Advanced Placement
English Literature and Composition
The Exam and Course Design
Indian Hill High School
Rebecca McFarlan
mcfarlan@ih.k12.oh.us
Consultant: 1216
Rebecca McFarlan
Consultant ID: 1216
June 26 – 30, 2011
Wooster, OH
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Requisite AP English Skills
From PSAT/NMSQT Skills List
Writing Skills
W1 Being precise and clear
How to improve: Learn to recognize sentence elements that are ambiguous and confusing. In your
writing, choose words carefully and connect them for clear meaning.
W2 Following conventions in writing
How to improve: Review the chapters in a grammar book that cover grammatical conventions, such as
word choice, use of noun and prepositional phrases, and sentence construction. Work with your teacher
to become more familiar with the conventions of Standard Written English.
W3 Recognizing logical connections within sentences and passages
How to improve: Use the writing process to help you revise your draft essays. Work with classmates and
teachers to clarify meaning in your writing.
W4 Using verbs correctly
How to improve: Make sure that you can identify the subject and verb of a sentence. Make sure you
understand subject and verb agreement.
W5 Recognizing improper pronoun use
How to improve: Learn to understand the distinction between informal, spoken pronoun usage and
standard written pronoun usage. Review the way you use pronouns in your own writing. Ask your teacher
to help you identify and correct pronoun errors in your own writing.
W6 Understanding the structure of sentences with unfamiliar vocabulary
How to improve: Read material that contains unfamiliar vocabulary. Look for context clues to help you
guess at the meaning of unfamiliar words as you read.
W7 Understanding complicated sentence structures
How to improve: Refer to a grammar book to identify various sentence patterns and their effective use.
Vary the sentence patterns in your own writing.
W8 Understanding the structure of long sentences
How to improve: As you read, break long sentences into smaller units of meaning.
W9 Understanding the structure of sentences with abstract ideas
How to improve: Read newspapers, magazines, and books that deal with subjects such as politics,
economics, history, or philosophy.
W10 Understanding the structure of sentences that relate to science or math
How to improve: Focus on how something is said as well as on what is said. Write about the things you
are learning in math and science classes. Read articles in the science section of newspapers and
magazines so that you will feel more comfortable with scientific or math content.
W11 Understanding the structure of sentences that relate to the arts
How to improve: Focus on how something is said as well as on what is said. Read articles in newspapers
and magazines about the arts so that you will feel more comfortable with these subjects.
Critical Reading Skills
CR1 Understanding main ideas in a reading passage
How to improve: Read the passage carefully and try to determine the author’s overall message. Practice
making distinctions between the main idea and supporting details.
CR2 Understanding tone
How to improve: When reading, consider how an author’s choice of words helps define his or her
attitudes. Pay attention to the way in which tone conveys meaning in conversation and in the media.
CR3 Comparing and contrasting ideas presented in two passages
How to improve: Read editorials that take opposing views on an issue. Look for differences and
similarities in tone, point of view, and main idea.
CR4 Understanding the use of examples
How to improve: Authors often include examples in their writing to communicate and support their ideas.
Read different kinds of argumentative writing (editorials, criticism, personal essays) and pay attention to
the way examples are used. State the point of the examples in your own words. Use examples in your
own writing.
CR5 Recognizing the purpose of various writing strategies
How to improve: Writers use a variety of tools to achieve their effects. While you read, look for such things
as specific examples, quotations, striking images, and emotionally loaded words. Think about the
connotations of specific words and why the author might have decided to use them.
CR6 Applying ideas presented in a reading passage
How to improve: When you read, try to determine the author’s ideas and assumptions and then think
about how they might apply to new situations.
CR7 Determining an author’s purpose or perspective
How to improve: Authors write for a variety of purposes, such as to inform, to explain, or to convince.
When you read, try to determine why the author wrote what he or she wrote.
CR8 Making connections between information in different parts of a passage
How to improve: Work on figuring out the relationship between the material presented in one part of a
reading passage and material presented in another part. Ask yourself, for example, how facts presented
in the beginning of a magazine article relate to the conclusion.
CR9 Distinguishing conflicting viewpoints
How to improve: When reading, practice summarizing main ideas and noting sentences that mark
transition points. earn to understand methods of persuasion and argumentation. Expand your reading to
include argumentative writing, such as political commentary, philosophy, and criticism.
CR10 Being thorough
How to improve: Don’t just pick the first answer choice you see that looks tempting. Be sure to evaluate
all the choices before you select your answer, just as you would read an entire paragraph rather than
assume its meaning based only on the first sentence.
CR11 Understanding difficult vocabulary
How to improve: Broaden your reading to include newspapers and magazines, as well as fiction and
nonfiction from before the 1900s. Include reading material that is a bit outside your comfort zone. Improve
your knowledge of word roots to help determine the meaning of unfamiliar words.
CR12 Understanding how negative words, suffixes, and prefixes affect sentences
How to improve: When reading, pay attention to the ways in which negative words (like “not” and “never”),
prefixes (like “un” and “im”), and suffixes (like “less”) affect the meaning of words and sentences.
CR13 Understanding complex sentences
How to improve: Ask your English teacher to recommend books that are a bit more challenging than
those you’re used to reading. Practice breaking down the sentences into their component parts to
improve your comprehension. Learn how dependent clauses and verb phrases function in sentences.
CR14 Recognizing connections between ideas in a sentence
How to improve: Learn how connecting words (such as relative pronouns and conjunctions) establish the
relationship between different parts of a sentence.
CR15 Recognizing words that signal contrasting ideas in a sentence
How to improve: Learn how certain words (such as “although,” “but,” “however,” and “while”) are used to
signal a contrast between one part of a sentence and another.
CR16 Recognizing a definition when it is presented in a sentence
How to improve: Learn how such elements as appositives, subordination, and punctuation are used to
define words in a sentence.
CR17 Understanding sentences that deal with abstract ideas
How to improve: Broaden your reading to include newspaper editorials, political essays, and philosophical
writings.
CR18 Understanding and using a word in an unusual context
How to improve: Work on using word definitions when choosing an answer. Try not to be confused by an
unusual meaning of a term.
CR19 Comprehending long sentences
How to improve: Practice reducing long sentences into small, understandable parts.
CR20 Choosing a correct answer based on the meaning of the entire sentence
How to improve: Make sure your answer choice fits the logic of the sentence as a whole. Don’t choose an
answer just because it sounds good when inserted in the blank.
CR21 Understanding sentences that deal with scientific ideas
How to improve: Read magazine articles about scientific subjects to improve your comfort level in this
area.
http://www.collegeboard.com/prod_downloads/counselors/psat/07_Score_Report_Plus
Skills_List.pdf. Accessed 03/10/2008.
Comparison of AP Literature and Composition and AP Language and Composition Courses
AP Literature:
Fiction – novels, plays, poems
AP Language
Mostly non-fiction – speeches, essays
Know:
Know:
literary elements – characterization,
rhetorical strategies – diction,
setting, structure, symbols, point of view,
syntax, speaker, structure, details,
themes
satire, irony, sound, imagery, figurative
Poetry-rhythm, sounds, , stanza form,
language, attitude, tone, etc.
imagery, structure, motifs, repetition, etc
Argument – appeals, structure, speaker
Prose – rhetorical strategies, syntax, diction,
logical fallacies, imagery, figurative
Sounds, figurative language, imagery,
language, syntax, diction, attitude, tone,
attitude, tone, speaker, character, etc.
purpose, research skills,
Free Response Questions (3)
One on poetry
One on prose
One open essay
Free Response Questions (3)
One or two on rhetorical strategies
One or two on argument
Synthesis Question
AP Skills Assessed on Exam
Directions: As we discuss the exam, make notes on areas of your strengths and weaknesses.
Review your notes and set goals for the second semester.
Short Answer:
1. Ask interesting questions to delve into the complex ideas presented in literature
2. Identify, define and apply literary terms to understand subtle meaning of literature and use
them to explain complex ideas in an essay
3. Extrapolate theme and tone
4. Use philosophy, literary constructs of criticism, and historical contexts to examine literature
and add voice to essays
5. Apply concepts of comedy and satire to determine a work’s meanings and tone and evaluate
its humor
6. Use structure (form) to determine meaning
7. Analyze poetry
Essays:
8. Ability to “talk back” in a persuasive style to the prompt (Makes explicit that which is
implicit in the text.)
9. Construct a literary thesis that is clear, concise, interesting, and debatable
10. Attend to all parts of the prompt
11. Use outside knowledge and/or experience to add depth to the discussion
12. Choose wisely
My Strengths:
My Weaknesses:
Goals for 3rd quarter:
Serious Suggestions for Mrs. McFarlan that would help you achieve your goals:
What AP Readers Long to See…
This list of suggestions for AP students writing the AP exam was compiled during the 2007 AP
English reading at the Convention Center in Louisville, Kentucky. Although its participants read
essays that answered only question number 1, their suggestions apply to other parts of the exam
as well.
The prompt, which generated the essays being scored, was from the 2007 AP English Literature
exam, as follows:
In the following two poems (A Barred Owl by Richard Wilbur & The History
Teacher by Billy Collins – not reprinted here), adults provide explanations for
children. Read the poems carefully. Then write an essay in which you compare
and contrast the two poems, analyzing how each poet uses literary devices to
make his point.
I’ve done my best to encapsulate, synthesize and categorize comments – there were over 40
pages from which to work. I also know that there are contradictions here; that’s just the way it
is. However, the similarities far outweigh the differences. We do all seem to be on the same
page, so to speak.
Structure & Composition
1. Fully develop your essays; try to write at least 2 pages. It’s a shame to read the first page of
what promises to be an 8 or 9 essay and then have the writer not fully develop their ideas
and quit after one page. However, a longer essay is not necessarily a better essay.
2. Integrate your quotations gracefully (1) into your analysis of literary devices (2) with an
interpretation of meaning (3). Thoroughly explain the relevance of the quote to the prompt
and your analysis. Don’t assume that your understanding of a quote is the same as the
readers’ understanding; you have to interpret its significance to the work, your thesis and the
prompt. Show, don’t tell.
3. Spend time planning your essay (10 minutes), and find some angle, within the context of the
prompt, that you feel passionate about, whether emotionally, intellectually or
philosophically (passion moves readers). If the prompt refers to “literary devices” or any
other technical aspects of the work, ignore the reference and ask first, “What does the poem
mean?” THEN, ask, “What message does the author have for you?” THEN, ask, “How is
that message delivered?” At this point, the devices should suggest themselves in a context
in which the technicalities of the work will be seen to create its effectiveness rather than
obscuring its power.
a. One reader suggested leaving some space at the beginning and write your
introduction last, once you know what you’ve actually written.
4. Don’t just jump from thought to thought; transition quickly but effectively.
5. Make sure your essay has a clear ARGUABLE thesis statement which clearly reflects what
you intend to discuss. Make sure your thesis is an EXACT reflection of what the prompt is
asking WITHOUT simply restating the prompt. A good formula is “The text shows X in
order to show/highlight/accomplish Y.” Connect the literary device back to the author’s
point.
6. Spend more time thinking and analyzing the ENTIRE text rather than paraphrasing the text
in your response. Many writers miss or ignore subtle shades of meaning which show
contrasts or similarities. Look for ambiguities and ambivalence in the selection.
7. Make sure that all your claims/analysis has effective support AND that the support you
choose is the best the text has to offer. When considering what support to use, reflect on the
following:
a. Are they all equal?
b. Do they grow or diminish in importance or scale?
c. Are there different aspects of one thing or varieties?
8. The conclusion should be a separate paragraph, even if you only have time for one sentence.
Don’t just stop after your last argument, and avoid simply repeating your introduction in
your conclusion. A good conclusion could restate the thesis, emphasize salient aspects of
the essay and end with a provocative clincher.
9. While avoiding the formula of the five-paragraph essay, it would also be helpful to see more
than one or two GIGANTIC paragraphs. Because readers read through only once and
quickly, not having those cues to where ideas begin and end contributes to the incoherency
of an essay. Structure is part of essay writing, and students need to show that they can command
the language and their thoughts into a structured essay.
10. Don’t use plot summary in your response. “Summary is death!”
11. Evidence, evidence, evidence!
12. Avoid formulaic writing, especially in the opening of your essay. If you use a formula to
get the pen moving, then do, but if 10 or 15 seconds though will help you craft something
more creative or original or efficient, that that’s 10 seconds well spent. Readers will read
hundreds and hundreds of essays, 90% of which start the same way (think refrigerator word
magnets simply rearranged a thousand different ways), and if you can create something
memorable (but not wacky), it may bring more attention to your work.
13. Don’t use line numbers, but briefly quote instead. Line numbers never substitute for the
actual quote when supporting a point, AND most readers will not go back to the poem or
text to see which lines you are referring to. Finally, when quoting, don’t simply give the
first and last words with an ellipsis in between. Use the exact words that are most important
in demonstrating your point.
14. Take some time to consider point of view and audience before digging in. Many essays
confuse the actual purpose of the text by not thinking about or ignoring the proposed
audience or point of view.
15. Teachers should remind students that they can write on any work OF LITERARY MERIT
which is a PLAY or a NOVEL. Some students wrote notes that they hadn't read any of the
suggested works so they were giving up. In addition, the reading slowed down as readers
searched the table for someone who might even recognize titles that none of us had heard
of.
Style
1. Avoid long, flowery (purple prose), showy, catchy, etc, introductions; stick to a few
sentences and get to the point (aka your thesis).
2. Don’t moralize or comment on the quality of the work – “I liked the poem,” etc; focus on
literary analysis as a means to convey your opinions not on how you personally felt about
the selection. And, don’t comment on the author, either: “Such and such was a great 20th
century author who….” Or “Milton does a great job of …”
3. Try not to be too controversial, politically speaking.
4. Avoid affective fallacy, which argues that the reader's response to a poem is the ultimate
indication of its value.
5. Creative writing is not academic writing.
6. Take some risks. Be aware of your strengths as a writer and show them off. Be critical and
analytical.
7. Develop your essay well, but be thinking about being concise, too. Less can be more.
8. Don’t repeat yourself. Find new ways to say the same thing if you must reiterate a point.
9. Write as legibly and neatly as possible; WRITE USING LARGE LETTERS. Readers will
always do their best to read every word, but stumbling through an essay which is illegible,
too small or too big does impact our understanding of the response.
10. It’s not necessary to write titles for your responses; in fact, many readers do not like them at
all.
11. Don’t confuse the characters in a poem or text with the audience or the speaker of the piece.
Don’t confuse the speaker with the author, either.
12. Avoid lists: “The writer uses words such as …to show…”
13. Complex ideas require complex or multiple sentences. Don’t oversimplify.
14. Do not use little hearts, stars or circles to dot your “i’s.” It makes your essay harder to read
and takes away valuable time from your analysis.
15. Use a black pen.
16. Use an active voice, simple present tense (literary tense) and strong verbs.
17. Be yourself! Strut your stuff! Use your own voice in the essay. BUT, don’t show off or
“act smart” either. Patronizing or pretentious essays often don’t make the cut because the
author is more interested in himself or herself than in taking care of business (aka answering
the prompt).
18. We don’t care about your love life, your opinions on Iraq or the US government, your exboyfriend or girlfriend, how you’re having a bad hair day, your unreasonable parents, or
your lousy AP teacher (at least for the purposes set before us) – write about the literature.
19. Avoid “fluff.”
20. When editing your writing, try not to make changes within the sentence; simply cross out
the whole sentence and start over.
21. Don’t apologize in your essay for a lack of understanding, learning, etc. Show what you can
do; don’t apologize for what you can’t do.
Focus – aka THE PROMPT
1. Respond to the prompt and the prompt ONLY (AP = Address the Prompt – accurately,
completely and specifically). Make sure you have a clear understanding of what the
prompt asks before beginning, and don’t twist it into what you really want to write about.
We readers need to know what and how you understood the text and its relationship to the
prompt. This came up many, many times and is probably the most important part of your
task. Too many great essays go down in flames because the student simply did not respond
to the prompt.
2. Be as specific as possible with your analysis as it refers to the prompt. Don’t overgeneralize. Generalizations don’t make good evidence to support assertions.
3. Don’t simply restate the prompt in your introduction. Using language from the prompt is
fine when and if it is combined with an interpretation which you plan on pursuing in the
essay.
4. Some literary devices are genre specific; know the difference. There is some overlap, of
course, but certain distinctions are worth noting.
5. Don’t simply list devices; focus on a few and show how AND WHY they are used – what
the device adds to the meaning of the text. Literary devices are not important in and of
themselves, and truly excellent writers don’t just observe devices, they discuss their
consequences. Literary devices are tools the author uses to create meaning. Ask yourself
“So what?” If there’s a rhyme scheme, so what? What purpose does it serve?
6. Especially when responding to poetry, explain how form relates to content. Form and
content are mutually constitutive; any discussion of one should include the other.
7. Literary terms should be used correctly and appropriately. If you’re not sure what a term
means or refers to, don’t use it in your essay, and don’t make up devices. Finally, don’t take
time to define literary terms. We’re English teachers; we already know them. Instead,
focus on explaining how the literary device is being used effectively.
8. When you analyze a work, assess the whole work from start to finish as an organic whole.
Don’t carve your analysis into paragraphs for each device; evaluate how the work builds to
its conclusion and creates its tone and effects.
9. Don’t forget what are often the most important parts of a text, especially a poem: THE
TITLE AND THE ENDING.
10. When asked to compare and contrast, remember that simply because one text uses devices
X, Y and Z does not mean that the second text uses the same devices and, therefore, must be
part of your analysis. You should be looking at overall meaning and how the author
achieves that meaning regardless of the devices involved for each text.
11. Don’t write about ANYTHING which can’t be related back to the theme and the prompt.
Also, don’t show off by alluding to other works that you have read or studied, not even in
the conclusion. Doing so almost always diminishes your other observations.
12. Take some time to review your essay and make sure it relates back to the prompt. Many
essays start our well focused and end up digressing.
13. Many readers responded that you should try to discuss rhyme, structure, etc when working
with poetry BUT ONLY if you know what you are talking about. The same is true when
dealing with structural attributes of prose passages. BUT, don’t ONLY discuss structure,
and don’t assume that structure is the end all or be all of the analysis.
14. If you don’t have much to discuss, do it quickly.
15. If you think a selection is too simple or easy, look again!
16. Don’t force symbolism into your analysis. Everything is not symbolic. It is better to miss
symbolism that only might exist than to distort the meaning of the work by creating symbols
that are simply not there.
Vocabulary & Word Choice
1. The term “diction” does not mean “word choice.” It refers more specifically to the
formality of the writer’s language. Looking closely at the writer’s selection of words and
phrases, along with his or her use of sentence construction and syntax, all lead to
determining the diction of a selection.
2. When comparing and contrasting, don’t write that the texts are similar and different or that
they are “the same and different.” This comment was made MANY times.
3. Avoid the use of clichés.
4. Put your time into answering the prompt – understatement is fine instead of litotes, for
example.
5. Do not inflate your essay with jargon. Readers know “big words,” too. They may know
more of them than you. Instead, use words effectively and in context. Simple, clear, and
direct diction is preferable to high-toned literary bafflegab (pretentious and obscure talk full
of technical terminology or circumlocutions).
6. Do not misspell the names of poets, authors, poems, books, terms from the prompt, etc. It
looks sloppy. Plus, poems are not plays or novels; plays are not poems or novels; and
novels are not poems or plays.
7. Know the differences – analyzing, explaining, paraphrasing, summarizing, describing, etc.
8. “Simplistic” doesn’t mean “simple.”
9. Mastery of grammar and mechanical skills is important and strengthens the essay.
10. Writers don’t “use” diction or tone, nor do they “use literary terms” in their writing. ALL
sentences have diction and syntax. The questions is, therefore, what kind of diction and
syntax is being used AND why. Don’t write that, “The author uses diction (or syntax or
whatever) to show his or her meaning.”
11. A rhyme scheme and/or metrical pattern do not mean the poem is “sing songy” or
“childlike.”
12. Avoid the word “flow”; it means nothing.
13. Poems and stories are not “journeys.”
14. Don’t talk about the effect something has on the reader’s feelings or emotions. In fact,
avoid the word “feel” altogether. Example: “…to make the reader feel…”; “…a story-like
feel versus a rhythmic feel...”; “As one reads, it will make the reader flow through the poem
and feel like he is there.”
15. Authors don’t “use” devices to make something interesting, more accessible or more
complicated to read or understand.
16. Avoid using the diminutive or augmentative forms of words simply to highlight what may
be more subtle differences in meaning.
17. Don’t create “new” words (or neologisms) in your essays.
18. Avoid empty words: unique, different, similar, negative, etc – make your own “weak word
list.”
19. “Rhyme” does not mean the poem is simple.
20. Poetry is written in stanzas not paragraphs.
21. Avoid “in today’s society” and “paints a picture.”
22. Words are not a poetic device.
23. Mood and tone are not the same thing.
Downloaded from apenglish listserve on August 28th, 2007.
The Ten Commandments of Advanced Placement Literature
1. I am the Prompt, thy Prompt; thou shalt have no other Prompt before me. Thou shalt read the Prompt with rapt
attention; the Prompt is thy friend. Thou shalt address the Prompt. Thou shalt not just get the general idea of the
Prompt, nor shalt thou fight the Prompt or substitute your own ideas for the Prompt.
2. Thou shalt not postpone, omit or bury thy Thesis Statement.
3. Thou shalt not dwell with Plot-Summary, for it is an abomination in my sight. Neither shalt thou be satisfied with
mere Reading Comprehension for thy Prompt is an analytic and interpretive Prompt.
4. Thou shalt not commit free-floating generalization, but shall support and develop thine every assertion with
Concrete Details.
5. Thou shalt not mistake complexity for confusion, or subtlety for indecisiveness; thou shalt not attribute thine own
insensitivity or ignorance to authorial ineptitude. The fact that thou gettest not the point doesn't mean that the
passage hath no point: thou hast missed the point. Deal with it.
6. Thou shalt read every MC question with the same exquisite care that thou devotest to the Essay Prompt: thou shalt
not "get the drift." By the same token, shalt thou strive to read what the writer actually wrote, not what thou
expectest him or her to have written.
7. Thou shalt not finish early. Thou shalt spend plenty of thy time planning thine essay responses and any time left
over editing them.
8. Honor thy percentages by guessing thoughtfully when thou art not sure of the answers.
9. Thou shalt not merely identify rhetorical, stylistic, and literary devices, but shalt show how they function.
10. Thou shalt never permit thyself to become discouraged: I am the prompt, thy Prompt. Thou shalt maintain thy
focus, attention and confidence. Yea, though thou hast totally screwed up thy last essay, this next essay maketh a
fresh start.
(from the AP English listserve)
Double Duty Review
AP – Free Response and Prose Review –
1. Select three passages from your novel or play. The selections should be at least two
paragraphs long. If a passage is primarily dialogue, capture the entire
conversation. Make sure each passage covers the full range of the text. Indicate the
page numbers and copy at least the first and last lines.
2. Choose previous year’s prose prompt that would fit the passage. Write a thesis and
bullet point the main points you would make.
3. Choose one of the passages to write five multiple choice questions. Provide the
answer with your justification.
4. Submit your work to Blackboad/messages. Due midpoint on block day.
Student Sample:
Amy, Katelin, Michael, Luke
Act 2 Scene 3
(355-382) or (324-349) in Norton’s Critical Edition
“Good night, honest Iago….And out of her own goodness make the net that shall enmesh them
all.”
1995:
Thesis: Shakespeare employs multiple literary devices such as irony, tone and additional literary
devices to characterize Iago’s deceptive, conniving nature towards the characters of the play.
Dramatic irony—transitions from being addressed as “honest Iago” (by Cassio) to Iago’s
soliloquy where he openly admits his villainy. This contrast serves as dramatic irony in the play
due to the fact that the reader is aware of Iago’s nature while characters remain oblivious to his
schemes.
Surreptitious tone—“for whiles this honest fool/plies Desdemona to repair this fortune…I’ll
pour this pestilence into his ear”—Shakespeare depicts Iago as sneaky through tone
metaphor—“net” represents Iago’s scheming and relating Desdemona and Othello to fish,
degrading them to seem under his control and easily deceived.
Act 1 Scene 1
(94-206) or starting on 83 in Norton’s
“Sir, you’re robbed. For shame, put on your gown!...I will deserve your pains.”
2006:
Thesis: By showing Brabantio’s inflamed speech and distrust of Othello because he is a Moor
shows how his values and those of society reveal racism.
Racism—“old black ram is tupping your white ewe”—shocked that Desdemona married a
black man—contrasts old and black (evil, dark) with the pure Desdemona, white.
