.

Optional Viewing

Watch: Apocalypse Now

Note the way that filmmaker adapt the language of literature to language of film. We have a panel discussion featuring members of the Performing Arts, History and English departments following the film.

December

Practice AP Exams

Poetry: The Romantic Period

Ongoing Poetry Journal Assignments

You will write about and discuss all of the poets. You will also share your work with your classmates and with the instructor. You will then choose 1 or 2 of your essays to submit for credit.

William Blake

                            “The Chimney Sweep”

                            “London”

              William Wordsworth

“The World is Too Much With Us”

“Composed Upon West Minster Bridge”

Percy Bysshe Shelley

                            “Ozymandias”

Samuel Taylor Coleridge

                            “Kubla Khan”

George Gordon, Lord Byron

              “She Walks In Beauty”

              “When We Two Parted”

John Keats

              Odes-

Assign:

Picture of Dorian Grey

Essay AP format:

Winter Break

Winter Break Assignment

Poetry:

You will write about and discuss all of the poets. You will also share your work with your classmates and with the instructor. You will then choose 1 or 2 of your essays to submit for credit

Elizabeth Barrett Browning

              Sonnets from Portuguese

Alfred Lord Tennyson

              “Locksley Hall”

              “Ulysses”

              “In Memoriam A.H.H.”             

Walt Whitman

              Assorted-

Robert Browning

              “My Last Duchess”

              “Meeting at Night”

Christina Rossetti

January/ February

Midterms AP Multiple Choice Test and 2-3 Essays in a combination of in class and take home formats

Ongoing Assignment:

Quick Writes based on “What Makes Good Writing Good” feature in The Atlantic Monthly. You will be given a short passage to read then you will write a short response discussing precisely how the author of the piece achieves his/her ends. You will also discuss what makes the writing exceptional. These short pieces will be discussed in class and individually as needed.

Selections for this assignment will be drawn from various sources.

Read:

Invisible Man

Slaughterhouse Five

Read:

Song of Solomon

Discuss:

• How does Morrison’s use of sustained allusions enhance the theme of the novel?
• Discuss the significance of naming and names
• How is flight used as an extended metaphor?
• Compare this novel to Invisible Man. Both novels focus on a young Black man’s search for an identity.

Assign:

Inquiry based AP Research Project

As part of this project the student will learn how to research and evaluate criticism.

Note: This assignment is a precursor to the AP Research Assignment.

Part 1

• Find a critical essay on Song of Solomon

Part 2

Read the essay and highlight pertinent sections.

Part 3

Write an abstract of the article 1-2 pages in length.

• In the abstract you will summarize the main points of the article and identify the type of criticism or the author’s bias.

Note:

You will turn in the highlighted article with the abstract.

Write:

Annotation

Choose 1 section of Song of Solomon not less than 30 lines and write a commentary/annotation of it. Your commentary/annotation should accomplish the following:

An annotation is a concise interpretation and explication of a passage from a work of prose, a passage from a work of drama, or a poem.

The Method

• Begin your annotation with an interpretive claim.  That is, make a claim about the central meaning and purpose of the text.  Everything that follows this statement of interpretation should be written with that interpretation in mind.  In other words, write toward the central meaning and purpose of the text.
• For annotations of novels and plays, explain the importance of the passage to its location in the text.  Consider the passage's significance to the development of themes, characterization, plot, setting, motifs, etc.
• For annotations of novels and plays, make explicit connections between the assigned passage and the work as a whole.  Cite and explain examples from outside the assigned passage to demonstrate their relevance to the assigned passage.
• Analyze the style and rhetoric of the passage.  Stylistic and rhetorical devices include tone, attitude, diction, language, figurative language, figures of speech, detail, imagery, point of view, organization, structure, irony, sentence structure, syntax, and phrasing.  Detailed literary analysis of the writer’s craft in relation to the text’s central meaning and purpose is paramount.
• Explicate the passage clearly, succinctly, explicitly, and exhaustively.

Write:

In Class AP Format:

Discuss the use of allusion in Song of Solomon

Song of Solomon Supplemental Reading:

Essays:

Naomi Van Tol, “The Fathers May Soar Folklore and Blues in Song of Solomon”             

Melvin Dixon, “Like an Eagle in the Air”

Mailer from “The White Negro” Advertisement for Myself

Short Story:             

James Baldwin’s “Sonny’s Blues”

Read:

Invisible Man

Discuss:

• Outline and discuss the musical imagery and symbolism in the text.
• Reflect on the ways in which Sonny and the narrator’s shared suffering prompts some type of reconciliation.
• Like Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man Baldwin’s protagonist has no name. Compare the two characters and explore how music informs both "Sonny’s Blues" and the Prologue in Invisible Man.
• In the vernacular tradition the past is remembered and evaluated in an attempt to humanize an often harsh world.
• How does the past function within the structure of the narrative?
• If, as Ellison notes, the vernacular comprises nothing less than another instance of humanity’s triumph over chaos, then how can the final scene be read?

Write:

Write an essay discussing and comparing the use of music in the writing of Elison, Baldwin and Morrison. Essays should be documented and should address major events the works. 

