AP English Literature and Composition:
Syllabus- Spring 2013
Text:
Arp, T.R., Johnson, G. Perrine’s Literature: Structure, Sound, and Sense. 9th Ed. New
York. Wadsworth, 2006.
Note: Some supplementary books may be provided. However, students should be prepared to obtain
copies of outside reading for drama.
Approach:
This course will devote equal time to the literary genres of poetry and drama. Further, it will conduct a
review of fiction, both short stories and the novel. In writing, students will learn both conventions and
form.
Course Description:
This course will teach students to read, analyze, and write about fiction, drama, and poetry. We will
read literature from the 16th century through the 21st Century. These activities will prepare students
for the AP Exam administered on Thursday, May 9th, at 8:00 a.m.. AP English Literature and
Composition requires students to complete college-level work with the goal of training students in the
study of literature to increase the students’ ability to understand texts through literary analysis. This
course is also designed to improve students’ understanding of basic techniques of composition. Students
must learn to write clear, coherent papers to be successful at the college level. All assigned readings
need to be read by the due date. Students cannot contribute to a discussion if they have not read the
work; therefore, tests will be given to ensure that all students are doing their fair share of the work.
Academic Honesty Policy Statement:
I take academic dishonesty very seriously, and I will deal strongly and without compromise with any
student whom I catch cheating in this course.
Plagiarism will not be tolerated. Any student who violates this rule will receive a “0” for that assignment.
A “0” on a major assignment will make it very difficult for any student to pass this course. A second
violation of this policy will result in immediate removal from the course, and the student will receive a
failing grade.
Information taken from any source must be acknowledged through citations. All citations will be in
Modern Language Association (MLA) format, which we will cover in detail.
Please sign here to indicate that you will abide by the policies for this course.
Parent Signature _________________________________
Student Signature ________________________________
Absences: You are expected to attend all classes and turn in assigned homework on time.
•
If have a history of missing more than six days in a semester, you will have a hard time passing
this course.
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If you know you are going to be absent, talk to me in advance so we can make appropriate
arrangements.
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If you miss class the day an assignment is due, please make every effort to have someone else
turn it in for you. I expect you to do this as a courtesy to your classmates.
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If you are absent on the day an assignment is given, you are responsible for getting that
assignment on the day you return.
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Students with extended absences will have the opportunity to complete missed work. See me to
make arrangements. However, this will make life difficult for you.
Format:
Turning in assignments: Points will be deducted from your grade if this format is not followed.
Guidelines for turning in assignments
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MLA format will be used in this course.
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All assignments must be turned in on time.
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Typed papers should be in 12 point Times New Roman font, double spaced, with 1 inch margins
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All assignments will have a heading in the upper left hand corner. The heading will include the
following information:
o
Name
o
Class
o
Date
o
Please center the title for each assignment below the heading.
•
All major papers must be computer generated. Handwritten assignments need to be legible and
in blue or black ink. If I cannot read your paper, I cannot grade it.
Evaluation Procedures:
Your grade for this course will be comprised of the following four major categories:
1.
Class Participation, Quizzes, Poetry Responses, Grammar and Conventions Exercises- 40%
2.
Major Papers-30%
3.
Tests, Major Work Data Sheets, Key Terms- 30%
Grading Scale: I will provide scoring rubrics for your major writing assignments.
A
93-100
B
92-85
C
84-77
D
76-70
F
Below 70
Communication:
Every student will be given every opportunity to succeed. I can be available before and after school for
student meetings or parent conferences. If you have any questions or concerns at any time, please let me
know. I am more than happy to meet with you, and you can reach me at 488-2152 (work) or 2937445 (home).
Snow Days:
If we miss school because of inclement weather—usually snow days—the assignment remains the same.
Do the reading that is assigned on the date it is assigned, and if we do not have time to cover each
reading in class, I will hold extra sessions before or after school or during lunch.
Major Writing Assignments:
Students can expect to write two long papers (750-1000 words on a poem and dramatic work,
numerous in-class writing exercises (weekly), and several short (one page) responses to some of the
works we read. Students will complete a Major Work Data sheet on one drama that we have read as a
group. Your final exam will consist of an annotated bibliography.
Individual Reading Assignments:
The AP Exam format requires students to have an in depth knowledge of at least four novels, four plays,
and a variety of poems. Therefore, students will be required to read two works in addition to our class
reading schedule (one novel and one drama). This presentation will be done in the spring, and it should
be done by pairs and trios: further, it should include a 5-10 minute film based on an individual or
group creative interpretation of the work. This will allow all class members to become familiar with
more works than we can cover in this class together. The presentation will be due before or after spring
break, depending upon how many snow days we have. (Tentative dates are included in the course
schedule.) I will provide a list of works from which to choose. Students should choose their works early
in the semester and reserve them. Books will be assigned on a first come- first served basis. Most of
these books can be obtained from the library. However, students may wish to purchase their own copies
of their chosen works.
AP Exam Practice Exercises:
We will conduct regular timed writing exercises throughout the year to prepare for the AP Exam in
May. These exercises will be counted as part of your class participation grade. You will receive credit
for completing them, and you will learn to score your own practice essays to help determine your
strengths and weaknesses. Be sure to talk to me if you are having a problem in any area, so we can
schedule some out of class tutoring sessions. We will also have several practice tests, including one that
is full length. During the week just before the AP exam, we will have student led reviews for at least two
evenings.
Materials:
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A three- ring binder.
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Pens and No. 2 pencils.- All Tests Should Be Taken In Pen.
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6 Dividers with plastic tabs. Conventions/ Short Fiction/ Novel/ Poetry/ Drama/ Writing/ Key
terms
Rule:
1. Be nice or leave.
Course Schedule
I. Poetry
The Elements of Poetry: Introduction to Poetic Devices
Response to Winter Reading: Due: January 3rd