Hyperbole—Shakespeare exaggerates the distrust Brabantio towards Desdemona now because
she secretly got married—“Fathers, from hence trust not your daughters’ minds by what you see
them act” (192-193)
Syntax—Shakespeare breaks up Brabantio’s speech to illustrate the outrage and anger and
offense that he takes to his daughter running off with a Moor—choppy speech—“Now,
Rogerigo, where didst thou see her?—o, unhappy girl!—with the moor, sayst thou?—who would
be a father?—how didst thou know ‘twas she?—o, she deceives me past thought!” (180-186)
Act 4 Scene 3
(43-117) or (40-106)
“The pour soul sat sighing by a sycamore tree…Not to pick bad from bad, but by bad mend.”
1996:
Thesis: Shakespeare reveals Desdemona’s naivety and sets her up as a victim to Othello’s
distrusting nature.
Incorporates a desperate and foreboding tone in the “willow” song to show how Desdemona
internalizes the blame Othello puts on her for supposedly cheating on him—“let nobody blame
him, his scorn I approve”
Repetition in the song—personifies the willow continually weeps and mourns—emphasizes
the self-pity of Desdemona and the responsibility she feels she takes for ruining her relationship
with Othello
Assonance—slows down the rate of the song and relays Desdemona’s depressed and
suspended mental state—“Sing willow, willow, willow”
1.
2.
3.
What literary device is present in the first two lines?
a. Paradox
b. Metaphor
c. Simile
d. Anaphora
A) The lines here are a paradox. Iago wonders why he should be called as the villain, where his
advice is honest. However, he obviously is acting in sinister deception, and his advice is not what
it seems to be
What is the tone of the passage
a. Sardonic
b. Conniving
c. Mordant
d. Blissful
B) In this passage, Iago continues his plans to ruin the lives of those whom he feels have hurt him the
most, thus his tone is conniving. He is planning the deeds that he will do
Irony can be best found in which lines
a. 326-327
b. 339
c. 343-344
d. 346-347
D) IN these lines, Shakespeare states that no matter how much she tries to do good
by Cassio, she will lose her own credit. By doing what she thinks is right, and she will be
persecuted for it, because of Othello’s distrust
4.
Which two does he contrast in this passage
a. Light and dark
b. Hot and cold
c.
d.
Black and white
Heaven and hell
D) He speaks of heaven and hell in lines 338-340, talking of devils in hell and
contrasting them from heaven
5.
Iago’s use of the words “fettered” and “enmesh” demonstrate what about his character?
a. Iago is altuistic
b. Iago is sociopathic
c. Iago is romantic
d. Iago is depressed
AP Literature and Composition - Multiple Choice
Facts about the AP Literature Multiple Choice Portion
1. The multiple choice section constitutes 45% of the exam score.
2. You will have 1 hour to read 4-5 passages and answer approximately 55 questions.
3. The multiple choice passages will be divided as equally as possible among the
following criteria:
a. Pre – 1900 and Post – 1900
b. Poetry and Prose (Prose may include drama.)
4. Half of the passages will be relatively easy to comprehend, while the other half will
pose a challenge.
5. The easier the passage the more difficult the questions; the more difficult the
passage the easier the question.
6. The questions for the difficult passages move sequentially through the work. The
developers do this to help you understand the passage as you answer the questions.
7. Usually no more than two questions in a row are hard.
8. Difficult passages don’t have as many overall theme questions. These selections
tend to have questions that deal with specific line numbers.
9. The easier passages will usually have questions that deal both with specific line
numbers and will also ask you to synthesize overall theme or main idea.
10. There will NOT be a penalty for guessing.
11. Although questions are written with different levels of difficulty, all are weighted
equally.
Tips
1. Mark your answers on the test booklet before transferring them to the scantron.
This will allow you to go back to difficult questions you might have initially skipped.
It will also ensure that you mark your answers in the correct space.
2. Go in order, especially if the questions have lots of line numbers.
3. If the questions are difficult for you, they are difficult for the rest of the world. Do
not let difficult questions affect your self-confidence.
4. You might have five choices that are all correct in which case you need to weigh the
connotations of each word. Choose the “best” of the “good.”
5. You might have five choices that are all lousy in which case you need to weigh the
connotations of each word. Choose the “best” of the “bad.”
6. If you gain steam, start with easy passages
7. If you lose steam, start with the difficult passages
8. If you are a part to whole thinker, help frame the passage by looking at thematic
questions.
9. If you are a whole to part thinker, circle strong details as you read.
10. No matter what type of thinker you are, circle shift (transition) words.
11. Do not spend too much time on any one question. Often the last questions become
easier.
12. Pay attention to bolded words such as “Except.”
13. The difficult passages have the easier questions; the easier passages have the more
difficult questions.
14. Difficult passages don’t have as many overall theme questions. These selections
tend to have questions that deal with specific line numbers.
15. The easier passages will usually have questions that deal both with specific line
numbers and will also ask you to synthesize overall theme or main idea.
16. Identify speaker and audience, especially in poetry.
Multiple Choice Reflection Sheet
A. Close Reading Strategies – Place a check by the strategies that worked best for you.
a. Prose
i. Paraphrasing
ii. Summarizing
iii. Circling shift words, concrete nouns, and active verbs
iv. Underlining s-v-do of long sentences and clauses
v. Paying attention to pronouns, speaker and audience
vi.
vii.
viii.
ix.
x.
b.
Chunking by shifts
Chunking by structure
Rereading the opening and closing lines. What is similar and different
Pre-1900 or Post-1900
Other
Poetry
i. Paraphrasing
ii. Summarizing
iii. Circling shift words, concrete nouns, and active verbs
iv. Considering significance of title
v. Paying attention to pronouns, speaker and audience
vi. Chunking by shifts
vii. Chunking by structure
viii. Rereading the opening and closing lines. What is similar and different
ix. Pre-1900 or Post-1900
x. Other
B. Categories of Questions – Place a plus sign (+) by the categories that you did well with and a negative sign
(-) by those that caused you the most difficulty.
a.
Comprehension
i. understanding vocabulary/ words in context
ii. syntactical and grammatical questions
iii. meaning of lines/details
b. Technique
i. “functions to do…”/ “serves to”/ “serves primarily to” type
questions
ii. identify rhetorical strategies/literary devices/figurative language
iii. form/structure questions
iv. other organizational techniques (contrast, cause/effect, problem/solution)
v. point of view
c. Inference/Deduction
i. tone/attitude
ii. purpose
iii. theme
iv. setting
v. characterization
OR
a. Level One Questions
b. Level Two Questions
C. Goals – I need to work on…
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Multiple Choice Practice
Name: __________________________
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If you complete this packet satisfactorily, I will add ten points to one of your daily grades
(excluding Literary Specialist).
You can work with a partner or two other students. No more than three to a group.
Spend an hour completing the passages individually. Mark your answers directly on the
test.
Get an answer key from me and put your name on it!
Check your answers
Analyze using the form below the types of questions and passages that give you
difficulty.
Turn in both this packet and the answer key.
AP Multiple Choice Reflection
Multiple Choice:
Number Correct ________ Number Wrong _________
Types of questions most often missed:
First Choice vs. Second Choice:
Poetry vs. Prose
Pre-1800 vs. Post 1800
Time Management:
Other Reflections:
From the AP literature exam:
1. What is the author's attitude toward the subject of the essay?
2. What is this passage about?
3. What does the phrase, ______, mean?
4. How would you characterize the style of the passage?
5. Which of the following best summarizes the main point in lines _____?
6. What is the main point in _____? (the passage, the 2nd paragraph, etc.)
7. How would you restate the meaning of _____?
8. How would you define the phrase _____?
9. What is the speaker’s purpose in _____?
10. What thought is reflected in the allusion _____?
11. What is the tone of the passage?
12. How would you define the word ____?
13. How would you describe the diction and style of the passage?
14. In lines _____, what is the speaker asserting?
15. Why is _______ described as ______?
16. What is significant about the structure of sentence #____ in lines ____?
17. In sentences _____, what contrasts are developed or implied?
18. In lines ________, why does the author pair quotations?
19. In lines ________, what is the effect of pairing quotations?
20. What is the dominant technique used in lines ______?
21. In lines ______, what is the effect of using a metaphor?
22. In lines _____, Juxtaposing _____ and _____ serves the purpose of________.
23. What does the speaker accomplish in using _____?
24. By using the words _______, the speaker shows the belief that _____.
25. In lines _____, how is the speaker portrayed?
26. The shift in point of view from...has the effect of...
27. What is the theme of the ____ (e.g., second paragraph, whole piece)?
28. In lines ____, the passage shifts from ____ to _____.
29. Why does the author represent _____ as _____ in lines ____?
30. What is the purpose of the syntax in sentence _____?
31. What does ______ symbolize in lines ____?
32. The speaker's attitude toward_____is best described as one of ______.
33. In _____, the author is asserting that _____.
34. The term _____ conveys the speaker's belief that ______.
35. The speaker assumes that the audience's attitude toward_____will be one of _____.
36. In the _______ (e.g., first, second, last) paragraph, the speaker seeks to interest us in the
subjects of the discussion by stressing the ______.
37. It can be inferred by ______that _______.
38. The ________ (e.g., first, second) sentence is unified by metaphorical references pertaining
to _______.
39. The speaker's mention of _________is appropriate to the development of the argument as an
illustration of ________.
40. As the sentence in lines_______is constructed, _________ is parallel to _______.
41. It can be inferred from the description of--- ________that the qualities of ______________
are valued by the speaker.
42. According to the passage, ___________is_________because __________.
43. In the context of the passage, __________is best interpreted as ______.
44. Sentence _________ is best described as _______________.
45. The antecedent for ________in line ________is ________.
46. What type of argument does the writer employ in lines ______?
47. Why does the speaker use the sequence of ideas in lines _____?
48. We can infer from _______ that __________.
49. What pattern of exposition does the writer use in this passage?
50. What is the point of view in this passage/poem?
51. What is the purpose of the statement in lines _____?
52. What atmosphere or mood is established in lines _______?
53. The _______ (e.g., first, fourth) sentence is coherent because of its use of _______________.
54. What qualities are present in the scene described in lines _____?
55. What words and details suggest a _________ (adjective) attitude on the part of the author?
56. In line _______, the use of __________instead of _____________accomplishes
_____________.
57. In line__________, the author emphasizes_______because he/she_______.
58. The use of _________suggests that ____________.
59. What is the function of the __________ (sentence, detail, clause, phrase, and so on) in lines
_______?
60. The subject of the sentence in lines _________is________.
61. What assertions does the author make in the passage, and what is his/her purpose in doing
this?
62. By ________, the author most probably means ______.
63. What meanings are contained in the word ______ in line _____?
64. What can we infer from the passage about ______?
65. The author apparently believes that ______.
66. In lines________,the phrase_________is used to refer to _______.
67. The author believes that we should__________.
68. The _________ (e.g., first, last, third) sentence of the passage is chiefly remarkable for
its_____________.
69. What does the author want to encourage in a person?
70. What is the function of ______________ in relation to __________?
Poetry
Reading Test #2
Advice to a Prophet
Richard Wilbur
When you come, as you soon must, to the streets of our city,
Mad-eyed from stating the obvious,
Not proclaiming our fall but begging us
In God’s name to have self-pity,
(5) Spare us all word of the weapons, their force and range,
The long numbers that rocket the mind;
Our slow, unreckoning hearts will be left behind,
Unable to fear what is too strange.
Nor shall you scare us with talk of the death of the race.
(10)
ow should we dream of this place without us?—
The sun mere fire, the leaves untroubled about us,
A stone look on the stone’s face?
Speak of the world’s own change. Though we cannot conceive
Of an undreamt thing, we know to our cost
(15)
ow the dreamt cloud crumbles, the vines are blackened by frost,
How the view alters. We could believe,
If you told us so, that the white-tailed deer will slip
Into perfect shade, grown perfectly shy,
The lark avoid the reaches of our eye,
(20)
he jack-pine lose its knuckled grip
H
H
T
On the cold ledge, and every torrent burn
As Xanthus* once, its gliding trout
Stunned in a twinkling. What should we be without
The dolphin’s arc, the dove’s return,
(25)
hese things in which we have seen ourselves and spoken?
Ask us, prophet, how we shall call
Our natures forth when that live tongue is all
Dispelled, that glass obscured or broken
In which we have said the rose of our love and the clean
(30)
orse of our courage, in which beheld
The singing locust of the soul unshelled,
And all we mean or wish to mean.
Ask us, ask us whether with the worldless rose
T
H
Our hearts shall fail us; come demanding
(35)
hether there shall be lofty or long standing
When the bronze annals of the oak-tree close.
W
*Xanthus: in Greek myth, a river scalded by Hephaestus, god
of fire.
1. The speaker assumes that the prophet referred
to in lines 1-12 will come proclaiming
(A) a new religious dispensation
(B) joyous self-awareness
(C) a new political order
(D) the horror of self-destruction
(E) an appreciation of nature
2. According to the speaker, the prophet’s “word
of the weapons” (line 5) will probably not be
heeded because
(A) human beings are really fascinated by
weapons
(B) nature is more fascinating than warfare
(C) men and women are more concerned with
love than with weapons
(D) people have heard such talk too often
before
(E) people cannot comprehend abstract
descriptions of power
3. In the phrase, “A stone look on the stone’s
face,” (line 12) the speaker is suggesting that
(A) a stone is the most difficult natural object
to comprehend
(B) such a stone is a metaphor for a human
lack of understanding
(C) it is human beings who see a face on
stones
(D) nature is a hostile environment for the
human race
(E) the pain of life is bearable only to a stoic
4. In line 13 the speaker is doing which of the
following?
(A) Anticipating the prophet’s own advice
(B) Despairing of ever influencing the prophet
(C) Exchanging his own point of view with
that of the prophet
(D) Heeding the prophet’s advice
(E) Prescribing what the prophet should say
5. In lines 14-16, the speaker is asserting that we
(A) learn more or less about decay in nature
according to our point of view
(B) can never understand change in nature
(C) are always instructed by an altering of our
perspective
(D) have all experienced loss and
disappointment
(E) realize that the end of the world may be
near
6. The speaker implies that without “the
dolphin’s arc, the dove’s return” (line 24) we
would
(A) be less worried about war and destruction
(B) crave coarser pleasures than the enjoyment
of nature
(C) have less understanding of ourselves and
our lives
(D) be unable to love
(E) find ourselves unwilling to heed the advice
of prophets
7. The phrase “knuckled grip” (line 20) implies
that the jack-pine
(A) will never really fall from the ledge
(B) has roots that grasp like a hand
(C) is very precariously attached to the ledge
(D) is a rough and inhuman part of nature
(E) is very awkwardly placed
8. “The dolphin’s arc” (line 24) refers to the
(A) Biblical story of Noah
(B) leap of a dolphin
(C) hunting of dolphins with bow and arrow
(D) rainbow
(E) migration pattern of the dolphin
9. The phrase “that live tongue” (line 27) is best
understood as
(A) a metaphor for nature
(B) an image of the poet’s mind
(C) a symbol of the history of the world
(D) a reference to the poem itself
(E) a metaphor for the advice of the prophet
10. According to the speaker, we use the images
of the rose (line 29), the horse (line 30), and
the locust (line 31)
(A) literally to denote specific natural objects
(B) as metaphors to aid in comprehending
abstractions
(C) as similes illustrating the speaker’s
attitude toward nature
(D) to reinforce images previously used by the
prophet
(E) to explain the need for scientific study of
nature
11. Which of the following best describes an
effect of the repetition of the phrase “ask us”
in line 33?
(A) It suggests that the prophet himself is the
cause of much of the world’s misery.
(B) It represents a sarcastic challenge to the
prophet to ask the right questions.
(C) It suggests that the speaker is certain of
the answer he will receive.
(D) It makes the line scan as a perfect example
of iambic pentameter.
(E) It provides a tone of imploring
earnestness.
12. Which of the following best paraphrases the
meaning of line 36?
(A) When the end of the year has come
(B) When the chronicles no longer tell of trees
(C) When art no longer imitates nature
(D) When nature has ceased to exist
(E) When the forests are finally restored
13. Which of the following best describes the
poem as a whole?
(A) An amusing satire on the excesses of
modern prophets
(B) A poetic expression of the need for love to
give meaning to life
(C) A lyrical celebration of the importance of
nature for man
(D) A personal meditation on human courage
in the face of destruction
(E) A philosophical and didactic poem about
man and nature
Poetry
Reading Test #4
The Eolian Harp*
(5)
(10)
(15)
(20)
(25)
(30)
My pensive Sara! Thy soft cheek reclined
Thus on mine arm, most soothing sweet it is
To sit beside our Cot, our Cot o’ergrown
With white-flower’d Jasmin, and the broadleav’d Myrtle,
(Meet emblems they of Innocence and Love!)
And watch the clouds, that late were rich with
light,
Slow saddening round, and mark the star of
eve
Serenely brilliant (such should Wisdom be)
Shine opposite! How exquisite the scents
Snatch’d from yon bean-field! And the world
so hush’d!
The stilly murmur of the distant Sea
Tells us of silence.
And that simplest Lute,
Placed length-ways in the clasping casement,
hark!
How by the desultory breeze caress’d,
Like some coy maid half yielding to her lover,
It pours such sweet upbraiding, as must needs
Tempt to repeat the wrong! And now, its
strings
Boldlier swept, the long sequacious notes
Over delicious surges sink and rise,
Such a soft floating witchery of sound
As twilight Elfins make, when they at eve
Voyage on gentle gales from Fairy-Land,
Where Melodies round honey-dropping
flowers,
Footless and wild, like birds of Paradise,
Nor pause, nor perch, hovering on untam’d
wing!
O! the one Life within us and abroad,
Which meets all motion and becomes its soul,
A light in sound, a sound-like power in light,
Rhythm in all thought, and joyance every
where –
Methinks, it should have been impossible
Not to love all things in a world so fill’d;
Where the breeze warbles, and the mute still
air
Is Music slumbering on her instrument.
And thus, my Love! as on the midway
slope
(35) Of yonder hill I stretch my limbs at noon,
(40)
(45)
(50)
(55)
Whilst through my half-clos’d eye-lids I
behold
The sunbeams dance, like diamonds, on the
main,
And tranquil muse upon tranquillity;
Full many a thought uncall’d and undetain’d,
And many idle flitting phantasies,
Traverse my indolent and passive brain,
As wild and various as the random gales
That swell and flutter on this subject Lute!
And what if all of animated nature
Be but organic Harps diversely fram’d,
That tremble into thought, as o’er them
sweeps
Plastic and vast, one intellectual breeze,
At once the Soul of each, and God of all?
But thy more serious eye a mild reproof
Darts, O beloved Woman! nor such thoughts
Dim and unhallow’d dost thou not reject,
And biddest me walk humbly with my God.
Meek Daughter in the family of Christ!
Well hast thou said and holily disprais’d
These shapings of the unregenerate mind;
Bubbles that glitter as they rise and break
On vain Philosophy’s aye-babbling spring.
For never guiltless may I speak of him,
The Incomprehensible! save when with awe
(60) I praise him, and with Faith that inly feels;
Who with his saving mercies healed me,
A sinful and most miserable man,
Wilder’d and dark, and gave me to possess
Peace, and this Cot, and thee, heart-honour’d
Maid!
*a box with strings across its open ends that
makes music as the breeze passes through it
1. In the first section of the poem (lines 1-12), the
speaker seeks to convey a feeling of
(A) curiosity
(B) contentment
(C) remoteness
(D) resignation
(E) foreboding
2. In context, “saddening” (line 7) suggests that
the
(A) clouds have become darker
(B) speaker is increasingly melancholy
(C) happiness of the speaker will fade
(D) security of the couple will be threatened
(E) prospect of night vexes the speaker
3. The speaker gives symbolic significance to
which of the following?
I. The “Jasmin” (line 4)
II. The “Myrtle” (line 4)
III. The “star” (line 7)
IV. The “Sea” (line 11)
(A) I and II only
(B) III and IV only
(C) I, II, and III only
(D) I, II, and IV only
(E) I, II, III, and IV
4. Lines 11 and 12 (“The . . . silence” ) are best
understood to mean which of the following?
(A) The silence is such that even the sea itself
is aware of it.
(B) We are in a quiet place, but the sea,
however distant, is at least not silent.
(C) Even the gentle murmuring of the sea is
fading into silence.
(D) The fact that we can just hear the far-off
sea shows how quiet our surroundings are.
(E) The silence of the sea speaks more
forcefully than words can of the hushed
world around us.
5. In lines 14-15, the breeze is compared to
(A) a lute
(B) a maiden
(C) a lover
(D) an elf
(E) a wave
6. Which of the following occurs directly because
the breeze is “desultory” (line 14)?
(A) The speaker cannot clearly hear the harp.
(B) The music of the harp is not evenly
sustained.
(C) The speaker is obliged to personify the
harp.
(D) Only the speaker can understand the
meaning of the music.
(E) The music of the harp distracts the speaker.
7. The speaker’s description of the sound of the
lute emphasizes all of the following EXCEPT
its
(A) seductiveness
(B) magical quality
(C) sweetness
(D) sensuousness
(E) remoteness
8. In lines 32-33, “the mute still air . . .
instrument” suggests that the
(A) sound of the lute makes the speaker drowsy
(B) air itself contains potential music
(C) sound of the lute can make the air itself
mute
(D) lute can make music even without the
breeze
(E) music cannot exist while the air remains
still
9. In line 38, “tranquil” functions as which of the
following?
(A) an adjective modifying “I” (line 36)
(B) an adverb modifying “behold” (line 36)
(C) an adjective modifying “sunbeams” (line
37)
(D) an adjective modifying “muse” (line 38)
(E) an adverb modifying “muse” (line 38)
10. In lines 34-43, the speaker compares
(A) his muse to tranquillity
(B) his brain to the lute
(C) the midpoint of his life to noon
(D) his thoughts to the ocean
(E) his muse to a sunbeam
11. In the poem, the Eolian harp is, for the speaker,
all of the following EXCEPT
(A) a source of inspiration
(B) a source of pleasure
(C) a gentle reproof
(D) a suggestive symbol
(E) an enchanting voice
12. Lines 44-48 can best be described as a
(A) digression from the main subject of the
poem
(B) change from description to narration
(C) counterargument to establish the speaker’s
credibility
(D) metaphorical application of the image of
the lute
(E) simile for the relationship between the
speaker and Sara
13. In the last section of the poem, the speaker
implies that to try to fathom the
“Incomprehensible” (line 59) is
(A) every thinking person’s duty
(B) possible only through metaphor
(C) difficult except during privileged moments
(D) the true function of music and poetry
(E) an act of overweening pride
14. It can be inferred that Sara’s attitude toward the
speaker’s speculations is one of
(A) open hostility
(B) gentle disapproval
(C) mild amusement
(D) fond admiration
(E) respectful awe
15. The poem is an example of which of the
following verse forms?
(A) Blank verse
(B) Heroic couplet
(C) Terza rima
(D) Ballad meter
(E) Free verse
Poetry
Reading Test #6
(E) “the voice/Of mountain-torrents” (lines
20-21)
There Was a Boy
William Wordsworth
There was boy; ye knew him well, ye cliffs
And islands of Winander! – many a time,
At evening, when the earliest stars began
To move along the edges of the hills,
(5) Rising or setting, would he stand alone,
Beneath the trees, or by the glimmering lake;
And there, with fingers interwoven, both
hands
Pressed closely palm to palm and to his mouth
Uplifted, he, as through an instrument,
(10) Blew mimic hootings to the silent owls,
That they might answer him. – And they
would shout
Across the watery vale, and shout again,
Responsive to his call, -- with quivering peals,
And long halloos, and screams, and echoes
loud
(15) Redoubled and redoubled; concourse wild
Of jocund din! And, when there came a pause
Of silence such as baffled his best skill:
Then, sometimes, in that silence, while he
hung
Listening, a gentle shock of mild surprise
(20) Has carried far into his heart the voice
Of mountain-torrents; or the visible scene
Would enter unawares into his mind
With all its solemn imagery, its rocks,
Its woods, and that uncertain heaven received
Into the bosom of the steady lake.
1.
The speaker recounts the experiences of the
boy in the poem with
(A) mock heroic tones
(B) resentful disdain
(C) nostalgic reverence
(D) gently controlled pity
(E) faint satiric humor
2.
Which of the following illustrates the
rhetorical device of apostrophe?
(A) “ye knew him well, ye cliffs” (line 1)
(B) “when the earliest stars began/To move”
(lines 3-4)
(C) “with fingers interwoven” (line 7)
(D) “they would shout/Across the watery vale”
(lines 11-12)
3.
The phrase “Rising or setting” (line 5)
modifies which of the following?
(A) “evening” (line 3)
(B) “stars” (line 3)
(C) “edges” (line 4)
(D) “hills” (line 4)
(E) “he” (line 5)
4.
As determined by context, which of the
following would best fit between “owls” (line
10) and “That” (line 11)?
(A) until
(B) in
(C) when
(D) so
(E) if
5.
Which of the following is the best rendering
of the phrase “concourse wild/Of jocund din”
(lines 15-16)?