February/March

Ongoing Assignment:

Term Papers-AP Research Project

This project represents 20 percent of your semester grade. You are required to read a variety of texts, primary and secondary as well as write in several different forms. Please give yourself sufficient time to complete the project.

Objectives:

• To introduce students to literary scholarship
• To improve students’ ability to write about literature through exposure to professionally written literary criticism
• To foster expertise about and profound appreciation for a single major work of literature
• To improve students’ research skills
• To improve students’ command of and facility with Modern Language Association guidelines for manuscripts and documentation
• To familiarize students with university libraries
• To foster academic self-efficacy, goal setting and long-term planning, and the ability to work with others

Read:

You may choose to read any work of “literary merit”

Overview

Students will work to compile a critical file treating a novel appropriate for study in AP English.. The compilation of this critical file will be similar to the compilation of critical editions published by Norton and Bedford.  Each student must, in other words, develop complete, rather than partial, expertise on the novel in question.

Write:

Part I:

The General Introduction

The general introduction will serve to inspire the reader’s interest in both the critical file and the primary text it explores.  The content of introductions will vary widely among critical files, depending upon the nature of the text in question, its history, and its critical reception.  It is the responsibility of the student to decide how best to approach the general introduction to convey the significance of the text and the critical concerns surrounding it. 

Length of General Introduction: Four - five double-spaced pages

Part II: Annotations

Introduction for Annotations: 

This introduction should explore and celebrate the unique qualities of the primary text, those qualities that make the text an artistic success.  It should also cite and respond to criticism, both positive and negative, of both the author’s thematic concerns, the dramatization of those concerns, and the author’s use of language.

Length of introduction to annotations: Two-three double-spaced pages

Annotations:

Part II is dedicated to the exploration of the author’s thematic concerns and linguistic craft.  The student will annotate three key passages from the primary text, one from the beginning, one from the middle, and one from the end.  These passages may vary in length, but the maximum length for each passage should be approximately thirty lines.  Each of the passages should both develop key themes in the primary text and be representative of the author’s use of language.  With the exception of the fact that students may cite secondary sources, the guidelines for the composition of these annotations are identical to those for an analytical essay composed as regular class assignments.

Part III: Background Sources

Part III will provide the reader with an understanding of the artistic, cultural, historical, and biographical influences that shaped the author’s composition of the primary text.  The student will collect at least 3 documents, each of which represents a significant influence, either direct or indirect, upon the author.  These background sources should vary considerably in terms of type.  They may include, for example: first-person accounts of relevant historical events; contemporary treatises upon aesthetics; the writings of thinkers whose work the author admired or, perhaps, despised; the author’s own commentary upon the text in the form of journal entries, correspondence, or interviews; and documents that had an impact upon the general public at the time the text was composed. All documents must be primary sources, rather than commentary upon those sources, and the source and date of each should be made clear.

Part IV: Criticism

Part IV, which comprises the bulk of the critical file, is a collection of 3 professionally written articles that explore the most important critical concerns surrounding the primary text and that represent the spectrum of scholarly thinking about the text.  The collection should also represent at least 2 critical approaches to the text, perhaps pairing articles that are similar in terms of approach but different in terms of the conclusions they draw.  Although you may choose to include one or two older articles to provide the reader with historical, balanced perspective, the majority of these articles should represent current trends in criticism of the text.

Critical articles should be included in their entirety.  Extracts are not acceptable.

Abstracts of the Criticism: 

Each article should be prefaced with an abstract that summarizes the article’s main points; the structure of its argument, significant influences upon the scholar’s reading of the text, significant strengths and weaknesses of the article, and the scholar’s critical approach.  Finally, the abstract should include a subtle and eloquent justification for the inclusion of this particular article in the critical file as a representative of a particular critical approach, rather than others that use the same or similar approaches.

Length of each abstract: One-two double-spaced pages.

Works Cited and Works Consulted

March/April

Poetry

Twentieth Century

You will write about and discuss all of the poets. You will also share your work with your classmates and with the instructor. You will then choose 1 or 2 of your essays to submit for credit.

William Butler Yeats

                            “The Second Coming”

                            “Leda and the Swan”

Wallace Stevens

                            “Disillusionment of Ten O’Clock”

                            “Ancedote of the Jar”

                            “The Red Wheelbarrow”

                            “This Is Just To Say”

Jean Toomer

                            “Georgia Dusk”

Langston Hughes

                            “Jazzonia”

Robert Lowell

                            “Wife and Man”

Sylvia Plath

                            Daddy”

May Swenson

              “The Centaur”

              “At East River”

May/June

Read:

The Dao of Pooh

              Discuss:

• Connections between Hof’s representations of Taoism and the previous novels’ themes.
• Discuss the effectiveness Hof’s use of the Pooh characters as symbols for the philosophical themes of the book. Does this approach work for you?

Assign:

In an informal unsigned essay discuss which character’s philosophy best reflects your own approach to life.

Research Project Due

Practice AP Exams and Review

AP Tests