Reading Assignment 1- Due: January 4
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“The Elements of Poetry” p. 645
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“What is Poetry?” p. 647-655
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William Shakespeare- “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day”
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Emily Dickinson- “The last Night that She lived”
Reading Assignment 2- Due: Jan. 7
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Gwendolyn Brooks- “Kitchenette Building”
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William Carlos Williams- “The Red Wheelbarrow”
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Langston Hughes- Suicide Note”
Reading Assignment 3- Due: Jan. 8
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“Reading the Poem” pp. 668- 677
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John Donne- “Break of Day”
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William Blake- “The Clod and the Pebble”
Reading Assignment 4 - Due: Jan. 10
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“Denotation and Connotation” pp. 686-692
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Henry Reed- “Naming the Parts”
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William Wordsworth- “The world is too much with us”
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Langston Hughes- “Cross”
Reading Assignment 5- Due: Jan. 11
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Adrienne Rich- “I Am in Danger—Sir—“
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Robert Frost- “Desert Places”
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Elizabeth Bishop- “One Art”
Focus- Denotation, Connotation, Imagery, Lyric Poetry, The Ballad
Reading Assignment 6- Due Jan. 14
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“Imagery”- p. 700- 703
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Seamus Heaney- “The Forge”
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William Carlos Williams- “The Widow’s Lament in Springtime”
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Robert Frost- “After Apple-Picking”
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John Keats- “To Autumn”
Focus- Imagery
Reading Assignment 7- Due: Jan. 22
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“Figurative Language: Simile, Metaphor, Personification, Apostrophe, Metonymy” p. 714-724
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Robert Frost- “Bereft”
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Emily Dickinson- “It sifts from Leaden Sieves”
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John Keats- “Bright Star”
Focus- Figurative Language
Reading Assignment 8- Due: Jan 24
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Sylvia Plath- “Metaphors”
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John Donne- “A Valediction: Forbidden Mourning”
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Andrew Marvell- “To His Coy Mistress”
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Langston Hughes- “Dream Deferred”
Focus- Figurative Language
Reading Assignment 9- Due: Jan. 28
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“Figurative Language 2: Symbol, Allegory” p.734-745
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Robert Frost- “Fire and Ice”
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Emily Dickinson- “Because I could not stop for death”
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John Donne- “Hymn to God My God, in My Sickness”
Focus- Symbol, Allegory
Due Dates after this to be arranged later
Reading Assignment 10- Due: February 4
“Figurative Language 3: Paradox, Overstatement, Understatement, Irony” p. 756-766
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John Donne- “Batter my heart, three-personed God”
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Billy Collins- “The History Teacher”
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Adrienne Rich- “Afterward”
Focus- Paradox, Overstatement, Understatement, Hyperbole, and Irony
Reading Assignment 11- Due: February 7
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“Allusion” p. 778-781
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e.e. cummings- “in just”
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John Milton- “On His Blindness”
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T.S. Eliot “Journey of the Magi”
Focus- Paradox, Overstatement, Understatement, Irony
Reading Assignment 12- Due: February 11
“Meaning and Idea” p. 791-795
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A.E. Housman- “Loveliest of Trees”
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Robert Frost- “Design”
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Emily Dickinson “I never saw a Moor”
Focus- Meaning and Idea
Reading Assignment 13- Due: February 18
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Tone p. 804-809
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Adrienne Rich- “Miracle Ice Cream”
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William Shakespeare- “My mistress’ eyes
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John Donne- “The Flea”
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Matthew Arnold- “Dover Beach”
Reading Assignment 14- Due: February 21
“Musical Devices”- 822-830
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Gwendolyn Brooks- “We Real Cool”
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Maya Angelou- “Woman Work”
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Robert Frost- “Nothing Gold Can Stay”
Focus- Musical Devices- Assonance, Consonance, Alliteration, and More
Reading Assignment 15 - Due: February 25th
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“Rhythm and Meter” pp. 838-853
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William Blake- “Introduction” to Songs of Innocence”
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Walt Whitman- “Had I Choice”
Focus- Importance of rhythm and meter
Reading Assignment 16- Due: February 28
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“Pattern” pp. 883-891
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John Donne- “Death, be not proud”
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Adrienne Rich- “Final Notations”
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Robert Herrick- “Delight in Disorder”
Focus- Finding meaning in pattern and shift
Reading Assignment 17- Due: March 4
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“Evaluating Poetry 1”- pp. 903- 906
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“Evaluating Poetry 2”- 915- 920
Poetry Paper Individual Conferences March 6th and 7th- Have a four-page solid draft ready March 6th.
See prompt below.
Poetry Essay Prompt 2013
Write an essay analyzing one of the poems from the list below. Your essay should give your
(not your classmates’, not Sparknotes’, not anyone else’s) interpretation of the poem. A good
essay will include a discussion of what the poet may have been saying about society and/or the
human condition in this poem. Your interpretation must be grounded in the poem—you must
have textual evidence to support your reading of the poem. Then, you should discuss some of
the poetic tools the writer uses that allow you to arrive at this meaning. Pay particular attention
to the poetic tools we have studied. Remember to use the Questions for Analyzing Poetry and
the TP-FASTT sheets to help you organize your thoughts. Your essay should be five to seven
pages long with a Works Cited page and in text citations. The final draft is due on March 11th.
If you are sick, e-mail it before the class period begins or have someone bring it in for you.
List of works from which you may choose:

A.E Housman- “To an Athlete Dying Young”

John Keats- “Ode on a Grecian Urn”

T.S. Eliot- “The Love Song of J. Alfed Prufock”
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Randall Jarell- “Death of the Ball Turret Gunner”

Joyce Carol Oates- “Loves of the Parrots”
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WH Auden- “Musee des Beaux Arts”
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Emily Dickinson- “A Narrow Fellow in the Grass”
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Robert Frost- “Birches”
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Philip Larkin- “Aubade”
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Theodore Roethke- “My Papa’s Waltz”
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Anne Sexton- ‘The Abortion”
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“Little Ode to the Wheelchair Boys”- Dave Smith
Poetry Essay Rubric
High Level Essay:
20
18 16
14
12
Interprets the prompt perceptively and makes a comprehensive
application of the prompt to the poem.
Thesis statement is clear and supported by well-chosen examples.
The Paper is organized in a logical manner. Transitions are smooth.
Topic sentences are used effectively. Each paragraph is clearly tied
to the thesis statement.
Conclusion does more than just restate the thesis statement.
Style shows maturity. Consistent use of high-level diction and
syntax.
Mechanics: The paper is virtually error free.
Middle Level Essay:
Interpretation of the prompt is shallow and/or misses some key elements of the poem.
10
Thesis statement is slightly unclear and good supporting examples are left out of the paper.
The Paper is organized in a somewhat logical manner. Transitions are choppy.
Conclusion does little more than just restate the thesis statement.
Style is generally clear, but may lack polish. Diction and syntax may be unimaginative, but
generally correct.
Mechanics: More than 6 errors or a serious trend of errors.
Low- Level Essay:
Interpretation of the prompt is unclear. The essay shows a serious
misunderstanding of the prompt or the poem. The paper lacks any
analysis and appears to be simply just a paraphrase of the poem.
Thesis statement is discernable. Thesis statement not supported by wellchosen details. Huge concepts are misunderstood. Counterarguments
could easily be made.
The Paper is not organized in a logical manner. Transitions not present.
Topic sentences are rarely used. The paper is difficult to follow. The
paper goes on tangents.
Conclusion does not support the argument.
Style is immature. The author does not appear to understand the
accepted usage of many of the words used in the paper. The author used
8
6
4
02
too many words to provide too little information of interest.
Mechanics: The essay is marred by errors of various types. The paper
does not appear to have been proofread.
Student’s Name: ________________________________________________
Grade ______
Scansion in Poetry (not for the faint of heart)
Meter—identifying characteristic of language we can tap our feet to.
Foot—basic unit of meter that consists normally of one stressed syllable plus one or two
unstressed syllables, though occasionally there may be no stressed syllables. To determine
which syllable in a foot is stressed, compare its sound to that of other syllables within the foot,
not within the line.
A breve indicates an unstressed syllable, and an ictus indicates a stressed syllable.
Five types of patterns in use of stresses—
Iambic—unstressed, stressed—two beats, the first unaccented—most common line in metered
poetry is iambic pentameter—five feet following the iambic pattern “today, the sun”
Trochaic—stressed, unstressed foot
“daily, went to”
Anapestic—unstressed, unstressed, stressed foot
Dactylic—stressed, unstressed, unstressed
Spondaic—stressed, stressed