(A) A deafening clatter of wings
(B) A tumultuous, loud, gleeful noise
(C) A painful mixture of sharp sound
(D) An aggressive, threatening, vocal attack
(E) A witty and mocking conversation
6.
The word “din” (line 16) is most strongly
reinforced by which of the following pairs of
lines?
(A) 3 and 4
(B) 5 and 6
(C) 9 and 10
(D) 14 and 15
(E) 20 and 21
7.
In context, the word “baffled” (line 17) is best
interpreted to mean
(A) defied
(B) confused
(C) reflected
(D) strengthened
(E) induced
8.
9.
10.
The phrase “his best skill” (line 17) is an
oblique reference to which of the following?
(A) “To move along the edges” (line 4)
(B) “would he stand alone” (line 5)
(C) “with fingers interwoven” (line 7)
(D) “as through an instrument” (line 9)
(E) “Blew mimic hootings” (line 10)
The heaven is “uncertain” (line 24) in the
sense that it
(A) is a reflection that moves
(B) is of doubtful existence for the speaker
(C) is a metaphor for fate
(D) threatens the speaker
(E) reflects various colors
The speaker’s experience described in lines
19-25 (“a gentle shock . . . the steady lake”) is
best characterized as
(A) a delusion induced by a powerful artist
(B) a mystical experience resulting from
prayer
(C) a heightened consciousness of the beauty
of nature
(D) an indifference to a force that no longer
responds to him
(E) a growing resentment at his own
insignificance.
And forced the underbrush—and that was all.
* Rock debris at the bottom of a cliff.
11.
In this poem, the speaker perceives that for
human beings nature is most like which of the
following?
(A) Nurturing and supportive
(B) Hostile and violent
(C) Unpredictable and unknowable
(D) Unaware and indifferent
(E) Oppressive and sinister
12.
Which of the following is the best
interpretation of “He thought he kept the
universe alone” (line1)?
(A) He maintained a detached attitude toward
society.
(B) He felt that he was utterly alone in the
world.
(C) Through contemplation, he merged his
whole self with nature.
(D) Because of special insight, he felt he alone
knew the essence of the universe.
(E) He kept to himself entirely and avoided
any contact with other living things.
13.
The echo is “mocking” (line 3) because the
speaker
(A) had hoped for some response to his call
(B) is cynical about other human beings
(C) has despaired of the existence of God
(D) is being ridiculed by other travelers in the
woods
(E) is humorously criticizing himself and his
aloneness
14.
The primary implication of lines 5 through 8
is that
(A) human beings are possessed of a primal
need for one another
(B) life is richer when one knows who one’s
antagonist is
(C) one understands oneself well only after
being measured against others
(D) life and nature eternally oppose and
frustrate the essential needs of human
beings
(E) each human being is like a copy of a
masterpiece whose essence remains a
mystery
The Most of It
Robert Frost
He thought he kept the universe alone;
For all the voice in answer he could wake
Was but the mocking echo of his own
From some tree-hidden cliff across the lake.
(5) Some morning from the boulder-broken beach
He would cry out on life, that what it wants
Is not its own love back in copy speech,
But counter-love, original response.
And nothing ever came of what he cried
(10) Unless it was the embodiment that crashed
In the cliff’s talus* on the other side,
And then in the far-distant water splashed,
But after a time allowed for it to swim,
Instead of proving human when it neared
(15) And someone else additional to him,
As a great buck it powerfully appeared,
Pushing the crumpled water up ahead,
And landed pouring like a waterfall,
And stumbled through the rocks with horny
tread,
15.
Which of the following is the critical
transition point in the poem?
(A) “He would cry out. . .” (line 6)
(B) “And nothing ever came . . .” (line 9)
(C) “Unless it was . . .” (line 10)
(D) “But after a time . . .” (line 13)
(E) “As a great buck. . .” (line 16)
16.
Which of the following is the most accurate
statement about the word “embodiment” (line
10)?
(A) It is an indirect reference to the “universe”
(line 1).
(B) It is a simile for the “echo” (line 3) of the
speaker.
(C) It is a metaphor for boulders and “talus”
(line 11).
(D) It is a pronoun foreshadowing the “him”
in line 15.
(E) It is an abstract noun denoting the “buck”
(line 16).
17.
The figure of speech in line 18 is
(A) a simile
(B) personification
(C) a symbol
(D) an extended metaphor
(E) allegory
18.
As the buck is presented in lines 16-20, the
effect is one of a
(A) beautiful and enchanting presence
(B) primeval and impervious force
(C) hostile and destructive power
(D) curious and animated intelligence
(E) cunning and deceptive spirit
Analysis of Early Works – Multiple Choice
“Body and Soul” – Andrew Marvel
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
Literal Understanding and perhaps the literary device of apostrophe – Level 1
Understanding of part to whole – Level 2
Literary Devices
Inference of metaphorical meaning – Level 2
Understanding of part to whole – Level 2
Literal Understanding – Level 1
Inference of metaphorical meaning – Level 2
Literal Understanding – Level 1
Inference of metaphorical meaning – Level 2
Inference of metaphorical meaning – Level 2
Inference of metaphorical meaning – Level 2
Understanding author’s purpose and style – Level 2
Understanding part (ASR) to whole (theme) – Level 2
“The Eolian Harp” – Coleridge
14. Inference of Mood (not tone) – Level 2
15. Understanding part (ASR/diction) to whole (stanza) – Level 2
16. Understanding symbolic/metaphorical significance – Level 2
17. Literal Understanding – Level 1
18. Inference of metaphorical meaning – Level 2
19. Understanding Cause/Effect – Level 2
20. Literal Understanding – Level 1
21. Inference of metaphorical meaning – Level 2 and Understanding Cause/Effect – Level 2
22. Grammar
23. Inference of metaphorical meaning – Level 2
24. Inference of metaphorical meaning – Level 2
25. Rhetorical Strategy and Understanding author’s purpose and style – Level 2
26. Understanding Theme – Level 2 and 3
27. Inference of tone – Level 2
28. Literary Device
“I Observe the Physician” – John Donne
29. Literary Device
30. Inference of Theme – Level 2
31. Understanding part (ASR/diction) to whole (paragraph) – Level 2
32. Understanding part (ASR/diction) to whole (stanza) – Level 2
33. Literal Understanding – Level 1
34. Inference of metaphorical meaning – Level 2 (in this case analogy)
35. Understanding Cause/Effect – Level 2
36. Literal Understanding – Level 1
37. Understanding Logos and Specious Reasoning – Level 2
38. Pronoun/Antecedent – Literal – Level 1
39. Diction and Literal Understanding – Levels 1 and 2
40. Literal Understanding and Logos – Levels 1 and 2
41. Literal Understanding – Level 1
42. Literal Understanding of what is not implied – Levels 1 and 2
Poetry
Reading Test #1
A Dialogue Between the Soul and Body
Andrew Marvell
Body
Soul
But Physic* yet could never reach
The Maladies thou me dost teach;
Whom the first Cramp of Hope dost
O who shall, from this Dungeon,
raise
tear:
A Soul inslav’d so many ways?
With bolts of Bones, that fetter’d
stands
In Feet; and manacled in Hands.
(5) Here blinded with an Eye; and there,
Deaf with the drumming of an Ear.
A Soul hung up, as ‘twere, in Chains
Of Nerves, and Arteries, and Veins.
Tortur’d, besides each other part,
(10) In a vain Head, and double Heart.
And then the Palsy shakes of Fear.
(35) The Pestilence of Love does heat:
Or Hatred’s hidden Ulcer eat.
Joy’s cheerful Madness does perplex:
Or Sorrow’s other Madness vex.
Which Knowledge forces me to know,
Body
O who shall me deliver whole,
From bonds of this Tyrannic Soul?
Which, stretcht upright, impales me so,
That mine own Precipice I go;
(15) And warms and moves this needless
Frame:
(A Fever could but do the same.)
And, wanting where its spite to try,
Has made me live to let me die.
A Body that could never rest,
(20) Since this ill Spirit it possest.
Soul
What Magic could me thus confine
Within another’s Grief to pine?
Where whatsoever it complain,
I feel, that cannot feel, the pain.
(25) And all my care its self employs,
That to preserve, which me destroys:
Constrain’d not only to endure
Diseases, but what’s worse, the Cure:
And ready oft the Port to gain,
(30) Am Shipwrackt into Health again.
(40) And Memory will not forgo.
What but a Soul could have the wit
To build me up for Sin so fit?
So Architects do square and hew,
Green Trees that in the Forest grew.
*Physic: medicine
1.
The headings of the stanzas, Soul and
Body, indicate which one of the two is
(A) being addressed
(B) acting as the deliverer of the other
(C) being described
(D) winning the struggle at the moment
(E) speaking
2.
In the poem, which of the following
best describes the relationship between
the body and the soul?
(A) The body controls the soul.
(B) The soul owns and manages the
body.
(C) They are separate and independent.
(D) Each is subject to the demands of
the other.
(E) In time, they become completely
unified.
3.
Which of the following devices is
dominant in the first stanza?
(A) An extended metaphor of cruel
imprisonment
(B) An extended definition of the soul
(C) Names of parts of the body to
represent the whole
(D) Internal rhyme to emphasize the
internal nature of the struggle
(E) End-stopped lines to temper the
urgency of the message
4.
The notion of an eye that can blind and
an ear that can deafen (lines 5-6)
suggests that the
(A) body is in fact in worse condition
than the soul
(B) soul claims to have senses, but
those senses fail
(C) eye and ear impede the soul’s
perception instead of aiding it
(D) eye and ear try continually to
perceive the soul but never do
(E) fragile eye and ear are stronger
than the soul
5.
In the context of the first stanza, lines
1-2 express a longing to be
(A) freed from an actual prison
(B) separated from physical life
(C) saved from eternal damnation
(D) cured of a crippling ailment
(E) released from enslavement to vice
6.
7.
Which of the following best sums up
what is said in lines 13-14?
(A) The body would prefer death to the
dictates of the soul.
(B) The soul puts the body in the
position of always being a danger
to itself.
(C) The body becomes a danger to
others when it ignores what the
soul teaches.
(D) The body is the stepping-off place
for any attempt to understand the
nature of the soul.
(E) The soul offers the body the
chance to achieve new heights.
What does line 15 suggest about the
nature of the soul?
(A) It is the divine element in a person.
(B) It is the source of evil as well as
good.
(C) It confuses by introducing
conflicting emotions.
(D) It is the animating force in a
person.
(E) It makes one conscious of physical
sensations.
8.
Which of the following best restates
the question posed in lines 21-22?
(A) What constrains me to suffer from
experiences that are not naturally
my own?
(B) What can make me sorrow for the
body in its ill state when I have no
natural sympathy?
(C) What struggle of good and evil
makes me both cause the
misfortunes of the body and then
regret them?
(D) Why must the body ultimately
come to grief and I be saved?
(E) Why must I dwell in another body
after my original dwelling place
has died?
9.
Lines 25-26 are best understood to
mean that the
(A) soul can neither care nor feel, and
so the body has no reason to try to
preserve it
(B) body ignores the soul’s efforts to
influence it
(C) soul’s best attempts to exist in
unity with the body end by killing
the body
(D) body refuses to recognize that it
could not live without the soul
(E) soul’s efforts are used by the body
for its own maintenance and,
consequently, for the ruination of
the soul
10.
“Port” (line 29) refers metaphorically
to
(A) death
(B) the body
(C) the unity of body and soul
(D) illness
(E) hell
11.
Which of the following best describes
the effect of the metaphors in lines 3136?
(A) The likening of emotion to illness
suggests that the soul and body are
really one.
(B) The very number of ailments
exaggerates the weakness of the
body and the strength of the soul.
(C) The mention of teaching implies
that knowing oneself well is the
key to healing the breach between
body and soul.
(D) The metaphors stress that the body
perceives the emotions physically
and, further, that it perceives only
their negative effects.
(E) The metaphors indicate that the
obsession of the body with its own
ailments keeps it from giving
expression to the soul.
12.
The last four lines, which extend the
length of the last stanza, have the
effect of
(A) offering a solution to the dilemma
of the body and soul
(B) providing an epigrammatic
summary of the body’s view of the
soul
(C) providing comic relief from the
serious conflict in the poem
(D) breaking through the irony of the
poem to reveal the whole person,
body and soul combined
(E) finally allowing the soul to argue
back within a stanza devoted to the
view of the body
13.
Which of the following most fully
expresses the cleverness of the body in
its impingement on the soul?
(A) “O who shall, from this Dungeon,
raise/A Soul inslav’d so many
ways?” (lines 1-2)
(B) “And, wanting where its spite to
try,/Has made me live to let me
die.” (lines 17-18)
(C) “And all my care its self
employs,/That to preserve, which
me destroys:” (lines 25-26)
(D) “But Physic yet could never
reach/The Maladies thou me dost
teach;” (lines 31-32)
(E) “Which Knowledge forces me to
know,/And Memory will not
forgo.” (lines 39-40)
Read the following passage carefully before you choose your answers.
I observe the physician with the same diligence
as he the disease; I see he fears, and I fear with him.
I overtake him, I overrun him in his fear, and I go
the faster because he makes his pace slow. I fear the
(5) more, because he disguises his fear; and I see it with
the more sharpness, because he would not have me
see it. He knows that his fear shall not disorder the
practise and exercise of his art, but he knows that
my fear may disorder the effect and working of his
(10) practise.
As the ill affections of the spleen1 complicate,
and mingle themselves with every infirmity of the
body, so doth fear insinuate itself in every action or
passion of the mind; and as the wind in the body
(15) will counterfeit any disease, and seem the stone2 ,
and seem the gout, so fear will counterfeit any disease of the mind. It shall seem love, a love of having; and it is but a fear, a jealous and suspicious
fear of losing. It shall seem valor in despising, and
(20) undervaluing danger; and it is but fear, in an overvaluing of opinion and estimation, and a fear of
losing that. A man that is not afraid of a lion is
afraid of a cat; not afraid of starving, and yet is
afraid of some joint of meat at the table, presented
(25) to feed him; not afraid of the sound of drums, and
trumpets, and shot, and those which they seek to
drown, the last cries of men, and is afraid of some
particular harmonious instrument; so much afraid,
as that with any of these the enemy might drive this
(30) man, otherwise valiant enough, out of the field.
I know not what fear is, nor I know not what it
is that I fear now; I fear not the hastening of my
death, and yet I do fear the increase of the disease;
I should belie nature if I should deny that I feared
(35) this, and if I should say that I feared death, I
should belie God. My weakness is from nature,
who hath but her measure; my strength is from
God, who possesses, and distributes infinitely. As
then every cold air is not a damp, every shivering is
(40) not a stupefaction, so every fear is not a fearfulness,
every declination is not a running away, every
debating is not a resolving, every wish that it were
not thus, is not a murmuring, nor a dejection
though it be thus; but as my physician’s fear puts
(45) not him from his practise, neither doth mine put
me, from receiving from God, and man, and
myself, spiritual, and civil, and moral assistances,
and consolations.
1
The bodily organ once considered to be the source
of irritability, melancholy, and depression
2
A disease believed to arise from stones in the gall
bladder,kidney, etc.
John Donne (1572-1631)
1.The passage contains all of the following rhetorical
devices EXCEPT
(A) paradox
(B) repetition
(C) contrast
(D) apostrophic speech
(E) parallel syntax
2.It can be inferred from the pasage that the speaker
would agree with which of the following statements
about fear?
(A) Freedom from fear is fully realizable only in the
afterlife.
(B) Harboring fear is the greatest offense a believer
can commit.
(C) Fear arises in people who have more weaknesses than most.
(D) Fear is as simple to understand as any physical
malady.
(E) Ignoring fear is the sanest way of confronting it.
3.In the passage’s second sentence the speaker uses
language that might best describe a
(A) fistfight
(B) political upheaval
(C) rugby match
(D) courtroom interrogation
(E) footrace
4.It is most likely that thephysician “makes his pace
slow” (line 4) in order to
(A) study the reaction his meticulousness provokes
(B) admit that the illness is chronic and must be
observed at length
(C) remind himself that a careless examination
could prove fatal
(D) trick his patient into believing that recovery is
still possible
(E) hide his concern under the cover of medical
procedure
5.The speaker’s physicain is concerned that his
patient’s fear may
(A) make him susceptible to delusions
(B) weaken the efficacy of the treatment
(C) subvert his desire to continue living
(D) cause him to renounce his faith
(E) prompt him to refuse medical attention
6.The comparisons in lines 11-17 of fear with the
spleen and “wind in the body” suggest that fear is
all of the following EXCEPT
(A) deceptive
(B) persuasive
(C) injurious
(D) congenital
(E) dynamic
7.In lines 19-22, the speaker suggests that unauthentic
valor is motivated by
(A) misguided altruism
(B) self-destructive ambition
(C) self-conscious insecurity
(D) financial considerations
(E) hypocritical tendencies
8.The sentence beginnning “A man that is not afraid of
a lion” (lines 22-30) supports the speaker’s proposition that fear
(A) is in fact a trivial emotion
(B) is a flaw found in everyone’s character
(C) is unpredictable and not bound by logic
(D) cannot be mastered except by uncommon
resolve
(E) may be exploited by one who understands it
9.One could at least partially rebut the implication
of lines 22-30 by noting that a man who “is afraid of
some joint of meat at the table” might
(A) habitually decline offers of drink as well
(B) lack an interest in food
(C) prefer to dine in solitude
(D) justifiably suspect his host’s intentions
(E) believe that taking food corrupts the spirit
10. “They” in line 26 refers to
(A)“drums, and trumpets, and shot” (lines 25-26)
(B)“those” (line 26)
(C)“the last cries of men” (line 27)
(D)“any of these” (line 29)
(E)“the enemy” (line 29)
11. A more conventional, but still accurate, replacement
for “nor” in line 31 would be
(A) but
(B) and
(C) since
(D) yet
(E) unless
12. “I fear not the hastening of my death, and yet I do
fear the increase of the disease” (lines 32-33) appears
to be a contradictory statement because
(A) fear of one thing affects each of the mind’s
concerns
(B) both death and life are insignificant before God
(C) death provides relief to believers and nonbelievers alike
(D) not fearing death logically leads to welcoming it
(E) worsening illness and approaching death are
usually concomitants
13. At the conclusion the speaker finds that he
(A) is able to contain and temper his fear
(B) cannot tame his emotions without the help of
others
(C) may speed his own recovery by keeping calm
and optimistic
(D) has regained his belief in God’s omnipotence
(E) can enjoy life more after having accepted death
14. Which of the following seems LEAST compatible
with the speaker’s conception of God?
(A) God is a boundless being.
(B) God favors those who praise him.
(C) God’s presence pervades all things.
(D) God ennobles the human soul.
(E) God can be a source of solace.
Answers:
“Advice to the Prophet”
1. D 2. E 3. C 4. 3 5. D 6. C 7. B 8. B 9. A 10. B 11. E. 12. D 13. C
“The Eolian Harp”
1. B 2. A 3. C 4. D 5. C 6. B 7. E 8. B 9. A 10. B 11. C 12. D 13. E 14. B 15. A
“There Was a Boy” and “The Most of It”
1. C 2. A 3. B 4. D 5. B 6. D 7. A 8. E 9. A 10. C 11. D 12. B 13. A 14. A 15. C 16. E 17. A 18. B
“A Dialogue Between Body and Soul”
1. E 2. D 3. A 4. C 5. B 6. B 7. D 8. A 9. E 10. A 11. D 12. B 13. C
Prose Passage – John Donne
1. D 2. A 3. E 4. E 5. B 6. D 7. C 8. C 9. D 10. A 11. B 12. E 13. A 14. B
2010 AP English Literature Sample Essays
Question #1: Waniek, “The Century Quilt”
General Directions: This scoring guide will be useful for most of the essays that you read, but in
problematic cases, please consult your table leader. The score that you assign should reflect your
judgment of the quality of the essay as a whole—its content, its style, its mechanics. Reward the writers
for what they do well. The score for an exceptionally well-written essay may be raised by one point
above the otherwise appropriate score. In no case may a poorly written essay be scored higher than a
three (3).
9-8
These essays offer a persuasive analysis of Waniek’s use of literary elements to develop the complex meanings
that the speaker attributes to the century quilt. The writers of these essays offer a range of interpretations; they
provide convincing readings of both the complex meanings ascribed to the quilt and Waniek’s use of literary
elements. They demonstrate consistent and effective control over the elements of composition in language
appropriate to the analysis of poetry. Their textual references are apt and specific. Though they may not be
error-free, these essays are perceptive in their analysis and demonstrate writing that is clear and sophisticated,
and in the case of a nine (9) essay, especially persuasive.
7-6
These competent essays offer a reasonable analysis of Waniek’s use of literary techniques to develop the
complex meanings the speaker attributes to the quilt. They are less thorough or less precise in their discussion
of the meanings of the quilt and Waniek’s use of literary elements, and their analysis of the relationship between
the two is less convincing. These essays demonstrate the writer’s ability to express ideas clearly, making
references to the text, although they do not exhibit the same level of effective writing as the 9-8 papers. While
essays scored 7-6 are generally well written, those scored a seven (7) demonstrate more sophistication in both
substance and style.
5
These essays may respond to the assigned task with a plausible reading of Waniek’s use of literary techniques to
develop the meanings attributed to the quilt, but they may be superficial in their analysis of those meanings.
They often rely on paraphrase, but paraphrase that contains some analysis, implicit or explicit. Their analysis of
the quilt’s meanings or of Waniek’s techniques may be vague, formulaic, or minimally supported by references
to the text. There may be minor misinterpretations of the poem. These writers demonstrate some control of
language, but the writing may be marred by surface errors. These essays are not as well conceived, organized,
or developed as 7-6 essays.
4-3
These lower-half essays fail to offer an adequate analysis of the poem. The analysis may be partial,
unconvincing, or irrelevant, or may ignore the complexity of meanings attributed to the quilt by the speaker or
Waniek’s use of techniques. Evidence from the poem may be slight or misconstrued, or the essays may rely on
paraphrase only. The writing often demonstrates a lack of control over the conventions of composition:
inadequate development of ideas, accumulation of errors, or a focus that is unclear, inconsistent, or repetitive.
Essays scored a three (3) may contain significant misreading and/or demonstrate inept writing.
2-1
These essays compound the weaknesses of the papers in the 4-3 range. Although some attempt has been made
to respond to the prompt, the writer’s assertions are presented with little clarity, organization, or support from
the poem. These essays may contain serious errors in grammar and mechanics. They may offer a complete
misreading or be unacceptably brief. Essays scored a one (1) contain little coherent discussion of the speech.
0
These essays give a response with no more than a reference to the task.
—
These essays are either left blank or are completely off-topic.
Sample SSS
Waniek’s “The Century Quilt” is a beautifully structured meditation on the importance of
the history behind a quilt she loves. With the use of colors, vivid description, and reminiscent
tone, the poet illustrates the meaning of the quilt.
The poem is written in no particular rhyme scheme, and no particular meter. This gives it
a narrative and personal quality, though the line breaks are clean and decisive. Each line break is
carefully placed, so as to evoke emotion in the reader as in: “Within the dream of
myself/perhaps I’d meet my son” (41-42). Placing the break after “myself” implies
contemplation, that she has literally stopped to think. She also places line breaks to achieve a
certain meaning, as in: “My sister and I were in love/with Meema’s Indian blanket” (1-2).
Because the two phrases do not share a line, the first line may be taken in a romantic context, as
though the sisters were in love with a person. However, the pause gives the realization that it is a
blanket that they love more impact.
Waniek’s main source of imagery is the use of colors. She describes falling asleep under
“army green” (3), a boring, common color, and contrasts it with Meema’s Indian blanket,
exciting and full of life. Even in describing her own Century Quilt, she illustrates the “Six Van
Dyke brown squares/two white ones, and one square/the yellowbrown of Mama’s cheeks” (1517). She begins to associate the colors with family, and love. In questioning what she would
dream of sleeping under it, she imagines the quilt would evoke memories of her “father’s burnt
umber pride’ (39), and of her “mother’s ochre gentleness” (40). The quilt evidently symbolizes
the races and ethnicities in her family, but not in a derogatory way. She describes Meema’s
“yellow sisters” (25) and their grandfather’s “white family” (26), living in harmony and love,
what the guilt has come to mean for her. With this use of color often comes other imagery. She
imagines the sweet gum leaves in each square of the quilt as having fingers that “would caress
me into the silence” (20) when she is to die.
The author uses a reminiscent tone in describing her childhood, but describes her new
quilt with so much awe that it can be inferred she still feels like a child wrapped in it. With the
words, “Perhaps under this quilt I’d dream of myself, of my childhood of miracles” (36-38), she
depicts her ability to view her past, while the words,” perhaps I’d meet. . . my other child, as yet
unconceived” (42-43), evidence her longing to see the future, as well. In this way, the name
“The Century Quilt” is quite fitting, as, even though she says it is for its pattern of leaves, she
alludes to its place in her life, as a compilation of her past and her future. This name also fits
with her previous statement, that she thinks she’d “have good dreams/ for a hundred years under
this quilt” (21-22).
In allowing the quilt to become part of her life, and her life to become part of the quilt,
the poet is content to die under it; as she claims in lines 14 and 15, to complete her journey with
it. In her style, and vivid use of imagery, Waniek has illustrated the intense connection she feels
with The Century Quilt.
Sample Z
In the poem The Century Quilt by Marilyn Nelson Waniek the poet uses many literary
techniques to develop the meanings behind the quilt.
Waniek first describes a blanket she and her sister used to love growing up. They would
use it to play games and act out fantisies. Now that they are both adults now, her sister has
inherited the blanket. Waniek has now found a quilt that she has fallen in love with. She uses
personification to describe leaves on each square that would “caress me into the silence.”
Sample W
In her poem, “The Century Quilt,” Waniek uses literary techniques to develop a sense of
memory and meaning to the poem and the quilt she describes. Her use of loose structure, vivid
imagery, and nostalgic tone add to the reader’s understanding of the significance of the quilt in
Waniek’s life.
“The Century Quilt” flows, a stream of thought and memory emphasized by the free,
unrhymed structure Waniek employs. The poem is all the more believable for this because one’s
mind naturally moves through thought processes much like Waniek’s poem—without rhyme or
rigid structure. Waniek moves form one train of thought to the next when she begins the second
stanza with “Now I’ve found a quilt/I’d like to die under,” building a foundation for the quilt’s
complex meaning. Because she loosely associates so many concepts—such as her
grandmother’s blanket and a quilt her grandmother never touched—the Century Quilt garners
meaning form the connections she builds in her mind.
The imagery used is mostly imagined or recalled visual and auditory imagery, rather than
specific descriptions of smells or tastes. The significance of the quilt is all manufactured in
Waniek’s consciousness, not built on scents or tactile sensations, so it would follow that the
imagery used is mostly visual, as it is created in her mind’s eye. Waniek never knew what her
grandmother dreamt about beneath her blanket, but she imagines scenes she could have dreamt,
and imagines that she will dream similar things beneath her new quilt, and this tangiential
relationship that the quilt has with her grandmother causes her attachment to the Century Quilt to
grow.
The tone is fondly nostalgic rather than concrete and factual as any other narrative might
be. The speaker is more inward reflecting than purely expository. Often, people build stronger
bonds with other people or ideas based on emotional factors than a logical progression of facts,
as the speaker does in this poem. She speculates quite a bit—“she must have dreamed about
Mama”—more after than she presents facts, and yet, because as humans we are prone to give
meaning based on emotion rather than cold, hard logic, we as readers grow to see the relation the
Century Quilt bears with Waniek’s childhood and her grandmother.
Throughout her poem, Waniek’s stream-of-consciousness structure, recalled visual
imagery, and nostalgic tone contribute a greater sense for meaning than the reader would have
seen had she put forth simple facts. Waniek has turned two unrelated objects—an old blanket
she no longer uses and a new quilt—into inextricably entwined ones.
Sample RR
“The Century Quilt” by Marilyn Nelson Waniek is a poem which contains fond
memories of the speaker’s past and dreams of the future. These thoughts were triggered by a
beautiful quilt. Waniek employs structure, symbolism, and tone to develop the meaning of The
Century Quilt.
The Century Quilt is a family treasure, passed down from the speaker’s grandmother.
Waniek uses a structure of 3 free-verse stanzas. The first stanza describes the love the speaker
had of her grandmother’s blanket, and the childhood memories she made with it: “I remembered
how I’d planned to inherit/that blanket, how we used to wrap ourselves/at play in its folds and be
chieftains/and princesses. The second stanza describes the quilt which the speaker now owns and
cherishes. “Now I’ve found a quilt/I’d like to die under.” In the third stanza, Waniek describes
the memories the grandmother must have dreamed of, and of which the speaker would also
dream.
Symbolism is a vital attribute of this poem. The colors of the quilt represent
characteristics of the speaker’s loved ones: “Six VanDyke brown squares,/two white ones, and
one square/the yellow brown of Mama’s cheeks.” Part of the charm the quilt holds for the
speaker is the reminders of her familial childhood. She remembers her “father’s burnt umber
pride,” and her “mother’s ochre gentleness” as she dreams beneath the peaceful comfort of The
Century Quilt.
The tone of the poem holds significance as well. Nostalgia dominates “The Century
Quilt.” The speaker treasures the quilt not for the warmth and coziness it provides, but for fond
memories it brings her to recall. The speaker is happy as she remembers her fortunate childhood,
and remains hopeful as she dreams of the bright future to which she eagerly looks forward.
Sample LLL
In the poem The Century Quilt, by Marilyn Nelson Waniek, the speaker finds a quilt that,
in her mind, connects her life to the diverse backgrounds of her family. Waniek uses both
imagery and narrative viewpoint to develop the Century Quilt’s meanings as a connection to her
family history and to her own past.
The Century Quilt, so called because the speaker would “have good dreams for a hundred
years under this quilt”, is described in ways that connect the speaker to her childhood and to the
lives of her relatives (21-22). It seems as if the speaker is partly of Native American heritage.
Her grandmother, Meema, would bring an Indian blanket to her house, and she and her sister
“used to wrap ourselves at play in its fold and be chieftains and princesses” (10-12). This quilt
played an integral part in the speaker’s childhood, and so the speaker now desires another quilt, a
keepsake that will remind her of her childhood and of Meema. The imagery of the speaker
wrapping herself in the quilt and playing dress-up demonstrates the happy memories that quilts
invoke for her and partly explain her love for The Century Quilt. However, the Quilt also
connects the speaker to lives before her own. The speaker describes the Quilt as having “six Van
Dyke brown squares, two white ones, and one square the yellowbrown of Mama’s cheeks” (1517). Connecting the color of the square to the color of her mother’s cheeks implies that all of the
squares connect to some part of the speaker’s family. This suggestion is enforced when the
speaker talks about Meema’s “yellow sister’s” and her “grandfather’s white family” (25-26).
The speaker identifies each color in the quilt with part of her family; the quilt as a whole
represents her family tree. Imagery again enforces the quilt’s relationship to the family when the
speaker describes her “father’s burnt umber pride” and her “mother’s ochre gentleness” (39-40).
The images of her childhood relationship with quilts mixed with the imagery comparing the parts
of the quilt to different members of her family emphasize the quilt’s meaning as a link from the
speaker to both her childhood and her ancestors.
The speaker’s narrative viewpoints also connect the speaker directly with her childhood
and her family’s past, using the quilt as a reference point. When discussing Meema’s Indian
quilt, the speaker uses a first person point of view to talk about Meema and her activities with the
quilt. She states, “I remember how I’d planned to inherit that blanket” and “we used to wrap
ourselves at play in its folds” (9-11). The use of first person illustrates the speaker’s direct and
immediate connection to the blanket in her past, explaining the intense attachment she has to The
Century Quilt. Her statement that she would “like to die under” the Century Quilt shows just
how desperate the speaker is to maintain a physical and mental connection to her childhood (14).
The switch from first person to third person later in the poem, however, demonstrates how the
quilt connects the speaker to her family’s past as well. The speaker, thinking about dreaming
under The Century Quilt, describes Meema’s childhood in great detail. She notes that “when
their father came home from the store they cranked up the pianola” and that her own mother used
to be “a lanky girl trailing her father through his Oklahoma field” (28-35). The narrator’s
seamless transition from first person to third person while remembering her ancestor’s lives
shows that she feels The Century Quilt will link her more strongly to her family’s past as well as
her own.
The speaker makes use of both imagery and changing narrative viewpoints to illustrate
that her desire for the Century Quilt stems from its ability to recall memories from not only her
own childhood but also the childhoods of her mother and grandmother. When the speaker states,
“I’d call it The Century Quilt, after its patterns of leaves,” she chooses this name because the
patchwork of colors that make up the quilt represent a century of her family’s history.
Sample MM
“The Century Quilt” by Marilyn Nelson Waniek portrays a woman regaling her
childhood experiences with her sister to display the deep meaning she attributes to the Century
Quilt. Waniek uses the structure, imagery, and tone to display the importance of the quilt.
The structure Waniek uses plays a key role in showing the complexity of the quilt. She
shifts back and forth between the past, present, and future and ties the meaning of the quilt into
all three. In the first stanza, the main character tells what an impact her “Meema’s” quilt had on
her and her sister as children. She connects this to the last stanza where she explains that her new
quilt will have the same effect on her that her Meema’s did in her childhood. Waniek uses lists in
the last stanza.
Sample RRR
Marilyn Nelson Waniek’s poem “The Century Quilt” compares the quilt of the speaker to
a blanket of her grandmother’s, comparing the lives of the two in the process. Waniek uses
devices such as tone and imagery to convey her deep meaning behind the quilt, that it is a
representation of her life and family.
Waniek’s tone is soft and reminiscent in the first stanza, describing the blanket the
speaker and her sister admired. This builds the foundation of the poem, illustrating the reason
the speaker is so connected to her own quilt. Waniek’s tone remains soft throughout the poem,
illustrating the pleasant feelings that her quilt bring her.
Waniek also uses the structure of her poem to convey her meaning. She begins with
discussing her “meema,” and her lovely blanket, then compares her own blanket to it. After
presenting the blankets as similar, she likens her life to her grandmother’s, speculating about
what her grandmother must have dreamed, and how she would dream similarly. She presents
this through vivid imagery such as “her yellow sisters” and “grandfather’s white family,” as well
as “my father’s burnt umber pride” and “mother’s ochre gentleness.”
Through these devices, Waniek shows how important family is to her, and how her quilt
is a symbol of her family. It reminds her of her grandmother’s blanket, but the quilt holds pieces
of all her loved ones, such as “one square the yellow brown of Mama’s cheeks.” The colors she
attributes to her family show her love for them, with warm, soft colors such as bown and ochre.
Her quilt, a single unit tying different elements together, represents how she ties her family
together, and feels safe and loved in their presence. Waniek also uses dreams, and the possibility
of what will come, to illustrate the feelings the quilt bring her. The quilt represents her whole
life, and she reminisces of “childhood miracles” and the “Oklahoma field.” She dreams of her
life as full and complete, just like her grandmother’s.
Through structure, imagery, and tone, Waniek shows how her quilt makes her feel
connected to her family, particularly her grandmother. Her dreams of her life are vivid and
pleasant, and Waniek is comforted by her “Century Quilt.”
Sample UU
Marilyn Nelson Waniek used imagery, tone, and mood to express the speaker’s emotions.
The speaker’s tone is dreamy and imaginative as she looks forward to sleeping under her
newfound quilt. She romanticises about the dreams she will have as she slumbers, and the peace
that will ensue as she lies beneath its warmth. The imagery that she uses to express her
anticipated peace created a peaceful, dreamy mood for the reader. “Each finger holds a sweet
gum leaf/whose fingers I imagine/ would caress me into silence. “As the reader takes in these
words, he or she themselves find they can nearly feel the soft quilt embrace them in warmth. The
rich adjectives and imaginative tone draw the reader into the poem. “I’d dream of myself,/of my
childhood of miracles,/of my father’s burnt umbre pride,/of my mother’s ochre gentleness.”
(lines 37-40) The speaker imagines she will use the quilt forever, even stating, “I think I’d have
good dreams/for a hundred years under this quilt,” (lines 21-22). From this desire/goal, she
coined the name “The Century Quilt.”
Sample GGG
Remember that old worn out teddy bear you used to drag around as a kid? How its seams
were split from ceaseless love and how whenever you squeezed it tight, it was an instant source
of comfort? The speaker in Marilyn Nelson Waniek’s “The Century Quilt” has found her
comforter, a quilt which she names “The Century Quilt. However she paints a picture of the
memories she will create with it instead of attributing the quilt to her own childhood memories.
Waniek uses this past to present to future structure along with a comforting and peaceful tone
and diction that relates abstract colors in the quilt to concrete images and memories, to display
how and why this quilt will give her “good dreams for a hundred years” (line 21-2).
The structure of this poem allows the speaker to prove how the quilt will comfort her
because she relates her past to the present which she then ties to her future. The speaker begins
by giving an example of comfort that she witnessed in her grandmother’s house as a child. Not
only does the speaker have fond memories of “Meema’s Indian Blanket” that she used to play
dress-up in as a child, but she imagines that her grandmother shares an intimate connection and
dreams “she was a girl again in Kentucky among her yellow sisters” when she sleeps beneath it
(lines 24-5). It is this example provided by her grandmother that leads the speaker to find her
own blanket, or quilt rather. Thus, the second paragraph shifts to the present in which the
speaker proudly proclaims, “I’ve found a quilt I’d like to die under” (lines 13-4). The last
paragraph explains the future the speaker will have with this quilt as she will, like her
grandmother, dream “of my childhood of miracles” (line 38). By intertwining the past, present,
and future, Waniek demonstrates the profound effect this quilt will have on the speaker and what
it means to her already.
In conjunction with bringing the speaker an abundance of happiness, through a peaceful,
content tone and imagery associated with the quilt, Waniek demonstrates the meaning each scrap
of fabric will hold for the speaker. The entire passage is permeated by a dream-like state which
is indicative of the speaker’s mood. The speaker repeatedly talks about peaceful actions that are
all related to the quilt. Her tone is placid and dreamy as she mentions how the “fingers” of the
quilt will “caress” her “into the silence.” (line 25) Through this personification of the quilt, the
author shows that the speaker is calm even in the face of death as long as her quilt is by her side.
The tone is also nostalgic as she refers to her grandmother lovingly as “Meema.” This nostalgia
is related directly to the quilt as the speaker begins to describe her memories and future actions
in terms of colors, presumably those found in the patterns of The Century Quilt. The pattern of
the quilt is a metaphor for the pattern of the speaker’s future. Her father has “burnt umber pride”
and her mother has “ochre gentleness.” This imagery shows how metaphorically her memories
are already interwoven with the threads of this quilt. In the end, she names it The Century Quilt
which represents how long it will comfort her. This is again tied back to the imagery of the quilt
as she names it “after its pattern of leaves” (line 45).
Through the use of a peaceful, comforting tone, diction that ties the pieces of the quilt to
the pieces of the speaker’s life, and a chronological structure, Waniek shows that this quilt is not
only a comforter in the physical sense of a bed covering, but it is an emotional comforter which
will span to cover the speaker for a century.
Sample Q
A quilt is made up of many things. Not only does it consist of several patches, but it
takes a story and meaning to create one like Marilyn Nelson Waniek did in “The Century Quilt.”
The speaker of this poem has a lot of built up emotion for this quilt. Wether it be for the
contrasts in her family, or her deep memories from the past. Waniek uses these aspects to create
a calming representation of the speakers life.
The use of color creates a contrast in the speakers family that helps create the quilt
visually. Lines 15-17 of the poem give a description of the colors of this blanket. However, the
sentimental value is not revealed until the third stanza. Her family is made of several colors; her
father being a “burnt umber,” and her mother a gentle “ochre.” The lighter “yellowbrown” and
darker brown come together to make not only a beautiful image in the speaker’s mind, but pieces
of this quilt. The contrasting images of those two colors helps the reader understand the beauty
of the speakers family, as well as the quilt.
Waniek also uses the device of time, and the past to develop this idea of the speakers
quilt. In stanzas one and three, we are flashed back to memories brought to the surface by these
blankets. Waniek uses this tactic to make us understand how the sentimental value to these
pieces of fabric. Lines 21-35 is a narration of the speakers Meema’s past and how the quilt is
able to bring her back to these memories. Then in lines 36-45 we encounter the speakers own
flashback. What these quilts do, is allow these characters to journey back to their innocence, and
re-live happy memories. This creates a significance of thier attachment to the blankets.
Marilyn Nelson Waniek created characters who’s life can be related to their cherished
quilt’s. Her use of contrast, and time let us experiance the same feelings her characters
experience through this object. Without these devices, all the quilt would be is a squared piece
of colored fabric, one dreams in.
Sample QQ
In her poem ‘The Century Quilt’, Marilyn Nelson Waniek includes a lot of elements to
attribute to the century quilt. In this poem, the main character looks at all of the different colors
included in this quilt and it makes her think about her own racially divided family. All in all, the
quilt represents the main characters family and ancestors.
One way Waniek shows a connection between these two is in the structure she uses. The
third stanza in this poem is all about dreams. One way the quilt represents dreams is because
when you dream you often feel happy and carefree. The quilt represents this because it helps
give the main character an extra sense of security. The other way Waniek uses dreams is to talk
about looking towards the future. In lines 40-43 the main character says ‘Within the dream of
myself perhaps I’d meet my son or my other child, as yet unconceived.’ This represents the
main character looking forward to a day where she does not have to worrey about her families
different skin tones anymore.
Another element that Weniek uses in this poem is tone. In this poem the tone does not
change when she talks about her ancestors. This shows she respects both sides of her family
equally and wishes others would too.
One last way Waniek uses an element to give another meaning to the quilt is she brings in
the image of memories. ‘I think I’d have good dreams for a hundred years under this quilt, as
meema must have, under her blanket, dreamed she was a girl again in Kentucky among her
yellow sisters, their grandfather’s white family nodding at them when they met.’ This gives the
quilt a whole different meaning. Because of Waniek’s use of imagery here the quilt becomes a
way for this young girl to look back into her family’s past and towards the future at the same
time.
These are just three elements that Waniek uses when she writes about a quilt in this
poem. The century quilt becomes a way for the young narrator to escape from the present and
look back at her families history. All in all, this poem is a story about one girl’s hope that
someday this world will be more equal.
Sample JJ
The Century Quilt deals with a lot of imagery. You can picture the six Van Dyke brown
squares, 2 white ones, & one square the yellowbrown of Mama’s cheeks. There’s a lot of love
that goes with this quilt. The tone of this poem is soft & light. It’s basically telling a story about
what the quilt looks like & it’s journey. The tone or diction can also be affection. She was so
affectate for the quilt she’d do anything to have it. The Century Quilt is a euphany because it
flows very smoothly when you read it. The Author might have also used an understatement
when she says within the dream of myself perhaps I’d meet my son or my other child, as yet
unconceived. She meets her kids before their even born. The structure could even be a ballad.
The way the stanzas are uneven. You could also use tactile like she can almost touch the quilt,
then reader. Gustatory for the smell of pianola that they cranked up when their dad came home.
Sample LL
In “The Century Quilt”, the speaker describes her attachment to a quilt. After years of
admiring a blanket belonging to Meema, she is exciting to finally find one of her own. She
compares the time she and her sister spent dreaming under Meema’s blanket to her predicted
experiences with her own quilt. The author, Marilyn Nelson Waniek, creates the speaker’s
emotional attachments to her quilt through her use of structure, color imagery, and a hopeful
tone.
The structure of this poem consists of three distinct stanzas, each pertaining to a different
topic. The first two stanzas are short and lead up to the final, larger stanza. In the first stanza the
speaker describes her past experiences with Meema’s blanket. She looks back on this time
fondly, describing how she loved to “play in its folds” and imagine she and her sister were
“chieftains and princesses.” In the second stanza, the speaker describes finding a quilt of her
own. This stanza acts as a connection between her past experience’s with Meema’s blanket and
her expected future ones with her new quilt. She talks about how she plans to spent “a hundred
years” with her quilt in the third stanza and talks about everything she will dream about. She
talks about meeting her “son or my other child, as yet unconcieved” under this quilt, showing the
almost mystic qualities she sees in it.
Another prevalent literary technique in the poem is the use of color imagery, especially as
used to show heritage. She remembers falling asleep as a child under the “army green” blanket
representing her father during his time as a soldier. Later she describes the color of her quilt
saying it contained “six Van Dyke browns squares, two white ones, and one square the
yellowbrown of Mama’s cheeks.” These colors are symbolic because they represent Meema and
her sisters, who are called “yellow”, her father, who is described as having “burnt umber pride”,
and Meema’s grandfather’s “white family”. These colors are used to show the diverse heritage
of the speaker.
Finally, the author uses a hopeful and at times nostagic, tone to show the speaker’s
positive feelings towards her quilt. In the very first line of the poem, the speaker reveals that she
was “in love” with Meema’s blanket, so much so that she had, “planned to inherit it.” When
talking about her quilt, she says she would like to “die under” it and goes on to talk about all of
the “good dreams” about her future and past that she would have under it. She talks about
dreaming not only of the children she planned to have at some point, but also of herself as a
child, during her “childhood of miracles.”
In her poem, Waniek reveals the speaker’s feelings towards her quilt to the reader
through the use of structure relating to time periods, color imagery relating to heritage, and a
positive, hopeful tone. The colors of the quilt sow the reader’s pride toward her heritage, while
the structure shows that she is hopeful for her future.
Sample PP
Marilyn Nelson Waniek’s “The Century Quilt” shows a girl’s strong passion for quilt and
its complex meanings to the girl. Waniek effectively develops the complex meanings by
utilizing various literary devices, such as structure, imagery and tone. These techniques help the
reader to comprehend the complex feelings clearly.
Waniek’s use of a unique structure creates smooth narration. The poem is written in a
form of free verse. This device provides natural sounding of the narrator and eliminates
limitations of expressions. Therefore, the complexity in the speaker’s desire in the quilt is well
demonstrated. Moreover, each stanza contain different timeline. The first stanza is in the past,
when the speaker wanted to inherit Meema’s Indian blanket, which she fell in love with. The
second stanza is in the present; she finds a quilt that she likes. The third stanza is in the future.
She is anticipating good events that the quilt will bring her. With the use of the organized
structure, Waniek develops the complex meanings that the speaker has to The Century Quilt.
The poet also employs imagery to show the speaker’s complex meanings to the quilt. In
line 10, the speaker and her sisters “wrap [themselves] at play…” This demonstrates how much
she wanted that blanket, which she didn’t inherit. But in the next she finally finds her own quilt.
The colorful image of the quilt in this stanza shows her excitement. As the speaker imagines
what Meema must have dreamed under her blanket, Waniek uses many images, such as Meema
“dancing” (line 33), “trailing after her father” (line 34), and “giggling” (line 31). This happy
images imply the positive mood of this part of the poem.
Waniek uses the technique of tone to develop the complex meanings of the quilt. The
speaker’s tone in the beginning is very hopeful, as she wants “Meema’s Indian blanket” (line 2).
Also, Waniek’s word choices, such as “planned to inherit” and “love”, shows that the speaker is
hopeful. The tone shifts in the second stanza to an exciting tone. Waniek’s diction, “sweet”,
helps to create this tone. In addition, she says “I’d like to die under” (line 14), which
demonstrates her excitement and tone toward the quilt. The exciting and happy tone continues
on to the next stanza, but it is also anticipating. The diction “dream” helps to create the
anticipating tone.
Waniek’s use of structure, imagery, and tone successfully shows the development of the
complex meanings of the quilt. The speaker once wanted a blanket, which she failed to inherit.
Then, she find a quilt of her own, and she is excited.
2010 AP English Literature Scoring Guide
Question #2 Maria Edgeworth, Belinda
General Directions: This scoring guide will be useful for most of the essays that you read, but in problematic cases,
please consult your table leader. The score that you assign should reflect your judgment of the quality of the essay as
a whole-- its content, style, and mechanics. Reward the writers for what they do well. The score for an
exceptionally well-written essay may be raised by one point above the otherwise appropriate score. In no case may
a poorly written essay be scored higher than a three (3).
These essays offer a persuasive analysis of Clarence Hervey’s complex character as
Edgeworth
develops it through literary techniques. The writers make a strong case for their interpretation of
the passage. They explore some conflicting elements of Hervey’s self-image and his connection
to others, as well as his responses to Belinda. They consider techniques such as tone, point of
view, and language, and they engage the text through apt and specific references. Although
9-8
these essays may not be error-free, their perceptive analysis is apparent in writing that is clear,
precise, and effectively organized. Essays scored a nine (9) reveal more sophisticated analysis
and more effective control of language than do essays scored an eight (8).
These essays offer a reasonable analysis of Hervey’s complex character as the author
develops it
through literary techniques. The writers provide a sustained, competent reading of the passage,
with attention to techniques such as tone, point of view, and language. Although these essays
may not be error-free and are less perceptive or less convincing than 9-8 essays, the writers
present their ideas with clarity and control and refer to the text for support. Essays scored a
seven (7) present better developed analysis and more consistent command of the elements of
effective composition than do essays scored a six.(6).
7-6
5
These essays respond to the assigned task with a plausible reading of the passage, but
tend to be superficial or thinly developed in their treatment of Hervey’s complex character and/or
of Edgeworth’s use of literary techniques to develop it. While containing some analysis of the
passage, implicit or explicit, the discussion of how literary devices contribute to the development
of character may be slight, and support from the passage may tend toward summary or
paraphrase. While these writers demonstrate adequate control of language, their essays may be
marred by surface errors. These essays are not as well conceived, organized, or developed as 7-6
essays.