“intervene in the dark”
“multiple color of”
“true blue”
Six types of feet—
Monometer—one foot
Dimeter—two feet
Trimeter—three feet
Tetrameter—four feetPentameter—five feet
Hexameter—six feet
To scan, you identify the prevailing pattern, then name the number of feet in the line.
Poetry Analysis (TPFASST)
(places to begin discussion)
T
Title-
Anticipate
Meaning.
Questions?
P
Paraphrase-
F
Figurative Devices-
What is it about?
How do they affect
meaning?
A
Attitude- Analyze
narrator’s tone.
S
Shifts- Note shifts
in tone, subject,
diction, syntax.
T
T
Re-Think the title .
Tell what the poem
is saying.
Questions for Analyzing Poetry
Word Choice:
1. What words are of central importance to the poem?
2. What is the denotative meaning of those words?
3. Why is each word chosen instead of a close synonym?
4. What other words could be effectively used in its place?
5. How would substitutions affect the poem’s meaning?
6. Which key words have connotative meaning? Negative connotations?
Positive connotations? Beyond its literal meaning, what does each word suggest?
7. What is the poem’s general level of diction? Why? Is it effective?
8. Does the poem change levels of diction? Where? Why?
9. What can the reader infer about the speaker’s attitude from the word choice?
Figures of Speech:
10. Does the poem use unusual images or patterns of imagery?
11. Does the author create analogies, like similes or metaphors?
12. Does the author use personification or apostrophe?
13. Is there deliberate understatement or hyperbole?
14. Does the author employ paradox or oxymoron to add complexity?
15. What other figures of speech does the author use to convey the images?
16. What purpose do the figures of speech serve, and what effect do they have on the
passage?
17. What part do rhythm and sound devices, such as alliteration or onomatopoeia, play in
the passage?
18. What is the form of the poem in stanza, rhyme scheme, and meter?
19. Do the figures of speech convey theme, attitude, or both?
No element should be considered in isolation. The importance of any element is how it works
with others to convey the writer’s purpose. Never substitute terminology for analysis. Always
connect the term directly (with an example) to the effect it creates in the passage.
March 11th- (Same day poetry essay is due.) Review Key Terms for Practice AP
Exam
March 12th and 13th- Full Practice AP Exam
March 14thth- Begin drama unit reading in class while Ms. Young scores
Drama- Elements of Drama (specific dates may be changed based on weather)
Reading Assignment- Due: March 15th


“Elements of Drama”- pp. 1025
“The Nature of Drama”- pp. 1027-1030
Focus- Tragedy, Comedy, Classical Drama, Themes, Dramatic Irony
Reading Assignment- Due: March 18

Edward Albee- The Sandbox
Focus- Non-realistic drama
Reading Assignment- Due: March 25


“Realistic- Nonrealistic Drama 1074-1078
Tennesee Williams- The Glass Menagerie
Focus- Mystery, Symbolism,
Reading Assignment- Due: April 1
August Wilson- Fences
Reading Assignment- Due: April 22


“Tragedy and Comedy” 1209-1216
William Shakespeare- Othello
Focus- Shakespearean Drama, Elizabethan Culture, Themes, Good vs. Evil, Stock Characters,
Understanding the role of poetry in Shakespearean Drama
Reading Assignment- Due: April 29

Oscar Wilde- The Importance of Being Earnest
Focus- Comedy of Manners
Drama Paper due: TBA
Major Works Data Sheet Due: TBA
Outside Reading Film Presentation Due:
****Spring Break****
****Senior Trip***
You made it to the review!!!!!!!!!! Congratulations!!!!!!!!!!!
Focus- Bringing it all together, reviewing literature techniques in all genres, sharing your
Major Work Data Sheets.
****** AP Exam: Thursday , May 9th, 2013 ******
Annotated Bibliography due (from those not meeting attendance requirements) at
beginning of review period for exam; no class on exam day