4-3
These lower-half essays fail to offer an adequate analysis of the passage. The analysis
may be partial, unconvincing, or irrelevant; the writers may ignore the contradictions and
complexities in Clarence Hervey’s character or Edgeworth’s use of literary techniques to develop
the character. These essays may be characterized by an unfocused or repetitive presentation of
ideas, an absence of textual support, or an accumulation of errors. Essays scored a three (3) may
contain significant misreading and demonstrate inept writing.
2-1
These essays compound the weaknesses of the papers in the 4-3 range. They may
persistently
misread the passage or be unacceptably brief. They may contain pervasive errors that interfere
with understanding. Although some attempt has been made to respond to the prompt, the
writer’s ideas are presented with little clarity, organization, or support from the passage. Essays
that are especially inept or incoherent are scored a one (1).
0
These essays give a response with no more than a reference to the task.
-
These essays are either left blank or are completely off-topic.
2010 AP English Literature Sample Essays
Question #2 Maria Edgeworth, Belinda
Sample SSSS
Clarence Hervey supposes himself to be a Renaissance man, when in reality, he is
nothing more than a charlatan. In this passage from her novel Belinda, Maria Edgeworth
develops the many characters of Mr. Hervey through generalized language, references to Mr.
Hervey’s inconstancy and Mr. Hervey’s ironic and hypocritical fears of Belinda.
Throughout the passage, Edgeworth uses words such as “all” and “every” to emphasize
the wide berth of Mr. Hervey’s supposed talents. His main flaw, she acknowledges early on is
that he “desire[s] [to be] thought superior in every thing”(3). As this is not humanly possible, he
relies on pretention to make up a certain amount of his character, described by Edgeworth as
“chameleon character” (14). He aspires to be “all things to all men—and to all women” (17), and he
is such a good pretender that he has even convinced himself that this is the case. When he meets
Belinda, he sees her “every day” (38) in keeping with the personage he has created for himself.
Edgeworth shows the faults in Mr. Hervey’s plan, however, through skeptical and
speculative diction. She reveals him as inconstant and easily susceptible to manipulation; he
varies in “different lights and according to the different situations in which he happen[s] to be
placed” (15-16), and this malleability is destructive. He is “so easily led” (23), remarks
Edgeworth, “that it [is] probable that he [will] soon become vicious (25-26). His reactions to
stimuli are unpredictable -- “By Lord Delacour’s jealousy he was sometimes provoked, sometimes
amused, and sometimes flattered (34-36), and although he is allegedly one thing, it often turns out
he is another.
It is because of his inconstancy that he is so laughably afraid of Belinda. Belinda acts as
a double for Hervey – he suspects her of “artifice” (50) and “scientific coquetry” (54) which in
reality the only artificial coquette in the story is him. Edgeworth uses similar language in
describing his fears of Belinda as she did when she was describing him, just as he was “so easily
led” (23) he fears Belinda is being “conducted” (44) by the Delacours. This perceived similarity
to himself scares Hervey because he does not want to admit his falsity –so he flees in terror (57)
whenever he finds himself too close to her.
Thus Edgeworth crafts a character who, in trying to have many identities, is left with
nothing at all. This characterization of Clarence Hervey emerges from the passage as a blurred
amalgam of several different people, and, ironically, it is through his perception of Belinda that
we get the clearest description of his personality.
Sample Q
Clarance Hervey is a well known young man who achieves great things. He was a genius
but also been known as wild and eccentric. I think he is to big head into claiming the name
genius and use it to hurt then help. He has literary talents in which when he is placed in weird
situations he can over come it no matter men or women.
However Lady Delacour disgree in the structer of Clarance abilities to disturb the peace
of the family. Lady was tring to prove a point in her feels but Clerance says there wasn’t any
peace in her family so how could he disturb her family.
All that she was is jealous of his knowledge and abilities to use in a unnormal situation.
Sample U
Clarence Hervey is a very complex character that Edgeworth develops through tone,
point of view, and language. The humorous tone of the passage helps exemplify the different
sides of Hervey. Even in just the first sentence Hervey is described as a pleasant young man,
even though he believes he is better then everyone else. It is humorous how the narrator
describes Hervey the way Hervey describes himself. Hervey wass “flattered with the idea that he
was a man of genius” (5-6) so “he was entitled to be impudent, wild and eccentric.” (7-8).
Through Hervey’s own descriptions of himself, the narrator is able to show how obnoxious he is.
The narrator describes Hervey as a chameleon, which is funny since it is usually good to be able
to adapt, but Hervey can change for the wrong reasons and can be fake such as when he pretends
“to disdain every species of knowledge” (13-14).
It is interesting how Edgeworth mixes the point of view of the narrator with the point of
view of Hervey himself. The narrator uses Hervey’s own point of view and then essentially
argues it. However, each point of view can not be taken at face value. Each has merit in
developing Hervey’s complex character. He may be a tad obnoxious and fake but he is also
smart, humorous, and humane. He may be a tad vicious but that’s because he is easily excited
and provoked. By intertwining the points of view of both Hervey and the narrator, Edgeworth
manages to show the many different sides, both good and bad, of this complex character.
As well Edgeworth develops Hervey’s complex character through intricate use of
language. For example, Edgeworth compares Hervey to a chameleon, showing that he is
constantly changing. As well, Edgeworth uses opposite words to describe Hervey’s feelings
towards Belinda. For example, the narrator says Hervey saw Belinda with “increasing
admiration” (39) and “increasing dread” (40). The narrator also says Hervey was “charmed”
(51) by Belinda and “inclined to despise her” (52-53). Through oppossite language Edgeworth is
able to show not only does Hervey have different attitudes and personalities, he also has diffent
feelings, adding to the complexity of his character. Through a humorous tone, mixed point of
views, and opposite language, Edgeworth is able to develop Clarence Hervey’s complex
character.
Sample M
Edgeworth describes Clarence Hervey as being “smitten with…being the most admired person
in all companies.” He wants to be known by everyone. Hervey wants people to talk about him,
whether he is there or not he wants to be on their tongue. He is a very scholarly individual, the
only problem being that he knows it. Hervey is described as being “all things to all men-and
women,” which gives him God-like qualities. He is probably a pleasant gentleman, until his ego
gets the best of him. The character is described as a “chameleon.” This gives a connotation of
being two-faced and untrustworthy, but people don’t realize his trickery. Clarence is crazy about
a young lady named Belinda Portman. He grows deeper feelings for her as the days go by, but
does not want to be married to her because of her dreaful aunt. Hervey cannot trust Belinda,
because she is being “conducted” by her aunt. Hervy feels that every pleasing word and gesture
from Belinda is a facade over the training she is under. He feels that even when he has been
charmed by her it can’t be sincere.
Sample Y
The turn of the nineteenth century found itself embarking changing values. The
Enlightenment with its core values of Reason and Science was dying slowly. Classism with its
emphasis on the ideal Renaissance man was entrenched into society. Each of these movements
can be found influencing Mr. Hervey in Maria Edgeworth’s 1801 novel Belinda. However the
third artistic movement of the time, Romantaism, while present in the emotional desires of Mr.
Hervey, has been stifled. These combating and overlapping styles of living combine to give Mr.
Hervey a complex character that is developed through point of view, descriptive language, and
time.
When authors wish to emphasize a complex character, usually they want to leave things
unsaid so the reader can make some inferences to fully round out the character. By using a third
person point of view Edgeworth accomplishes this task through an omnicient narrator. Repeated
versions of “he had,” “he was,” or “he imagined” blatantly start off the general descriptions of
the young man. These descriptions, set off by the third person point view allow the reader to
infer the truth of the man while distinguishing the society’s misinterpretation of him and the
consequent effects. For example we learn that he was “most admired…a man of genius,”
according to the company he kept. While we learn that this is true and he is deserving of the
praise by his “distinguished” performance at Oxford, the point of view goes into his mind and
actions showing the consequences. Thus his “imprudence, wild, and eccentric” behavior is
merely a facade built for attention. This facade later impedes him as he is forced to tone down
the emotional Romantaism of his love for Belinda. Instead these “prejudices” coming from his
desire for a socially Classical ideal perspective causes him to have “cursed his folly.” Thus the
omnicient narrator gives us a reason to like this struggling entitled young man.
In keeping with the narrator’s astute observation of Mr. Hervey, Edgeworth’s use of
descriptive language is very precise. Some diction choices are very vibrant like the use of
“chameleon,” to describe his character. Other words are slight satires at the society. By using
“inclined”, for example, the reader senses that refinement leaves the character with little choice.
He has to be “vain,” he must beware the “catch-match-maker,” he must be “smitten.” Mr.
Hervey cannot control himself to do anything even talk to a pretty girl. Also a stab at the
application of reason to love is seen through the use of the word “scientific.” Words, thus, are
used to describe and criticize Mr. Hervey. The language used is subtle yet cunning like the
societial tricks played in the game of love.
The tone mirrors the feeling of “gallantry” Mr. Hervey has. The nonchalant, matter-offact descriptions seem to put a whimsical air around the character. Yet this too is a facade. Like
Mr. Hervey, an air is used to conceal the author’s feelings. While one may assume that the
writer feels contempt for Mr. Hervey for ignoring the “unaffected, undesigning” Belinda, instead
there is a tone of pity that is seen between the lines. One can almost imagine the writer saying
something like “Poor Mr. Hervey who can’t even say he loves Belinda.”
Like all satire, this description of Mr. Hervey is one of judgement and one of hope. For
he may be shackled by Enlightenment and Classical thoughts. But Romantism is there. The
power of emotional love will prevail, for Belinda’s and Mr. Hervey’s sake. Happiness can be
found, but only if the young man finds himself like Edgeworth has.
Sample O
Sometimes in a novel, the complexity of a character is used as a great source of analysis
for literary techniques such as with Clarence Hervey from the novel, Belinda. Clarence Hervey
is seen as a person who is overconfident, prideful, intelligent and arrogant.
One of the literary techiques that is used to further explain Clarence Hervey’s personality
and complexity is point of view. For example, in Clarence Hervey’s point of view, he thinks that
he is better than everyone else in everything and is the most likeable person there is. However,
in the reader’s perspective, he is seen as selfish and arrogant. Point of view helps the poem’s
characters and the readers develop their own opinions about certain characters and the events and
situations that they face.
Another literary technique that can be analyzed in Clarence Hervey in the novel
according to the author, Maria Edgeworth, is tone. Tone is important because it gives an
emotional aspect to a novel such as Belinda. Maria Edgeworth uses tone to give a more serious
and direct manner that helps describe Clarence Hervey’s complexity. For example, Edgeworth
describes Hervey’s opinion of Belinda as being unattractive at first, but then pleasing because of
her “power of pleasing” and was somewhat surprised.
Through the use of literary techniques such as point of view, and tone, Edgeworth’s
development of Hervey’s complex personality is seen from multiples angles and perspectives.
Sample GG
In the passage from Belinda, the speaker develops the very complex and somewhat
arrogant character of Clarence Hervey through the use of point of view, tone, and language.
One of the primary devices that let’s the reader get a good view of Hervey’s character is
through point of view. Because it is third person omnipotent, the reader gets a very unbiased
view of Mr. Hervey. Had it been through the eyes of one of his aquaintances or even Hervey
himself, the details presented to the audience would be biased & some would be completely nonexistent. This unbias view allows the reader to interpret for themselves just what kind of
character Hervey had. Is he really as pompous as he seems or is he someone who tries to be
respectful and courteous and jus is not? This unbiased view leads into the tone of the piece
although at times seems critical or condescending, such as in line 2-3, “if he had not been smitten
with the desire of being superior in everything,” the overall tone is rather matter of fact. No
excessively critical nor overly supportive, simply mild.
The true nature of Harvey, although given the chance to shine through tone and point of
view, really comes out in the language of the piece. Having his “desire of being thought superior
in everything,” he feels that “he is entitled to be imprudent, wild and eccentric.” He is described
as having a “chameleon character” being able to adapt himself to any situation. He is also very
worried about his image. When the idea if marrying a niece of “the catch-match-maker” is being
tossed about he is filled with dread because he would have to associate himself with someone his
friends, and he, looked down on. This fear of lossing image is even stronger than his desire for
women. Hervey finds Belinda very beautiful but because of her relations “he was most inclined
to despise her.” Even at times when he felt himself giving into her attraction he would realize
what was happening, “curse his folly, and drew back with sudden terror” the very idea of his
image being ruined drawing him back.
The character of Clarence Harvey is found to be one of an arrogant, image conscious,
ladies man through the different literary techniques of point of view, tone & language. Through
these three devices the reader can see that although Mrs. Stanhope sent her niece to Lady
Delacour to win over Mr. Clarence Hervey, the chances of anything happening are slim to none.
Sample T
In the 1801 novel, Belinda Maria Edgeworth creates a social chameleon in Clarence
Hervey. An inconstant, excitable young man, Clarence slips from identity to identity to fit the
current situation. Clarence Hervey is not quite a con artist, however. He is instead a foolish,
vain youth, easily led by appeals to his sense of entitlement and narcissism.
Clarence’s “chameleon character” seems to vary in different lights, shifting colors to be
“all things to all men – and to all women.” His foremost goal is simply to be “thought superior
in everything” and of everyone. If he cannot be superior, however, he will do all he can to at
least seem superior. The boy “affects” singularity, a word with negative connotations of deceit
and unfounded snobbery. In order to seem a genius, he feels he must be “imprudent” and
“eccentric” rather than simply very intelligent. In fact, in order not to cross into the territory of
the “pedant,” he “pretended” to disdain every species of knowledge. Clarence’s chameleon
shifts so rapidly that he contradicts himself with each turn, his affectations ironically negating
the effects of each other. Already, Clarence has established himself not as a superior, brilliant
man but a foolish youth trying to pose as a “man of genius” and failing in his failings.
Like a chameleon, Clarence is “easily led” to shift form persona to persona, perhaps
because he neglects the upkeep of his own “color” in his rapid flickering shifts. He “might have
been more than a pleasant young man,”—Clarence has a strong sense of humor and humanity, as
well as considerable literary talents. However, his vanity spurs him on to aspire for ever loftier
goals. He “had been early flattered” with the idea of genius, and devoted his life to being seen as
one. He is “easily led” by his peers, excitable enough to deny his own personality and become
“vicious.” The narrator seems to disapprove of Clarence in the way a teacher shakes his or her
head over lost potential. Clarence Hervey sets aside his considerable claims to admiration in
order to chase after an unattainable glory.
Clarence feels that his foremost goal is and should be admiration. He is “dreadfully
afraid” of other’s opinions and will do anything to avoid being seen in a negative light. He sees
the “catch-match-maker” with increasing “dread,” not because of the admirable, beautiful
Belinda, but the loss of power and control, and thus, status that would occur if manipulated by
Mrs. Stanhope. Clarence prides himself in his “gallantry,” and would never choose to marry a
girl he had been manipulated into pursuing. His prejudice and consequent revulsion stem from
his overwhelming first love—himself. Clarence is unable to deny his attraction to Belinda but
considers it “folly” to stray from his true passion.
Clarence’s narcissism creates a sense of entitlement and false superiority. He feels that
“genius” “entitles” him to imprudency and places him outside the confines of society’s
standards. He considers himself superior to the men around him, even those who are his social
betters. The common “Mr. Hervey” is at times “provoked, …amused…and sometimes flattered”
by the noble “Lord” Delacour’s reaction to Clarence’s flirtation with Lady Delacour. Clarence’s
response to the husband’s reaction is one of a patronizing, confident man in the face of a lovesick
swan with a hopeless love. He ignores the fact that Lord Delacour is married to Lady Delacour
and is sometimes “amused” by his jealousy.
However, the narrator never paints Clarence as malicious or entirely unredeemable. The
narrator’s tone is forgiving, although not approving of Clarence’s follies. He is painted as a fool
rather than a villain, and the ironies of his character and actions contain a hint of amusement.
His reactions do not contain calculated harm towards anyone, just a rather increased measure of
man’s common folly of pride and narcissism.
Clarence Hervey is a flickering, foolish chameleon, darting from identity to identity in an
attempt to be the most admired and superior man in society. Although easily led and
hypocritical in his sense of vanity and narcissism, he is a foolish, but possibly redeemable young
man.
Sample S
In “Belinda” by Maria Edgeworth the character of Clarence Hervey is a very complex
character as revealed through Edgeworth’s use of literary devices.
Hervey comes off as a stuck up, arrogant man who finds himself entitled to whatever he
pleases. Edgeworth’s diction emphasizes this as she describes him as: “imprudent, wild and
eccentric.” He wants to fit in with the distinguished even if it requires him to throw away what
he has. He has “considerable literary talents,” but as Edgeworth says he “pretended to disdain
every species of knowledge, when in company of hte: ignorant.” Edgeworth compares Hervey to
a “chameleon,” as his personality changes depending on the situation he is in. She also said that
he “valued himself,” on his “gallantry” indicating arrogance and a sense of superiority.
Edgeworth also talks about his fatal flaws. She said that he is “easily led . . . by his
companions” and these situations could easily become “vicious” because of the type of company
he kept. She also said how he was “sometimes provoked sometimes amused, and sometimes
flattered,” by jealousy. This wishy-washy attitude, emphasized by the repetition of:
“sometimes,” only enhances the idea of a “chameleon” personality.
Another aspect of Hervey is that he is “favorite with the fair sex,” in other words a ladies
man. However in the very end of the passage he finds himself “charmed by her powers of
pleasing,” under Belinda’s spell. This turn of events indicates Hervey’s vulnerability. He knows
he is being pulled in as the narrator said “he was most inclined to despise her” for it but yet he
still found himself “within it.”
Hervey is a vey complex young man with many sides. Through Maria Edgeworth’s
literary devices, the many sides of Clarence Hervey are unmasked in her novel, “Belinda.”
Sample X
At first glance, this piece seems to be a straightforward attack upon Clarence Hervey.
However, just as Hervey himself, the statement is far more complex than what first meets the
eye. There are, in truth, three goals of this piece: First, to establish the speaker’s legitimacy and
validity; second to show due caution and balance towards Hervey; and third, to profess to show
Hervey not only as an antagonist but also as a victim. In each case, tone, point of view, and
language is used discretely differently to achieve different purposes.
The introductory sentence of this passage its self speaks to the unique nature of the
narrator. By saying “Clarence Hervey might have been more than a plesant young man, if he
had not been smitten with the desire of being thoroughly superior…” the tone, both of sarcasm
and regret, is immediately seen. This edged frustration as a tone survives throughout the section.
For example, the description of his great literary mind dragged down into “ignorance” shows a
keen sense both of knowledge and hatred. This tone in particular, allows the author to go on the
attack without seeming excessive. This liberty is further heightened by a near-omnipient point of
view, one that expresses fact, not lonely opinion, and seems to have a clear knowledge of
Hervey’s history. The final force granting the speaker credence is the astute language through
the use of strong vocabulary, as seen by phrases such as “imprudent, wild, and eccentric,” and
words like “profligate” and “gallantry.” The combination of these three factors mark the attack
as from an honest and reasonable source of high character; the perfect person to attack poor
Hervey.
And poor Hervey indeed, for in the next level of the work, the speaker moves from
viterperative attack to a balanced and cautious critique heightening the complex character of
Hervey. Whereas language on its face seems to only criticize Hervey, hidden in a second layer
are concrete qualities, such as “he was supposed to” and “If he had not,” that show an honest
potential in Hervey. Of particular importance here is the shift in point of view, showing
Hervey’s own reasoning from lines 27 to 32. This shift allows us to fill in the otherwise
thoroughly negative facade of one Clarance Hervey. Finally, the shift in tone, from describing
Hervey’s nature to the conditions surrounding Hervey, in particular the nature of the Delacour
family, takes some blame off our antagonist.
Yet, by the end, the piece has gone even further, shifting from hatred to caution to
downright pity. For one, the point of view shifts again to omnicient, describing with key
understanding England’s culture. These descriptions of young ladies and their misfortune in
some way parallel the anti-Hervey structure of paragraph one, thus full balancing the viewpoint.
Hervey’s point of view also survives in this last section, showing the range of his understanding
of Belinda from “sometimes provoked, sometimes amused, and sometimes flattered.” Language
also comes to Hervey’s defense not only in the use of pithy phrases such as “he had not sufficient
resolution”, but also in the logical spread from general and analytical to specific, maintaining a
far less argumentative viewpoint. Finally, the overall tone of the last paragraph has completely
departed from any sense of malice.
Thus, by having three distinct goals that go through shifts, the piece effectively shows
how complex Hervey himself is. The variety of points of view and the depth of language show
not only a narrator who is conflicted, but also a character himself who is in some way divided.
Thus, this piece is interesting but only because we ourselves learn about Hervey, but also
because both the narrator and character seem to develop too.
2010 AP English Literature Scoring Guide
Question #3: Exile
General Directions: This scoring guide will be useful for most of the essays that you read, but in
problematic cases, please consult your table leader. The score that you assign should reflect your
judgment of the quality of the essay as a whole—its content, its style, its mechanics. Reward the writers
for what they do well. The score for an exceptionally well-written essay may be raised by one point
above the otherwise appropriate score. In no case may a poorly written essay be scored higher than a
three (3).
9-8
These essays offer a well-focused and persuasive analysis of how, in a novel, play, or
epic, a character’s experience with exile is both alienating and enriching. Using apt and
specific textual support, these essays explore the character’s complex responses to being
cut off from a home place and analyze what the experience of exile contributes to the
meaning of the work as a whole. Although not without flaws, these essays make a strong
case for their interpretation and discuss the literary work with insight and understanding.
Essays scored a nine (9) reveal more sophisticated analysis and more effective control of
language than do essays scored an eight (8).
7-6
These essays offer a reasonable analysis of how, in a novel, play or epic, a character’s
experience with exile is both alienating and enriching. These essays explore the
character’s complex responses and identify what the experience of exile contributes to the
meaning of the work as a whole. While these papers have insight and understanding,
their analysis is less thorough, less perceptive, and/or less specific in supporting detail
than that of the 9-8 essays. Essays scored a seven (7) present better developed analysis
and more consistent command of the elements of effective composition than do essays
scored a six (6).
5
These essays respond to the assigned task with a plausible reading, but they tend to be
superficial or underdeveloped in analysis. They often rely upon plot summary that
contains some analysis, implicit or explicit. Although the writers attempt to discuss how a
character’s experience with exile is both alienating and enriching and what the experience
contributes to the meaning of the work as a whole,
they may demonstrate
a rather simplistic understanding of the character or the work, and support from the text
may be too general. While these writers demonstrate adequate control of language, their
essays may be marred by surface errors. These essays are not as well conceived,
organized, or developed as the 7-6 essays.
4-3
These lower-half essays fail to offer an adequate analysis of how, in a novel, play, or epic,
a character’s experience with exile is both alienating and enriching. The analysis may be
partial, unsupported, or irrelevant, and the essays may reflect an incomplete or
oversimplified understanding of the character’s experience with exile. They may not
develop a response to how that experience contributes to the work as a whole, or they
may rely on plot summary alone. These essays may be characterized by an unfocused or
repetitive presentation of ideas, an absence of textual support, or an accumulation of
errors; they may lack control over the elements of college-level composition. Essays
scored a three (3) may contain serious misreading and demonstrate inept writing.
2-1
Although these essays make some attempt to respond to the prompt, they compound the
weakness of the papers in the 4-3 range. Often, they are unacceptably brief or are
incoherent in presenting their ideas. They may be poorly written on several counts and
contain distracting errors in grammar and mechanics. The writers’ remarks are presented
with little clarity, organization or supporting evidence. Particularly inept, vacuous, and/or
incoherent essays are scored a one (1).
0
These essays give a response with no more than a reference to the task.
—
These essays are either left blank or are completely off-topic.
2010 AP English Literature Sample Essays
Question #3: Exile
Sample H
In the epic poem The Odyssey a man is exiled from his home town. Angry from being
exiled and the feeling of being alienated he travels to lands he never been. In these travels He is
enriched with adventure and finds a new place to belong with friends, enemys, and their
adventures.
Sample M
Exile can be a horrible but learning experience. In “Oedipus Rex by Sophocles, a man
exiles himself as punishment but learns a larger meaning.
Oedipus learns through exile the power of understanding. In the beginning, Oedipus
establishes that he is untouchable because he believed he had broken the “wheel of fate” ( ) and
the phofey of his death would come true. Oedipus does not realize the people he called his
parents were actually not and soon killed his own father which was a part of the prophey.
Oedipus exiles himself by stabbing his eyes out. Oedipus would “rather be blind” ( ) and soon
exiles himself by stabbing his eyes.
Sample N
The novel which I chose to write this essay about is The Road, By Cormac McCarthy.
The character which this essay will focus on is the father, which whom’s name is never
mentioned in the book. The exile in which this man endures is a journey alone with his son.
They are consumed by the alienating yet enriching elements of a post apocolyptic world due to
the bond of their relationship, and below are some reasons as to why and how.
Being exiled from one’s home or town is difficult enough. Dealing with the trials and
tribulations of a post apocolyptic world in the U.S can make starting over quite rough. Constant
awareness of one’s surroundings dimmed by the blur of constant ash brings caution to the pair
during their travels south. For this father he has not only his life to worry about, but his son’s as
well. Other than enduring the cold harsh elements of the forboding winter, his top concern are
cannibals.
Desperate times call for desperate measures. Those who travel the road travel lightly and
in small groups. Liars, murderers, and unfaithful trustlessness alianate all who search for a better
life. Until his dying breath the father did all he could to keep his son (the boy) from other
people. But after death, his son found a village of people.
The irony of this man vowing to protect his son until the day he died was quite tragic, yet
somehow enlightening. This story enriched a sense of bond between the father and son. His
dedication and will to keep going was driven on the death of his wife and the knowledge that he
was all his son had in life. Stories like this show the drive in people when times are rough. They
could not return home, so they set of to find another.
This story was tragically heroic. All of the elements involved helped to solidify the love
the father had for his son. It has strength and inspires to keep trying. If you hit one dead end
then head for another. Where there is a will, there is a way.
Sample K
In Ralph Ellison’s novel “Invisible Man” the narrator has come the conclusion that he is
“invisible”. His actions are not viewed by society because he is insignificant. He is insignificant
because he is just one person and because he is black. He comes to this realization because he is
exiled from college and forced to start a new life.
While attending his all black college the narrator was happy. He viewed his life as
moving in the right direction. This was until he took a rich white man on a tour of the
surrounding area and showed him things the school administrators didn’t want him to see. Dr.
Bledsoe, the dean, then had him expelled. To show a little mercy Dr. Bledsoe would send him to
New York with letters to friends of his to try to get him work. If he made enough money he
would be aloud to return.
At this point in the novel the narrator still believes he will be able to return to the college.
This is until one executive actually shows him what the letters say. He has no chance of
returning to the school and this is when his actual exile beings. He decides instead of just rolling
over to get a job and start anew. This leads to a string of events that lands him in a high up
position in a society called the “Brotherhood”, and then to a hole in the ground where he lived at
the end of the novel.
In the beginning of the exile it is viewed as shameful. He made a mistake and this was a
punishment. He would have to way of returning to the thing he thought was most important in
the world. He turns it though into the motivation to succeed. Without the exile he would have
never even heard of the “Brotherhood” let alone become a leader to all the African Americans in
New York City at the time. It makes his life better.
The exile also helps him to realize the racism around him and his insignificance. The
Brotherhood views him as only a pawn, because of his skin color he will never be equal to them.
He ends the novel in a self made exile away from the world. He is viewed regularly as invisible
so he decides to actually become invisible and exile himself to a shabby basement home away
from the world that made him. His exile has come full circle.
Sample L
In Heart of Darkness, by Joseph Conrad, a young Englishman, named Marlow, travels to
the Congo with the intention of becoming a steamboat captain, though along the way, he is
drawn to the purpose of pursuing Kurtz, an infamous ivory trader; Marlow achieves his goal of
finding Kurtz, but his pursuit leads him into the heart of evil and results in the degradation of his
morality. While in the Belgian Congo, Marlow becomes morally exiled from reality, isolated in
a microcosm of distorted truth where only purpose is illuminated and where one becomes
indifferent to the ramifications of one’s actions. Far from England, Marlow comes untethered
from his moral compass and the organized structure of England, his native land, cut off from all
remnants of rational human behavior as he travels further towards the center of the Congo.
However, it is through this moral exile that Marlow comes face to face with the epitome of moral
degradation, Kurtz, an encounter that opens his eyes to the truth of his own evil actions.
When Marlow decides to travel to the Congo, he makes the choice to leave behind the
organized civilization of England; he ventures into the chaos of the primordial Congo, cut off
completely from his prior life, both geographically and morally. The structured life which
Marlow led in England, rooted in consistency and comprised of acquaintances who were aware
of the ramifications of their actions, is the exact antithesis to the life he came to lead in the
Congo. Surrounded by indolent Europeans waiting for ivory to fall in their laps, who meanwhile
slaughtering Congolese mercilessly, Marlow begins to lose track of the structured, rational
foundation of his English lifestyle. Marlow soon comes to fixate on the purpose of finding
Kurtz, which leads him further away from his morality, a morality that was intact in England,
before he arrived in the Congo. As Marlow travels further upriver to the Inner Station, and to
Kurtz monotonously working on the steamboat—“attending to the mere incidents of the
surface”—his morality, and thus reality—“fades”—; “the inner truth is hidden.” The closer
Marlow gets to finding Kurtz, the deeper he is lost in a sea of indifference to the truthfully
volatile and evil nature of his own behavior; he becomes callous towards the Congolese and
exhibits no sympathy for the destruction of their lives and country, destruction to which he
actively contributed.
However, when Marlow finally reaches Kurtz, he comes face to face with a reflection of
his own immoral behavior. Such an encounter serves as an enriching, eye-opening turning-point
for Marlow, as he comes to see his own evil in the actions of another Kurtz, and is horrified by
what he sees. When Kurtz proclaims on his deathbed, “The horror, the horror”—a confession to
his own evil actions as a merciless ivory trader & slaughterer of Congolese natives—Marlow
feels as if these words are also his own; the words represent recognition of his own immoral
actions.
In the Congo, Marlow is cut off from his native home of England—cut off from the
structured civilized life in which he was raised, which was full of social regulations and defined
parameters of socially acceptable behaviors & punishments, laws for those who acted outside
such parameters. In the Congo, Marlow is not only exiled from his native home, but morally
exiled, his sense of right & wrong obliterated and distorted by the primordial Congolese
environment where “no judge existed” to regulate on one’s behavior or lack of morality.
However, it is Marlow’s journey into the heart of evil—driven by his pursuit of Kurtz—that
enables him to experience immorality, see it reflected in another’s action as his own, &
understand that such behavior is wrong. In that way, Marlow’s exile serves to open his eyes to
immorality & to see its wrongness, an undeniably enriching lesson & important facet of redefining one’s own morality.
Sample J
To be Exiled is to be cut off from what one knows. In the story of Robinson Crusoe,
Crusoe is stranded on an island with nothing and no-one. While many people would see this
exile as a living hell, Crusoe makes the situation into the best situation possible. While exile can
be alienating it can also be enriching.
Just after the shipwreck Crusoe realizes that he is completely alone and that no one else
survived the shipwreck. As he begins to think and as the realization of his situation sets in he
becomes momentarily depressed. As time passes on the island he makes himself a shelter to stay
in. Creating a shelter to withstand storms is hard labor and Crusoe is without the help of another
person or any kind of technology. To make matters worse he becomes sick during his building
process and there is no one to take care of him or help him finish his shelter.
While Crusoe’s exile is very solitary he does surprisingly well at surviving and thriving.
Crusoe is resourceful and wastes no time before gathering supplies. While his initial condition
appears hopeless, he analyzes the positives and his optimism allows him to be happy that he is
alive. He grows in maturity while stranded and changes from the rebellious man he previously
was. Crusoe never gave up on hope of returning home. Although he was stranded for many
years he was always hoping for a way home. When he meets Friday he makes the best of his
situation and teaches him how to speak English and how to help him by doing daily tasks.
Crusoe turns his exile into a time of growth.
The exile in the story is what creates almost all of the actions in the story. It creates a
troublesome situation for the main character, and gives the character time to grow. Even with
the hardship of alienation Crusoe was able to turn it into an enriching experience.
Sample O
In Franz Kafka’s Victorian era novel “Metamorphosis,” the theme of exile can be seen
through Gregor Samsa’s alienation from “home.”
The opening line of the novel, if following a plot-graph is really the climax of the whole
story. “One morning after disturbing dreams, Gregor woke up a monstrous vermin.” In kicking
off the novel with the explosion at the very beginning, Kafka set up an interesting tack for
himself—to basically assist the reader in figuring out “why?”
Through reading the entire text, we discover that Gregor Samsa was a travelling
salesman, making excellent money, keeping his family housed in a large apartment, though never
being able to enjoy the fruits of his own labour. Constantly on the road, working for an etremely
insensitive, uninvolved, money-hungry boss, Samsa’s feelings of alienation from his home, his
family and the lifestyle he is maintaining for them, was early established. It becomes evident
that Samsa was feeling the full weight of his current state of alienation, and decided to make a
change, rather, force a change. What better way to force change than to turn yourself into a giant
bug?
Through this change it is evident that this was Samsa’s best attempt to a) try and reestablish his own life & b) allow his family to embrace him for what he has done for them.
The down fall of his potentially purposful transformation is that not only was his family
unreceptive of him (with the exception of his sister for a short while at the beginning of the
novel) but he further alienated himself from even the contact of strangers on the outside.
“Home” in a sense became Samsa’s prison. His father, whom he thought to be lazy,
would attack him regularly, even at one point lodging an apple into his insect-son’s back. His
mother, though still loving & protective, could not bare the sight of him, an his sister who
eventually saw her brother as a burden rather than a blessing. He was locked into his room with
nothing but a window, and steadily piling “junk” from the rest of the apartment, accumulating
within his already confined space.
Through his exile, Samsa was able to reflect on his own life, on his family and on his
decision, essentially becoming exactly what his sister thought he was—a burden. In his personal
reflections on his life and family we see a switch in his out look. At first his ‘metamorphosis’ is
a selfish act, allowing change only for himself, and forcing stress onto his family. As the story
progresses we see Samsa begin to worry about his family, and not even his own well being any
longer. He has caused the family to take on boarders to pay the rent, which has put a visible,
additional stress onto the family.
Through to the end of the novel, Gregor Samsa succumbs to his isolation and dies. “It
grew light.” As Gregor Samsa was passing in the early morning, not just in the sense that the
sun was coming up, but in his death he was able, not only to set himself free, but to set his family
free—to allow them their own rebirth.
Through Samsa’s exile from his home and his family, even while living under the same
roof, he was able to evolve from a state of selfish change to a state of unselfish change, enriching
his own life (or perhaps afterlife) along with his family’s.
Sample P
In Shakespeare’s “The Tempest,” Prospero spends the play trying to avenge himself on
the men who exiled him from Milan, his home and dukedom.
He relates to his daughter, Miranda in the first act his usurping brother’s theft of his
dukedom and their exile (she was three at the time, and has forgotten everything before they
arrived on the island). He seems more upset about his brother’s deed than about the exile itself,
but there were alienating elements to the island: he has had to deal with a “hag-born whelp,”
Caliban, who he has enslaved. Caliban does everything grudgingly, claiming the island was his,
and wouldn’t do anything if he wasn’t afraid of Prospero’s magic. And now that Miranda is a
young woman, and apparently gorgeous, he tried to rape her. Prosper does however have pretty
firm control over him, albeit through threads of torture. Prosper longs to be back in his rightful
place as Duke of Milan for 12 years, with no way for it to happen until the very men who ousted
him sail by and he wrecks their ship.
However, the magic he could only study in Milan works marvelously on this island. It
was interesting theory there (and will be when he goes back, as he gives up his staff and cloak in
the epilogue), but here he can harness a storm, control sprites to do his bidding, send hedgehogs
to poke Caliban into submission. He has all the provisions he and his child could need there. It
has not been a particularly bad exile, comparatively. He will have to actually live in the world of
politics when they get back, and no longer in his library, to prove that he is the deserving brother.
But the driving force of the piece is revenge for exiling him. Everything he loves is here
on the island, but it can’t make up for treachery and usurpation. He will have his dukedom back,
giving up his magic, his daughter (to marriage) and the freedom from politics, plans and greed to
go back home.
Sample D
The Odyssey is a novel about a man and his wife who were madly in love, and he had to
leave on a ship, but he promised her and his son that he would return. Well as the story would
have it, he got lost at sea. He was completely separated from his family and his homeland, with
no means of communication, and not knowing if he would ever return. However, he had made a
promise to his family, and he was determined to keep it.
Odeseus was miserable without his wife and son, in complete exile. He missed them so
much, and longed for the day that he would see and hold them again. At last he saw land, it was
not his homeland, but it was land! The closer he got to the shore, he could see people on the
island. He was greeted and invited into the kingdom by a group of beautiful women. Being
away from people for so long, Odeseus had become very lonely, and in being with all the
gorgeous women, he had cheated on his wife. He still longed to be back home, so he left the
island to continue on his journey.
It had been years since Odeseus’ people had seen him, everyone was sure he was dead,
everyone but his wife. She still longed for the day he would return to her, as did he. Being away
from her for so long and even being with other women, Odeseus was miserable. However, going
through all that he had dealt with, he realized how much he truly loved his wife and just how
much she meant to him. He loved her before, yet, but now it was even more clear, he didn’t
want or need anyone or anything else as long as he had her.
Finally, after years and years of struggling, Odeseus made it home. His wife was
overjoyed and filled with so many emotions; she knew he would come home to her. His son was
all grown up, but he was excited to see them both, more excited than he had ever been. Being in
exile had made Odeseus absolutely miserable, but it made him see things in a new light, and after
he was happier and so much more grateful than he had ever been in his life.
Sample Q
In the novel Discrace the protagonist David Lurie who can be described as a symbol of
Aparti had experienced exile from his home and job, as a professor at an University. Where
David lives he sees himself as a man of absolute power, being the man that he is, David
womanized countless women for his personal pleasure. David began to see this beautiful young
girl named Melane who was old enough to be his daughter. She had a pure heart and loved
David, but as stubborn as David is he only used Melane for her body.
David experince exile from his job and he moved in with his daughter, in the country part
of Africa. Being as though David and his daughter were white times are different now then they
once were in David’s time. David’s experience with exile was alienating because nothing was
on David’s side anymore; race, social class, power. It was all gone, it was as if David was on
another planet far away from earth.
It was enriching however because David had to learn that you can never stay in the past
because time and life will pass you by. David soon changed how he thinks through the pain and
discrace that he had to experience in the country part of South Africa. David’s experience
illuminates the meaning of the novel Discrace which is change throughout pain.
Sample R
As Edward Said has written, separation between a character and his home can be an
“unhealable rift” but also “a potent, even enriching” experience. Joseph Conrad in his novel
Heart of Darkness explores this exact dichotemy that Said has written about. Using the character
Kurtz, Conrad writes about the alienating experience for Kurtz heading into the “Heart of
Darkness.” While Kurtz may have had an alienating experience in the darkness of the African
jungle, his effect on Marlow is one that is very enriching, illuminating the meaning of the work
as a whole.
The book begins as Marlow heads into the jungle in search of Kurtz at the Inner Station.
Marlow has heard of the “beacon of light” in the darkness that is Kurtz. He hears from everyone
what a masterful trader of ivory Kurtz is and how humane Kurtz is. However, Kurtz is a very
different man when Marlow finally meets him at the end of the novel. Before Marlow even sees,
Kurtz, he gets to the house and sees heads of natives on sticks, facing in towards the house. This
image is not what Marlow expected he would find. Then Kurtz himself appears on the verge of
death, skeletal and beaten. As they try to bring him into the boat Kurtz crawls back into the
jungle. This fantastic image shows that Kurtz has become alienated during his extended stay at
the Inner Station. He has reverted back to his animal instincts as he attempts to crawl and claw
his way back into the jungle his new home. When Kurtz is finally subdued his “opens his mouth
voraciously as to consume the Earth.” This primitive image that Conrad uses, explores Kurtz’s
detachment and alienation from civilized society.
While Kurtz’s story in itself is one of alienation from the civilized world, his ending has a
profound effect on Marlow. Kurtz’s demise is a gain for Marlow because he is able to gain self
awareness from this point in the novel. Marlow’s experience in interacting with Kurtz is
enriching because it answers his question: what is the darkness? Darkness, according to
Marlow, is the freedom to be oneself. As he says in the book, darkness is civilized society when
there is nobody watching. There are no rules, no neighbors to check on someone, no police to
make sure one obeys the laws. Marlow’s enriching experience is one that comes as to who can
survive the darkness, the freedom of uncivilized society. Obviously Kurtz could not, but Marlow
questions who really can survive. Marlow also gains an enriching experience when he hears
Kurtz say “The horror, the horror.” At this point, Kurtz is breathing his last words but he has a
spiritual awakening to all the travesties that he has committed. For Kurtz to say “The horror, the
horror,” shows that he has been enriched by his experience with the darkness of the African
jungle. He recognizes what he has done was wrong. While he does not survive his time in the
Inner Station, Kurtz does impact his enriching experience on Marlow who employs Kurtz’s
epiphany to enrich his own experience in the jungle.
In his novel Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad uses Kurtz and his experience to highlight
an important theme in the novel: what is the darkness. At the beginning of the novel, before the
theme has become clear, Marlow says how England was once a darkness that the Romans
conquered. Reading this statement early on does not do much for the reader, but upon
understanding Conrad’s argument about the darkness it is clear that the major theme of the work
is what is the darkness of society. To explore this complex theme, Conrad masterfully uses
character development and plot to explore his argument about the darkness in society.
Sample V
Exile forces a variety of mixed feelings and emotions, “The unhealable rift” occurs as
one must separate from a past setting. In The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini Amir experiences
an enormous sense of alienation and enrichment when he comes to America and struggles with
emotions between the two lands to portray the theme only salvation leads to peace of mind.
Amir exhibits alienation on many different levels. The strongest source of alienation is
from himself. He struggles with the guilt of forcing his servant and friend Hassan to leave him
and his father by framing him. The guilt magnifies as Amir must live knowing he did nothing to
prevent the rape of Hassan by Assef. Amir alienates his thoughts and guilts by trying to escape
them in America. Also, Baba, Amir’s father, further alienates his son. Baba’s bitter attitude
towards his arrival in America from his homeland causes him to alienate his son even more than
in Afghanistan. Amir misses the days after his redemption in Baba’s mind following his win of
the kite fighting tournament. Many in Afghanistan alienated those who escaped to America,
which is evident by the driver. Amir does not realize the poverty throughout the region and tries
to redeem himself by stashing some money in the poor family’s bedroom. Exhile often evolves
from alienation and allows enrichment to occur as well.
Amir experiences enriching experiencers and oppurtunities in America. The schooling in
America along with more free time allows Amir’s writing career to take off. The success of his
writing career serves as another source of redemption for Amir. Only Rahim Khan supported his
writing skills and Amir finally feels worthy of the praise. Amir also experiences the oppurtunity
of marriage. Amir’s wife, Soraya, serves as his cornerstone and eventually Amir’s will to live.
The most important enrichment experience occurs for Amir while in America. His chance at
redemption becomes evident as he must save Hassan’s son Sohrab after learning Hassan’s blood
is on his hands. The demons swirling throughout Amir’s mind release themselves during Amir’s
beating at the hands of Assef. Amir begins to laugh as he realizes his redemption with Hassan
taking the beating for his son. Upon adopting Sohrab, Amir’s full redemption occurs when he
runs the kite for Sohrab and takes the place of Hassan when they were boys.
Exhile causes many to reflect upon past events as well as adjust to new conditions. Amir
and his father were forced to leave Afghanistan to preserve their lives. The alienation one
receives is normal. The real benefit of exhile or prevention from a past setting are the
enrichment oppurtunities as Amir finally achieved redemption and peace of mind.
Sample G
In A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce, Stephen Dedalus is alienated
from many aspects of his life, including religion, family, country, and purpose. Though
alienated, Stephen learns to accept a new role and purpose in life.
Stephen initially attended religious colleges and schools and was subject to religious
debate within the family. One argument in the family was whether God or country came first.
Though Stephen initially accepted religion, his faith wained over the years. During this time,
Stephen also had few friends and wished that he could be with his parents. Stephen’s rebellion
against religion contributed to alienation from his family. Stephen knew that his father was a
nostalgic, living in the past and not the present. But when Stephen’s mother was dying, he
refused to pray for her, even though she asked him to. This shows Stephen’s determination to
abandon his old ways and move on.
Even when at university, Stephen still felt apart from the other students. During this
time, he was thinking much abstractly and even contemplating athestic theory. He got into
arguments with his classmates concerning religion and Ireland, which he considered to be weak
as a country. Stephen tried teaching, but found that it did not match his purpose. All of the
events that alienated Stephen from all aspects of his life contributed to his decision to leave his
home and Ireland to become an artist. This was an unconventional move but necessary for
Stephen.
A Portrait details the psychological development of Stephen. This is accomplished using
the stream of consciousness narration technique and detailing Stephen’s life from early
childhood to early adulthood. By illustrating Stephen’s struggles, obstacles, and alienation,
Joyce presented a situation in which a character would age, realize his mistakes, learn from the
past, and plan for the future. Stephen was able to use the alienation of his early life to decide to
abandon his current state to become an artist.
A Portrait is a novel that most people can relate to, especially teenagers or young adults.
The novel is written in a way that seems like a person’s thinking. The chronicle of Stephen’s
life, filled with upset and alienation as young persons may be (i.e. teenage rebellion), illustrates a
psychological realism. Stephen’s ability to survive through alienation and turn his troubles into a
new, enriched life, or at least a decision to start one, demonstrates how past experiences shape
our future decisions and life in general. Stephen left his family, friends, country, and life behind
to start one that better suited him.
Sample VV
As Edward Said has written, “Exile can be essential sadness or potent and enriching.” A
novel that fits this similar description is The Odyssey.
Sample JJ
In Joseph Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness”, Marlow’s story of separation from Europe as he
travels to the Congo alienates him from civilization and the British “common law” but also
enriches his understanding of colonialism by realizing the romantic view of it in Europe
compared to the reality of it in Africa. His experience and trials illuminate the hypocrisy and
waste of imperialism and that his message has not reached the shores of Europe.
Though Kurtz seems the obvious exile in “Heart of Darkness”, Marlow seems to gain a
greater level of understanding from his own “exile” to the Congo as he sees not only the waste
and irony in colonialism but also that the “Heart of Darkness” is not in Africa but in Europe. As
he first sails to the Congo he sees a French battleship firing into the jungle. This image not only
conveys the hypocrisy of colonialism but also the mindlessness and waste. The European
nations have, according to themselves, come to Africa to “civilize” and make the native Africans
more European. But shooting and trying to kill them is certainly not what they are claiming to be
there for. In addition, the battleship fires indiscriminantly into the jungle without a specific
target or even knowing if people are shooting at them. The mindlessness and waste reflect and
symbolize the view Marlow comes to understand of imperialism as a whole. Throughout the
book Marlow sees the native Africans treated terribly and abused by the colonists, and yet the
colonists refer to the natives as the savages who need to be civilized. It is these understanding of
Colonialism that Marlow gains from his exile as opposed to this original view of it as a dignified
and honorable thing to do.
But Marlow’s journey also gives him the feeling of alienation and remoteness from
everything he knows and allows him to relate to Kurtz. As he travels up the Congo River into
the “Heart of Darkness,” he gradually loses more and more connection to Europe. The trading
stations and European goods become less and less frequent as he literally and metaphorically
loses his connection to Europe. By the time he reaches Kurtz, it is as if he is in a different world
which visually and culturally has no resemblance to the one he knows. But when he finally
meets and comes to understand Kurtz, he realizes his greatest alienation from his home which is
the lack of civilization, the thing he apparently came to do. Without any laws or society to hold
up a code of ethics or boundaries, everything is relative. Kurtz’s cruelty and prejudice to the
natives is egregious when compared to the laws of Europe but when compared to the force of the
natives on him, doesn’t seem morally or ethically wrong. It is the lack of literal boundaries in
Africa or “The Heart of Darkness” but also of metaphorical boundaries that alienated Marlow
and The Congo so much from Europe.
Marlow’s exile is only the story within the story of “Heart of Darkness: and the reader
only hears it as Marlow tells it to a young sailor with a romanticized view of colonialism. It is
through Marlow’s journey and exile to the Congo that Conrad warns the reader of the dangers of
manipulation of colonialism and tries to prevent it in the future.
2010—Sample Essays
Scores
Essay #1—Poetry—Waniek’s “The Century Quilt”
SSS
Z
W
RR
LLL
MM
RRR
7
1
6
4
9
2
5
UU
GGG
Q
QQ
JJ
LL
PP
3
8
4
4
2
6
5
O
GG
T
S
X
3
5
8
4
9
Essay #2—Prose—Edgeworth’s Belinda
SSSS
Q
U
M
Y
9
1
6
2
7
Essay #3—Open Question—Exile
H
M
N
K
L
J
O
P
D
Q
R
V
G
VV
JJ
1
1
3
5
9
4
7
5
2
2
8
6
6
0
9
AP - Tips 2008
1. Finish FIVE or more Major Works Data Sheets.
a. Consider cause/effect relationships among characters and plot.
b. Complete themes from subjects to sentences that reveal the author’s message
about love, violence, alienation, etc.
c. Find two quotations or two specific examples for each theme.
d. Consider how you would develop some of the prior AP questions.
2. Review and consider how you could develop prior AP poetry and prose essays that you
have written.
3. Read your old essays both in class and out of class.
4. Review the following chapters in your Composition and Literature book. These chapters
will remind you how to think of level 2 issues. They will also help you to review
rhetorical strategies and literary conventions.
a. Chap. 3 - Characterization
b. Chap. 4 – Setting
c. Chap. 5 – Plot and Sructure
d. Chap 6 – Point of View
e. Chap. 14 – Poetry
f. Any other chapter that deals with your areas of relative weakness. Of course,
none of you have serious deficiencies
5. Review literary terms. Apply them to works you have studied.
a. Several will appear in the multiple choice sections.
b. You will be able to use them coherently and intelligently
in your essay responses.
c. It is an excellent means to review the literature you have studied
6. TAKE A FULL LENGTH PRACTICE TEST
TEST TAKING TIPS
ESSAYS:
1. Budget your time on the essays.
A. Each essay is read by a separate person.
B. No consideration is given to a rushed answer if the other two appear to be
exceptional.
The Exam and Course Design
C. If you do find yourself rushed on the last response, write as logically as you can. Any
response that is on-topic will receive a few points. A score of zero is reserved for
blank or off-topic responses.
2. Get the genre right in essays. Don’t call plays novels, etc.
3. PREWRITE! Use the SOAPStone and TP CASTT methods to prewrite.
4. If you are the type of writer that finds your thesis as you write, leave a space at the beginning
of the essay. When you discover the focus/thesis, go back to the blank space and write a
cogent thesis.
5. If you are the type of writer who can find a focus easily BUT cannot elaborate for a fully
developed essay, remember ASR. Also, ask yourself critical and essential questions:
A. “How do I know this?”
B. “What is the impact of the characters’ actions or inactions?”
C. “How do setting and structure affect what I understand about the work as a whole?”
6. Don't write about a work that you read in ninth grade unless you have reviewed it recently.
7. Beware of stage productions, videos, or movies; sometimes producers change things.
8. Don't oversimplify to eliminate a possible contradiction or inconsistency; acknowledge
ambiguity instead.
9. Don't over interpret; you don't need to read in a fancy interpretation to impress your reader.
10. Do not summarize the plot. A fine line exists between plot summary and ASR.
11. Include theme, purpose, or central insight, even if the prompt does not explicitly ask for it.
12. Address all parts of the prompt. Do not omit more than one part.
13. Support your argument by apt and specific reference to the text.
14. Don't worry if you don't recognize the selection; write about what you see in the text in front
of you.
15. Even if you recognize the selection, still, write about the text presented in the question, not
about the rest of the work. The poem and prose essays are meant to test your ability to read
closely and extrapolate BIG IDEAS from just what is given to you.
16. Notice any information given about the author, type of work, date of publication, use it in
your essay, and get it right.
17. Don’t be stymied by vague terms like "style" or "techniques" or "use of language." Find
something that makes sense and write about it. Each year the test development committee
71
The Exam and Course Design
throws in terms that are vaguely familiar sounding. They do this to separate the students who are
at ease with literary analysis from those who are still novices.
18. Write something you like! Show off what you know! Be happy with what you say, and be
sure it makes sense to you. If you are confused by what you write, the reader certainly will be
baffled.
MULTIPLE CHOICE:.
1. Read multiple choice selections carefully. Underline key passages on your copy of the test
booklet.
2. Key words to note: but, if, when, however, nonetheless
3. Pronouns are key in understanding the intricacies of any passage, but are particularly helpful
in understanding older works.
A. If the speaker uses “thou,” “thine,” “thy,” she/he is familiar with the person being
addressed and you can probably assume that the audience is one person.
B. If the speaker uses “you” in older works you can assume a degree of formality or age
difference between the speaker and audience.
4. Bring a pencil for the multiple choice. You may use a pen on the essay. In fact, unless you
are an extremely messy writer, it is advisable to use pen. Scratch outs are fine.
REFRESHMENTS WILL BE SERVED BEFORE THE EXAM
MAY 6TH
6:30 – 7:15
ROOM 205
AP Syllabus for the AP Course Audit
AP Literature and Composition:
72
The Exam and Course Design
Prerequisite: American Literature either at the AP or College Prep Junior Level
Course Description:
Our district’s English curriculum at the high school level is divided into two levels,
college preparatory and advanced/advanced placement. Advanced levels at the 9th and 10th grade
feed into Advanced Placement at the 11th and 12th grades. Both college preparatory and
advanced level English classes are designed to prepare students for college level work. Students
may and are encouraged to move between the two levels as needed. AP Senior English,
therefore, is a course open to all students who want to meet the challenge of a college level
English course. Typically our graduating class size is between 180 and 200 students. This year
our senior class is unusually large at 212. Ninety-four are enrolled in the class and all will take
the Literature and Composition Exam in May. Of the 94 current AP senior students, 88 of them
took AP Junior English along with the AP Language and Composition exam. Six others moved
up from our college preparatory level because they wanted an additional challenge. Students
who wish to move from the college preparatory level, must read Beloved by Toni Morison and
The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien, which were additional works read by AP juniors, and
complete essay assessments. They also take a sample AP multiple choice test. It is our desire to
have an open access policy, but at the same time make certain students know the rigor of our
Advanced Placement curriculum. Our ultimate goal is to produce perceptive readers, cogent
writers, and critical thinkers.
The district curriculum follows a fairly traditional curricular format of genre study at the
9th and 10th grade levels, American literature at the 11th grade, and British/World masterpieces at
the 12th grade. That said, we have the flexibility to add literature that does not strictly follow the
American or British format. For instance, our juniors read Night by Elie Wiessel and seniors
study works such as A Doll House, Things Fall Apart, and Grendel. Students entering the 12th
grade AP Literature course will have completed a year of American literature during their junior
year. American literature is, therefore, a prerequisite. Students are responsible to read a major
work every two to three weeks. Related shorter works and poetry are incorporated with each
longer novel/play. All works are studied from both a macroscopic/thematic and
microscopic/language levels. While the AP Literature Exam focuses on imaginative works,
we also include works of nonfiction. Students read essays from many of the authors they
study such as Ibsen, Conrad and Achebe. Through this study of nonfiction the literature course
continues the works of the junior AP Language course, using these models to teach rhetorical
principles. Students will continue to study rhetoric to enhance both their reading and
writing skills. In a effort to move students beyond Formalism, which has become rote for many,
other schools of literary criticism are introduced.
As a department, we value writing as an opportunity to learn. By the time students are
enrolled in AP Senior English, they are well trained in the writing process and in writing for
multiple audiences in varied modes. Each year, whether in college prep or in AP English,
students write, revise and edit personal narratives, literary analyses,
argumentative/persuasive essays, reader response essays, and a research paper. They are
also given multiple creative and timed writing assignments. Senior AP students write two five to
seven page literary analyses per quarter in addition to personal and creative writing assignments.
They average an in-class timed writing assessment every other week. During third quarter
students write a 10 to 12 page research paper focusing on the works of one author. They may
also choose to write a literary topic paper. Some examples of topic papers are: “Chaos Theory
in Modern Literature,” “Gender Bias in Shakespeare, Ibsen, and Beckett,” and “New Historicism
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The Exam and Course Design
and the Evolution of the Mystery.” At all grade levels, teachers require peer evaluation and
teacher conferences as part of the writing process. AP Senior English students are given an
additional revision opportunity. If they are not happy with their final grade on a paper,
they may conference with me and do an additional rewrite. In sum, students are given
regular opportunities to practice the writing process for multiple audiences and purposes.
A Socratic seminar format comprises the majority of class discussions, but students also engage
in small group discussions as well of online chats about works they have read.
Art, music, and technology augment writing and reading components of the class. Art and music
supplement students’ understanding of historical eras and cultures. Students and teacher often
integrate technology into presentations and lessons which focus on art, music and other
interdisciplinary connections. Included are schedules by quarter rather than by units. While
theme, as well as historical/cultural influences, is emphasized with each work, the course is not
designed thematically nor chronologically. Rather works are chosen to expose students to a wide
range of literature encompassing older as well as more modern works, all major genres, and
varied stylistic responses to universal and topical concerns. Writing assignments are devised
to require students to draw thematic connections among works studied, consider
historical/cultural influences, and show an understanding of genre.
Unit Name or Timeframe: Summer Reading
Content and/or Skills Taught: Analytical Reading and Writing, Drama Characteristics,
Appreciation and Understanding of the Craft of Poetry, Satire (Brave New World), Tragedy
(Othello, The Tempest) Intertextual Relationships, Characterization, Plot Structure, Setting,
Theme, and Tone, Personal Narrative
Major Assignments and/or Assessments (if needed to demonstrate that a curricular requirement
is being met):
Unit Name or Timeframe: Quarter 1 (9 weeks) – We are on a modified block schedule. Classes
meet for 50 minutes on Monday, Tuesday, and Friday. On Wednesday and Thursday we meet
with half of classes each day for a 90 minute period.
Content and/or Skills Taught: Critical reading of drama, poetry, nonfiction, and novels;
Composition of personal and literary analyses; Applying literary theory (feminism, Marxism,
Psychoanalytical, New Historicism, and Deconstructionism); Sustained literary allusion
(Beowulf/Grendel); History of the English Language; Analysis of satire (“A Modest Proposal”
and Brave New World). Concepts associated with Aristotle’s theory of tragedy. Historical and
cultural background early English literature, the Renaissance, and 20th century modernism.
Major Works Studied:
Othello
Brave New World
The Tempest
Beowulf (excerpt)
Grendel
Consolations of Philosophy
“The Metamorphosis
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The Exam and Course Design
Shorter Works Studied:
“Shooting an Elephant” – George Orwell
“A Modest Proposal” – Jonathan Swift
Various Literary Criticism
Poetry by Browning, Tennyson, Eliot, Yeats, Wilber, Blake, Beard, Wilbur, Roethke, Sagoff,
Shakespeare, Donne, Marvel, Pope
English: Literature and Composition 1st Quarter, 2007
Assignments are due on the day listed. If you are absent for any reason, you are expected to
continue with the reading assignments. You are responsible for accessing missed handouts and
assignments through Blackboard.
This schedule will be updated on Blackboard as needed.
August 23 (Th)
Introductions and Expectations
August 24 (F)
Reading Check The Tempest; Summer Writing Assignments Due
August 27 (M)
August 28 (T)
August 29/30 (W/Th)
August 31(F)
Seminar – Othello
Seminar – The Tempest; HW: Read handouts on tragedy
Seminar – Brave New World, Othello, and The Tempest;
Background notes on Aristotle’s theory of tragedy/Performance of
Student Monologues based on The Tempest
Seminar – Poetry from summer reading; HW: MWDS* on each
novel/play from summer work due on Tuesday. Read and annotate
“The Lamb” and “The Tyger.”
September 3 (M)
September 4 (T)
Labor Day
Lecture Blake and Archetypes; Discuss Blake’s “The Lamb” and
“The Tyger”/Archetypes/ handouts; MWDS from summer reading
due
September 5/6(W/Th)
Shakespeare and Blake Group Work/Analysis of Diction, Syntax
and Devices of Poetry (WAL)***
September 7(F)
I.C.E.** #1 (This is a timed writing assignment that will evaluated and
feedback given by both teachers and peers. Prior to writing students will have examined models
of timed writings on other prompts. Students will use a rubric that I have added to the end of this
syllabus to both review peer samples and their own essay. They will then set goals for
improvement based on the skills most need whether that be developing: a wide-ranging
vocabulary used appropriately and effectively, a variety of sentence structures, including
appropriate use of subordination and coordination, logical organization, enhanced by specific
techniques to increase coherence, such as repetition, transitions, and emphasis, a balance of
generalization and specific, illustrative detail, an effective use of rhetoric, including controlling
tone, establishing and maintaining voice, and achieving appropriate emphasis through diction
and sentence structure. Together, the teacher and student will monitor and evaluate progress
toward these mutually agreed upon goals.
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The Exam and Course Design
September 10 (M)
September 11 (T)
September 12/13 (W/Th)
September 14 (F)
September 17(M)
September 18 (T)
September 19/20 (W/Th)
September 21(F)
September 24 (M)
September 25 (T)
September 26/27 (W/Th)
September 28(F)
College Essays – Bring rough draft to school
“Shooting an Elephant” by George Orwell (PH)****/Levels of
Questions/Rhetorical Strategies
College Essay Work Day /AP Multiple Choice #1/Review I.C.E.
(See September 7)
Review Elements of Satire/ HW: Read and Annotate “A Modest
Proposal” (handout)
Review Multiple Choice; Reading Check and Discussion of “A
Modest Proposal”; HW: Read and Annotate Satiric Poetry
(handout)
Seminar: Satiric Poetry (Shakespeare/Donne/Marvel/ Pope)
Satire Group Project/ Conferences on College Essays
College Essays Due (Out of Class Essay #1) See Summer
Reading. Students are to bring a college essay begun during their
junior year on the first day of class. The teacher will have been
conferencing with them individually from August 23 to this date
when the final is due. Students also have the option of meeting
after school for both teacher and peer feedback sessions. They will
still have revision and conference opportunities after the paper is
graded; Satire Group Presentations
Finish Satire Presentations; Lecture Beowulf , Old English, and
Grendel; Review Epic Properties
Introduction of Literary Constructs (Marxism, Feminism,
Psychoanalytical, New Historicism and Deconstructionism)/HW:
Read Introductory Article (in Bedford Hamlet book) on Assigned
Literary Construct
Group Work: Discuss Assigned Literary Construct Article with
Group Members; Apply to a Work of Literature Studied this Year;
HW: Work on Group Presentation through Blackboard
Special Person’s Day 8:30 – 11:15
October 1 (M)
Literary Construct Group Presentations; HW: Read and Annotate
Beowulf , “The Myth of Sisyphus,” and Related Poems for Block
Day (handout)
and Related Poems for Block Day (handout)
October 2 (T)
Literary Construct Group Presentations, cont.
October 3/4 (W/Th)
Seminar and Group Work Beowulf, “The Myth of Sisyphus,” and
Related Poems (Sagoff, Wilber, Roethke, and Beard) College
Essays Returned(Rewrites due Oct. 12) See September 21 for
further explanation.
October 5(F)
Beowulf/Grendel Reading Check (MWDS #4)
Students should have completed one teacher conference (This conference centers on
writing feedback and is held during their study halls, before or after school.)
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The Exam and Course Design
October 8 (M)
October 9 (T)
October 10/11(W/Th)
October 12 (F)
Beowulf/Grendel Seminar
AP Multiple Choice#2; Group Work Beowulf/Grendel
Finish Group Work Beowulf/Grendel;Review Multiple Choice #2
Present Poetic Parodies of Beowulf/Grendel
-October 15 (M)
Writer’s Workshop: Bring Draft of Out of Class Essay #2 - 5 to 7
pages on Beowulf/Grendel. Choose a literary construct for your
focus. Final Draft Due October 16 in Blackboard by 6:00 PM
(Writers workshop entails both teacher and peer feedback)
Introduction to Major Philosophers and Philosophical Constructs;
HW: Read Assigned Chapters in Consolations of Philosophy
Group Work on Assigned Philosophers in Consolations of
Philosophy; HW: Finish Consolations of Philosophy.
No School
October 16 (T)
October 17/18 (W/Th)
October 19(F)
October 22 (M)
October 23 (T)
October 24/25 (W/Th)
October 26 (F)
No School
Reading Check and Seminar on Consolations of Philosophy; HW:
Read and Annotate “The Metamorphosis” (handout)
Seminar on “The Metamorphosis”; Group Work: Application of
Literary Constructs and Philosophy to “The Metamorphosis”
I.C.E. # 2 (See September 7)
*MWDS = Major Works Data Sheet
**I.C.E. = In Class Essay
***Writing About Literature = WAL
****Prentice Hall Anthology = PH
Unit Name or Timeframe: Quarter 2 (9 weeks)
Content and/or Skills Taught:
This quarter we focus heavily on drama, the Renaissance and Victorian Ages, poetry, and
continue our study of satire, comedy and tragedy. With Kipling, Conrad, and Achebe we look at
imperialism. We continue to study how literary devices and rhetorical strategies impact meaning
in texts. Students continue to apply literary constructs and philosophy to their reading and
writing assignments. More emphasis is given to literary criticism in preparation for the Literary
Specialist research paper.
Literary Specialist (10-12 Page Literary Research Paper Introduced (Assignment Follows 2nd
Quarter Schedule)
Composition: Timed Writing, Creative Writing, Out-of Class Essay
Major Works Studied:
Hamlet
A Doll House
The Importance of Being Earnest
Heart of Darkness
Things Fall Apart
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The Exam and Course Design
Shorter Works:
Various Articles of Literary Criticism
19th Century Poets: R. Browning, E. Browning, Tennyson, Arnold, Kipling, Rossetti, Hopkins,
Hardy, Houseman
English: Literature and Composition Quarter 2, 2007
Assignments are due on the day listed. If you are absent for any reason, you are expected to
continue with the reading assignments. You are responsible for accessing missed handouts and
assignments through Blackboard.
This schedule will be updated on Blackboard as needed.
October 29 (M)
October 30 (T)
Lecture on Renaissance, Hamlet, and Sonnets; Sonnet Activity
Sonnet Group work (Analyze a Shakespearean Sonnet and Write a
Parody)/Out of Class Essay #2 Returned (Rewrite due November
6) (See October 15)
Oct./Nov. 31/1 (W/Th)
Sonnet Parodies Presented/Hamlet Group work(Close Reading of
the Soliloquies)
Hamlet Reading Check/ MWDS #5 /HW: Read assigned critical
article in Bedford text
November 2 (F)
November 5 (M)
November 6/7 (T/W)
November 8(Th)
November 9(F)
November 12/13 (M/T)
I.C.E #2 Returned (See September 7); Seminar on Hamlet and
Critical Articles
Group Work Hamlet by Acts
Hamlet Group Presentations
Parent Conferences.
November 16 (F)
I.C.E. #3 (See September 7)(Hamlet) / Lecture: Comedy vs.
Tragedy
Analyze Current Comedies and Tragedies
Multiple Choice #3; Lecture: Ibsen and Wilde: Two Faces of the
19th Century
A Doll House and The Importance of Being Earnest impromptus
November 19-20(M/T)
November 21-23 (W/Th/F)
Senior Trip
Thanksgiving
November 26 (M)
I.C.E. #3 Returned(See September 7)/ Reading Check A Doll
House and The Importance of Being Earnest/ MWDS’s #6 and #7
Due
Seminar: A Doll House and The Importance of Being Earnest/
HW: Write Précis of Assigned Literary Criticism
November 14 (W)
November 15(Th)
November 27 (T)
78
The Exam and Course Design
November 28/29(W/Th)
November 30 (F)
December 3 (M)
December 4 (T)
December 5/6(W/Th)
December 7 (F)
Ibsen/Wilde: Group Work – Write a Creative One Act Play (an
example of creative/nonacademic writing
assignment)Incorporating Characters from DH and Importance
Introduce Literary Specialist (a major writing assignment that
requires instruction throughout the assignment. The rubrics are
attached. – Media Center
Ibsen/Wilde Enactments
Ibsen/Wilde Enactments
Introduction to Heart of Darkness and Things Fall Apart /Kipling
and Yeats (Group Work)
Writer’s Workshop Out-of Class Paper #3:(See Oct. 15) 5-7 Page
Paper Comparing and Contrasting Two of the Three Playwrights
Studied 2nd Quarter (Ibsen, Wilde, Shakespeare). Must Include
Literary Criticism and Philosophical References for Support. First
Draft due December 12/13; Final Draft Due December 17.
Students should have completed a 2nd quarter teacher conference. (This conference centers
on writing feedback and is held during their study halls, before or after school.)
December 10 (M)
December 11 (T)
December 12/13 (W/Th)
December 14 (F)
December 17(M)
December 18 (T)
December 19/20W/Th)
December 21 (F)
January 7 (M)
January 8 (T)
January 9/10 (W/Th)
January 11 (F)
Victorian Poetry
Victorian Poetry /Literary Specialist Work Day/Author or Topic
Due
I.C.E. #4 (See September 7) (Poetry), AP Multiple Choice #4 and
Test on Poetic Devices
Heart of Darkness Reading Check/MWDS #8/HW: Read one of
the Assigned Critical Articles in Heart of Darkness Text as
Preparation for Seminar
Heart of Darkness: Seminar/HW: Comparative essay due
(Shakespeare and Ibsen and/or Wilde) Out of Class Essay #3 in
Blackboard/Turn It In by 6:00 PM:(See Oct. 15)
Heart of Darkness: Literary Construct Group Work/I.C.E. #4
Returned (See September 7)/ HW: Read excerpts from Wuthering
Heights and Frankenstein; Choose One of the Two Novels, due
February 20.
Heart of Darkness: Literary Construct Group Work/Sign Up for
Novel of Choice: Wuthering Heights OR Frankenstein
Heart of Darkness: Literary Construct Group Work Presentations
Things Fall Apart Reading Check/MWDS #9/Out of Class Essay
#3 Returned (Rewrites due January 14). :(See Oct. 15)
Seminar: Things Fall Apart/ HW: Analyze Assigned Chapters
Multiple Choice Portion of Exam
Things Fall Apart Group Work by Assigned Chapters; Present by
Groups on Monday and Tuesday
79
The Exam and Course Design
January 14 (M)
January 15 (T)
January 17-19 (W,Th,F)
Things Fall Apart Chapter Presentations (Rewrites Out of Class
Essay #3 due in BB by 6:00)
Things Fall Apart Chapter Presentations/HW: Read and Annotate
Rhetorical Strategies, “An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad’s
Heart of Darkness” and Write an Extended definition of Racism.
Due January 22nd
Exams
Unit Name or Timeframe: Quarter 3 (9 weeks)
Content and/or Skills Taught:
We will return to satire and the ideas associated with the Neoclassical period. Pride and
Prejudice will be the cornerstone of this unit and will provide a springboard to the Romantic era.
We continue to study how literary devices and rhetorical strategies impact meaning in texts.
Students continue to apply literary constructs and philosophy to their reading and writing
assignments. The bulk of the Literary Specialist paper is done during this quarter.
Literary Specialist (10-12 Page Literary Research Paper Completed
Composition: Timed Writing, Creative Writing, Out-of Class Essay
Major Works Studied:Apocalypse Now
Pride and prejudice
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
Wuthering Heights or Frankenstein
Shorter Works:
Various Articles of Literary Criticism and Political Cartoons
Poetry: Eliot, Yeats, MacLeish, Sexton, Auden, Wordsworth, Coleridge, Shelley, Byron, Keats,
Milton, Blake, Excerpts from Dante if time permits
English: Literature and Composition Quarter 3, 2008
Assignments are due on the day listed. If you are absent for any reason, you are expected to
continue with the reading assignments. You are responsible for accessing missed handouts and
assignments through Blackboard.
This schedule will be updated on Blackboard as needed.
January 21 (M)
MLK Day
January 22 (T)
Discuss Critical Articles/Practice Thesis Writing /
January 23/24 (W/Th)
January 25 (F)
Prepare Debates: Conrad and Achebe: Racists?/Literary Specialist
Preliminary Works Cited Page/Notes and Tentative Thesis
Statement Due/ Introductory activities for Pride and Prejudice due
February 6/7
Debates
80
The Exam and Course Design
January (M)
January 29 (T)
January 30/31 (W/Th)
February 1 (F)
February 4 (M)
February 5(T)
February 8 (F)
Review Exam/Identify Writing and Multiple Choice Reading
Goals for 2nd semester/Begin Apocalypse Now
Apocalypse Now/ HW: Read Assigned Critical Article on Heart of
Darkness and Apocalypse Now, due February 4
Apocalypse Now
Apocalypse Now
Discuss Apocalypse Now and Critical Articles/Literary Specialist
Works Cited and Notes Due
18th and 19th Century Satiric Cartoons/Northrup Frye and Satire/
AP Multiple Choice #5/ Peer Edit 1st Draft of Out of Class
Paper #4; 5-7 Page Comparative Paper on Two of the
following: Heart of Darkness, Things Fall Apart, Apocalypse
Now; Literary Construct that Compliments Thesis and at
Least One Critical Article; Final Draft due February 11 by 6:00
in Blackboard
Pride and Prejudice Group Work: Structure, Style, and Satire
Students should have completed a 3rd quarter teacher conference. (This conference centers on
writing feedback and is held during their study halls, before or after school.)
February 11 (M)
February 12 (T)
February 13/14(W/Th)
February 15 (F)
I.C.E. #5 Pride and Prejudice /Out of Class Essay #4 due in BB by
6:00. (See September 7 and Oct. 15)
Introduction to Romanticism and Romantic Poets/Choose Favorite
for
Group Presentation/H.W: Read Paradise Lost Excerpt and
Complete Setting and Character Activities
Discuss Paradise Lost/ Read “Romantic Reactions to Milton’s
Satan”
and Excerpts of Blake’s Marriage of Heaven and Hell (handouts)/
Teacher Inservice - No School
February 22 (F)
Presidents’ Day – No School
Introduce A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man/AP Multiple
Choice #6/Literary Specialist Outline Due/Rewrites of Out of
Class Essay #4 due in BB by 6:00; :(See Oct. 15)
Wuthering Heights OR Frankenstein Reading Check and
Seminar/MWDS 11/HW: Read Assigned Critical Articles in
Bedford Texts
Discuss Critical Articles and Begin Group Work
February 25(M)
February 26 (T)
February 27/28(W/Th)
Group Work - Wuthering Heights OR Frankenstein
Group Work- Wuthering Heights OR Frankenstein
I.C.E. # 6 (See September 7)
February 18 (M)
February 19 (T)
February 20/21 (W/Th)
81
The Exam and Course Design
February 29 (F)
March 3 (M)
March 4 (T)
March 5/6 (W/Th)
March 7 (F)
March 10 (M)
March 11 (T)
March 12-13 (W,Th)
March 14 (F)
March 17 (M)
March 18 (T)
March 19/20(W/Th)
March 21 (F)
- Wuthering Heights OR Frankenstein/Wordsworth Student Led
Lesson
Senior Health Day – No Classes
Coleridge Student Led Lesson/First Draft of Literary Specialist
Due for Peer Editing. Must be a Complete Draft.
P.B. Shelley Student Led Lesson/Out of Class Essay #4
Returned/Rewrite due March 11. :(See Oct. 15)
Byron and Keats Student Led Lessons
Romantic Poetry Test
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man – Reading Check
Seminar - A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man/Rewrite Out of
Class Essay #4 Due in BB by 6:00 PM. :(See Oct. 15)
Group Work – Structural Analysis of A Portrait of the Artist as a
Young Man
Group Work – Structural Analysis of A Portrait of the Artist as a
Young Man
Introduce Life of Pi/ Dedalus/Icarus Poetry/Final Draft of Literary
Specialist due.
Modern and Post Modern Poetry
Modern and Post Modern Poetry
Student Found Poetry
Unit Name or Timeframe: Quarter 4 (6 Weeks)
Content and/or Skills Taught:
Students will apply what they have leaned about genre conventions to postmodern works. They
will also study metaphysical poetry from the 17th century and look for its influences in later
works. We continue to study how literary devices and rhetorical strategies impact meaning in
texts. Students continue to apply literary constructs and philosophy to their reading and writing
assignments. More emphasis is given to preparation for the AP exam than in previous quarters.
Major Assignments and/or Assessments (if needed to demonstrate that a curricular requirement
is being met):
Composition: Timed Writing, Creative Writing, Out-of Class Essay
Major Works Studied:
Life of Pi
Waiting for Godot
Poetry: Ferlinghetti, MacLeish, Sexton, Donne, Marvel, Herbert, Herrick,
82
The Exam and Course Design
English: Literature and Composition (Fairly Firm Draft)
Quarter 4, 2007
Assignments are due on the day listed. If you are absent for any reason, you are expected to continue with the reading
assignments. You are responsible for accessing missed handouts and assignments through Blackboard.
This schedule will be updated on Blackboard as needed.
March 31 (M)
April 1 (T)
April 3/4(W/Th)
April 5 (F)
End of Spring Break - No School
Introduction to Metaphysical Poetry
Metaphysical Poetry – Group Work
Metaphysical Poetry – Group Presentations
April 8 (M)
April 9 (T)
April 10/11 (W/Th)
April 12 (F)
Metaphysical Poetry – Group Presentations
A.P. Multiple Choice and I.C.E. #7. (See September 7)
Life of Pi Reading Check and Seminar/MWDS 12/H.W. Review Philosophy Unit from 1 st
Quarter and Apply Various Philosophies to Pi Patel’s Story
Life of Pi: Philosophy Group Project
April 14 (M)
April 15 (T)
April 16-17 (W/Th)
April 18 (F)
April 19 (S)
Life of Pi: Philosophy Group Project
Life of Pi: Philosophy Group Presentation
Life of Pi: Philosophy Group Presentation/Introduction to Waiting for Godot
AP Multiple Choice #8
Practice AP Exam – Extra Credit
April 21 (M)
April 22 (T)
April 23/24 (W/Th)
April 25 (F)
Waiting for Godot Reading Check – :(See September 7)
Seminar: Waiting for Godot
Waiting for Godot Skits/ Peer Edit 1st Draft of Out of Class Essay #5: 5-7 Pages, Topic
of Choice Covering One or More Works Studied 3rd or 4th Quarter. Final due in BB April
29 by 6PM. :(See Oct. 15)
Godot Skits
April 28 (M)
April 29 (T)
April/May 30/1 (W/Th)
May 2 (F)
Godot Skits/Out of Class Essay #5 due in BB by 6:00 PM
AP Practice/Review Poetry
AP Practice/Review Poetry
AP Practice/Review Prose
May 5 (M)
May 6 (T)
May 7 (W)
May 8 (Th)
May 9 (F)
AP Practice/Review Novels/Plays
AP Practice/Review Novels/Plays
AP Practice/Review Novels/Plays
AP Literature Exam AM
Review Exam/Course Feedback
May 12 (M)
May 13 (T)
May 14/15(W/Th)
May 16 (F)
Speeches/Portfolio
Speeches/Portfolio
Speeches/Portfolio
Speeches/Portfolio
May 19 (M)
Senior Projects Begin
Textbooks Provided by the District:
Literature: Timeless Voices, Timeless Themes: The British Tradition. Upper Saddle, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2000.
All novels/plays are purchased by students.
83
The Exam and Course Design
AP English Language and Composition
Syllabus
As per school district requirements, each eleventh grade student must complete a yearlong
American literature sequence, and so though this course is designed to fulfill the AP English
Language and Composition course’s requirements that students “write effectively and
confidently in their college courses across the curriculum and in their professional and personal
lives,” it does double duty as an intensive study of the American literary tradition. We
accomplish this two-fold goal by focusing our reading and study of and our writing about
American writers on their rhetoric, style, and semantic language choices. We also require
students to compose in personal, expository, and persuasive genres. We read both fiction and
nonfiction writing to facilitate these goals -- the former comprises novels, short stories, poetry,
and drama; the latter comprises essays, nature writing, autobiographies/memoirs, letters,
journalism, and political writings.
The central texts of the course include the following:
Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam
A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving
The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass by F. Douglass
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
The Autobiography of an Ex-Coloured Man by James W. Johnson
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien
Night by Elie Wiesel
Sadlier-Oxford Vocabulary (Level H)
The Prentice Hall American Literature textbook (inclusive of readings by: Mary Rowlandson,
Jonathan Edwards, Benjamin Franklin, Olaudah Equiano, Phyllis Wheatley, Thomas Paine,
Patrick Henry, Edgar Allan Poe, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo
Emerson, Herman Melville, Emily Dickinson, Walt Whitman, T.S. Eliot, e.e. cummings, W.H.
Auden, and Allan Ginsberg)
Students will be expected to write on a daily basis, both in a classroom setting through
expository and interpretive assignments and in frequent formal essays that require the student to
both analyze and interpret and to synthesize secondary materials such as literary criticism,
historical essays, and social science research. Students will write a full-length essay -- ranging
from two to four pages -- on each book-length text we read, as well as a longer independent
research paper, an autobiographical narrative for use in the college application process, and other
essay assignments. Students will be expected to conference with the teacher on their first and/or
second drafts of each formal essay and to revise based on my revision suggestions and those of
his or her peers.
The student’s grade will be calculated based on this formula:
Essays 40%: Essays are assigned both as part of our study of book-length texts and as periodic
assessments of reading comprehension, textual interpretation, and classroom discussion.
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The Exam and Course Design
Quizzes 20%: Students will take approximately fifteen vocabulary quizzes throughout the year
and a variety of based on language topics and formal tropes we cover (e.g., logical fallacies,
sentence types, active/passive voice, etc.). Pop reading quizzes may also be given as need
warrants.
Homework 20%: Homework grades are given for in-class writing assignments and informal
take-home writing prompts.
Tests 20%: Though infrequent, tests are sometimes given in order to assess comprehension of
large amounts of material comprising a number of short texts (e.g., American Romanticism)
SEMESTER 1
Unit 1: Reading for Ambivalence
Over the summer vacation, we require students to read A Prayer for Owen Meany, The Secret
Life of Bees, and Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam. When we begin class in late
August, we begin with an introduction of the concept of ambivalence, the guiding motif or
structural/linguistic feature that will connect everything we do in this course. With the exception
of some political treatises (like Thomas Paine’s), the best writing -- both fiction and nonfiction -can always be found to contain a certain degree of ambivalence, room for the reader to interpret,
question, and formulate a response. Likewise, the best student writing will always contain a
measure of ambivalence, allowing for alternative meanings, approaches, interpretations, and
opinions. This unit is designed to introduce young writers to the notion that reading and writing
are not positivistic pursuits, in which one interpretation, approach, or opinion is the correct one
to the exclusion of others, but rather to see reading and writing as interpretive experiences in
which the reader/writer can develop, alter, or revise his or her reading or writing over time or
based on a dialogue with the text and with others. A closely-linked concept in this unit is to
introduce students to the idea of writing ambivalently in their own critical essays -understanding the difference between using expressions like “This may suggest that...” rather
than “This clearly proves...”
We will look at several sections from the two novels and the collection of letters and write
several in-class expository pieces that explore the ambivalence toward Vietnam felt by actual
soldiers fighting the war and by fictional characters on the home front. We will analyze
characters’ ambivalence toward self, family, country, and ideology. Each student will then
compose a full-length formal essay (drawing from these several expository pieces) that builds a
reading of ambivalence in both fictional and non-fictional texts. How do writers express
ambivalence? How does the language that writers use express ambivalence indirectly? How do
we infer ambivalence when writers do not overtly claim it? How do we leave room in our
writing about other people’s language for alternate explanations and interpretations of that
language?
Unit 2: American Evangelicalism
In this unit, we begin our reading of the early American tradition, starting with the
autobiographical narrative of Mary Rowlandson, an Englishwoman help captive by the
Algonquin Indians during King Philip’s War in 1675. In our reading of this piece, we focus on
Rowlandson’s representations of both the Native Americans and her own people, based on what
she writes and on what she omits or implies. Through a reading of her religious rhetoric,
students see rhetorical strategies at work that later American writers will employ to demonize the
other and justify colonization and slavery as well as rhetorical strategies that serve as
foundational in the American self-concept. Students also read secondary critical material from
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Jill Lepore’s Bancroft Prize-winning The Name of War: King Philip’s War and the Origins of
American Identity. Students read Lepore’s section one, “Language,” in order to garner a
contemporary historian’s readings of how language creates both power and reality. Students
write their own analyses of Rowlandson’s language and discuss how its direct and indirect
representations of English and native American function as well as what implications those
representations allow for. Students will also examine period visual representations of colonists
and native Americans to draw out visual representational strategies employed to represent self
and other.
Students will then trace this American evangelicalism in the religious writings of Jonathan
Edwards, and examine the tradition of the American jeremiad, a concept that will connect much
of pre-World War One American writing. Students read short excerpts from contemporary
literary critic Sacvan Bercovitch’s Puritan Origins of the American Self against Jonathan
Edwards to identify aspects of the religious rhetoric of complacency and reform that will hold a
prominent place in American writing until the Progressive era of the 1910s. We will also
examine Edwards’s use of rhetorical fallacies such as the false dilemma, the slippery slope, and
the non sequitur. To supplement the fallacies Edwards employs, we will also study fallacies
such as begging the question, post hoc ergo propter hoc, and argument by authority.
Unit 3: Revolution and Slavery
In this unit, students read a variety of narratives relating to slavery and the colonial revolution
against British rule. We begin with the “Interesting Narrative of Olaudah Equiano,” a narrative
of the Middle Passage from Africa to the Americas. As a model of Enlightenment rationality
and Age of Revolution political rhetoric, Equiano provides an exemplary model for the synthesis
of social and political rhetoric in the eighteenth century. Students will examine ambivalent
aspects of Equiano’s style that serve both to provide both an unbiased account of the slave trade
and to issue an impassioned and evangelical appeal for its destruction. Students will write
expository analyses on how Equiano’s style is able to accomplish both seemingly disparate tasks.
We continue with a study of American revolutionary rhetoric in the writings of Thomas Paine
and Patrick Henry. In Paine’s “Crisis,” students trace the continuation of Puritan evangelicalism
in the guise of secular polemic. Students further trace Paine’s refining of Jonathan Edwards’s
highly effective use of logical fallacies. Students read brief excerpts from legal-literary critic
Robert Ferguson’s The American Enlightenment, specifically Chapter 4, “Writing the
Revolution.” Students also read Patrick Henry’s “Speech to the Virginia Convention” and
compare Henry’s and Paine’s rhetoric based on a popular versus an educated audience. Students
write a formal essay analysis of rhetorical techniques in Equiano, Paine, and Henry, applying
what they have learned of the techniques of each to current American political controversies of
terror, war, evangelism, and “civilization.”
The final piece in this unit is a reading of Frederick Douglass’s full-length narrative of life in
bondage. The guiding theme in this section of the unit is Douglass’s construction of his
manhood based on both eighteenth- and nineteenth-century notions of masculinity. Students
read a chapter from E. Anthony Rotundo’s American Manhood, 1790-1970 and from David
Leverenz’s Manhood and the American Renaissance and write a formal essay analysis of
Douglass’s application of both Enlightenment and Romantic notions of manhood. This
continues students’ work synthesizing current historical-critical work with centuries-old literary
texts to formulate historical-informed interpretive readings, rather than anachronistic
interpretations that assume that nineteenth-century writers believed everything about manhood
and womanhood that we believe.
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Unit 4: American Romanticism
In this unit, students begin with the nature writing of Henry David Thoreau and the philosophical
essays of Ralph Waldo Emerson. In Walden, we discuss Thoreau’s personal ambivalence about
nature and civilization and his use of extended metaphors as rhetorical devices. In the essays of
Ralph Waldo Emerson, primarily “Nature,” “Self-Reliance,” and “The American Scholar,”
students read Emerson’s Romantic rhetoric of the individual off that of his protégée Thoreau, to
determine both influence and adaptation. Emerson’s own lyricism and use of extended metaphor
as rhetorical devices of ethos and pathos provide a structural guide to our study of him, as well as
an in-depth look at nineteenth-century syntax (including inversion, the periodic sentence, the
loose sentence, the periodic interruptive sentence, and the combination sentence).
Students then read selections from the works of Edgar Allan Poe, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and
Herman Melville, to represent the American Gothic-Romantic tradition. We focus our study on
the literary tropes of the Gothic (setting, tone, mood) and the themes of the Romantic (primarily
individualism, irrationality, and symbolism). Students will complete several expository writing
assignments, including imitative pieces, argumentative pieces that place works in a generic
Romantic schema, and interpretive pieces that exercise the student’s argumentative writing
skills.
Finally, students read selections from Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman to begin studying the
nineteenth-century American poetic tradition. Our reading will focus on the structural and
semantic devices of each poet -- for Dickinson, unorthodox punctuation, stanza structure, diction,
and rhyme/meter; for Whitman, free verse, the catalogue, erotic imagery, and his rhetorical
positioning as speaker. Students will complete short expository writing assignment that argue
the semantic significance of Dickinson’s and Whitman’s language choices -- what difference it
makes, for example, that Whitman lists dozens of items in a catalogue, or that Dickinson uses the
dash rather than the comma or period.
Unit 5: Realism and Naturalism
Our primary texts in this unit are Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and James
Weldon Johnson’s memoir, The Autobiography of an Ex-Coloured Man (1912), a tale of racial
passing in late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century America. Our primary goal in reading
Huckleberry Finn is to engage with the public world of discourse and controversy that surrounds
Twain’s novel. While studying and writing about the novel from the point of view of narrative
voice, satire, social critique, irony, and nineteenth-century tropes of regional dialect (e.g.
standard formal through colloquial through non-standard), we will also examine the controversy
of Twain’s racial representations through literary criticism, public polemic, the newspaper
editorial, and personal memoir. Huckleberry Finn provides such a rich variety of secondary
materials of all persuasions that it provides students with an optimal case study in textual debate
and interpretation as well as an object lesson in the “extra-literary” life of a text. The major
paper for this book is a persuasive/argumentative piece in which each student synthesizes a
number of different critical sources with a close reading of his or her own to weigh in on the
question of Twain’s racial representations. The question students are posed with is not “Is
Twain’s book racist?” This question merely creates two mutually exclusive categories that limit
inquiry and channel responses into two pre-ordained camps. Rather, students are asked to
interpret the semantics of Twain’s racial representations in order to draw out some of the
ambiguities and ambivalences in the text. This paper is designed with the new AP Language and
Composition synthesis essay in mind.
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Our primary goal in reading Johnson’s The Autobiography of an Ex-Coloured Man -- in addition
to learning the tropes of both the Realist and Naturalist periods (a focus on money, social codes,
dialect, and on violence, instinct, genetics, and Darwinian evolution, respectively) is to study
how a writer creates both tone and style through diction, imagery, and narrative positioning (i.e.
point of view, narrative stance, etc.). Students will study and be quizzed on an extensive list of
tone and style vocabulary words (e.g. wistful, acerbic, plaintive, clinical, recursive, journalistic,
etc.) and they will compose their next major formal essay on the multiple (and often conflicting
and ambivalent) tones and styles in which Johnson operates. To facilitate this tonal and stylistic
reading, students will read at least two pieces of literary criticism regarding Johnson’s memoir:
Kenneth Warren’s “Troubled Black Humanity in Autobiography of an Ex-Coloured Man” and
Eric Sundquist’s “Word Shadows and Alternating Sounds: Folklore, Dialect, and Vernacular.”
SEMESTER 2
Unit 6: Modernism
In this unit, we will study the major components of the Modernist tradition, focusing especially
on the tradition of experimental language employed by Modernist authors and the semantic
implications of that language. We begin with F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. After
completing several informal expository pieces on Fitzgerald’s narrative strategies (such as
Nick’s conflicting views of Tom, Gatsby, Daisy, and Jordan; Nick’s ambivalent morality; and
Nick’s retrospective narration), students will begin their next major essay, an annotated
bibliography of recent criticism on the novel. Essays include: “The Idea of Order at West Egg,”
“Money, Love, and Aspiration,” “Fire and Freshness: A Matter of Style in The Great Gatsby.”
Through this essay, students will continue to develop techniques of reading for central ideas,
revising a summary down only to its most necessary parts, and relating secondary materials
critically to a primary text. Students will be expected to evaluate the arguments of each critic as
well as summarizing them.
In a unit on Modernist poets, we will read selections by T.S. Eliot, e.e. cummings, W.H. Auden,
and Allan Ginsberg. As above, with Gatsby, our reading of these poets will focus on the
experimental linguistic and semantic choices of each poet: Eliot’s use of esoteric linguistic,
allusive, and religious traditions; e.e. cummings’s use of non-traditional spelling, syntax,
neologism, and punctuation; Auden’s use of the same; and Ginsberg’s use of profanity, explicit
sexual imagery, and free-form and unrevised material. Students will compose both imitative
writing exercises and informal expository pieces that ask for interpretations of the writer’s
linguistic and semantic choices.
Our study of Modernism continues with a reading of Toni Morrison’s novel Song of Solomon.
In this unit, students complete a major paper in which they compose an interview with Toni
Morrison based on how Morrison has answered questions in a previous real-life interview
published in the Paris Review in 1993, in her own reflections on Song of Solomon in the
foreword to the novel, and in one of a variety of critical articles from which they can choose. In
this assignment, students write in a new genre that utilizes two new types of non-fiction writing
(the interview and the author’s own self-criticism) as well as literary criticism. The interview
will focus on Morrison’s practice as a Modernist. Students ask, for example, how Morrison
applies experimentation to the language in her novel, or how her use of biblical imagery or
symbol creates a series of themes or thematic characterizations.
Finally, in our third major text of this unit, students read Truman Capote’s journalistic “nonfiction novel” In Cold Blood. Our study of this text focuses on the journalist’s representation of
true-life events and his manipulation of those events into “literary” journalism. In order to view
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The Exam and Course Design
the text from multiple angles, we screen the 1967 black-and-white film In Cold Blood as well as
the 2005 film Capote, and read newspaper and magazine reviews of Capote’s novel and the film
from the mid-1960s. In this way, students develop a sense of the rhetorical strategies of the new
journalism and the ambivalences of creating “literary” writing from fact. Students compose
several informal expository and argumentative pieces that trace Capote’s imaginative reportage
through characterization, setting, tone, style, and literary/rhetorical devices such as irony and
pathos. How, for example, does creating monologues and dialogues that he could not possibly
have possessed accurate information regarding affect Capote’s narrative credibility and the
novel’s genre status?
In the major paper for In Cold Blood, students read contemporary criminologist Elliott Currie’s
review of current research in family violence and economic/social deprivation in his book
Confronting Crime (1985) and read that research off what Capote reports of psychiatrists’ and
criminologists’ views of the Clutter family murders. In this paper, students examine
contemporary social science writing and read its findings (mostly unavailable to Capote et. al. in
1965) against the psychiatric case of murderers Smith and Hickock. This essay helps students
continue to develop argumentative skills and to apply genres such as social science research to
literary texts. Students continue to develop their abilities to write ambivalently -- about what
may influence delinquency and what may have been argued in the case of Smith and Hickock
had contemporary information been known. This paper also helps to develop students’
understanding of the Modernist writers’ interest in Freudian psychology.
Unit 6: Postmodernism and Popular Culture
In this unit, students read Tim O’Brien’s war memoir/novel The Things They Carried. We
approach the text from the perspective of language: how language does or does not adequately
represent horrific experience; how language (in the form of narrative) creates reality or re-creates
memory; how language creates an author as well as being used by the author to create a text.
O’Brien’s metafictional war memoir serves these purposed admirably, and students will write a
number of informal expository pieces examining his writing about the soldiers’ language (e.g.,
slang, euphemism, bravado, storytelling) and what that writing says about his own practice of
writing and authorship.
In lieu of a major paper on The Things They Carried, students will compose an independent
research paper on American popular culture and cultural influence. Students design topics of
their own and after formulating research questions conduct guided research to formulate a
sustained argument for how one event, individual, or phenomena within popular culture has
influenced American culture at large. Utilizing the library’s collection and its on-line research
database resources, students compose an extended paper of six to seven pages citing secondary
research and using the MLA citation format they have been practicing since the beginning of the
school year. This paper builds on the research skills students have been practicing all year and
continues to develop their synthesis skills with the new AP synthesis essay question in mind.
Unit 7: Memoir and Personal Narrative
In the final unit of the second semester, students read Elie Wiesel’s Holocaust memoir Night.
We will study this work, again, from the perspective of language and its ability or inability to
represent experiences of enormity. Short expository pieces will examine Wiesel’s language and
his narrative technique (tone, narrative voice, style, rhetoric). How does Wiesel relate the
unthinkable? How does he represent his own feelings or the actions of others “truthfully” when
language can never truly represent such things? How does Wiesel represent himself in ways that
defy his own’ language’s ability to encompass such contradictions? The major paper for this
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final unit is a personal narrative that will develop the student’s ability to write about his or her
own experience with insight and linguistic sophistication. By developing techniques of
description, dialogue, and self- and peer-editing students will produce a personal narrative of two
to three pages to be used (ideally) in the college application process.
During the second semester, students will also be given periodic in-class impromptu essay
assignments using essay questions from the AP Language and Composition tests of previous
years (available on-line). Students will also be given periodic assessments using sample AP
Language and Composition reading selections and multiple-choice questions.
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Summer Reading and Writing Assignments
2011 – 2012 Senior AP English
Othello by William Shakespeare
Life of Pi by Yann Martel
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Poetry by Robert Browning, T.S. Eliot, William Butler Yeats, and Eavan Boland
Welcome to Senior AP English. This year’s summer reading covers the years 1590 to 2001
which reflects the range of literature covered on the AP Literature Exam. During the coming
year you will continue developing reading skills that will enable you to unlock meaning in both
older and modern poetry and prose. To that end I have chosen works that will sharpen your
reading skills, provide intellectual stimulation, and add to your ever-increasing cultural
awareness. All of that, of course, means “fun!”
Poetry: Since poetry comprises roughly one-third of the AP exam, you need to be comfortable
analyzing it. For poetry responses you will use blogs or journals. If you do not want to use a blog,
you can create a poetry journal. The response requirements for both are the same:

Responding to the poems: Read each of the following poems and enter a response to them. The
responses should show an understanding of themes and offer personal responses. After you
respond to each poem individually, choose two that share themes and post a compare/contrast
entry.
o Required Poems:
 Any two poems by Eavan Bolan – Because she is alive and well, her poems on
the internet come and go and are heavily copyrighted. Therefore, you are free to
choose whatever you find and like. Be sure to post the title and website where
you found the poem.
 “My Last Duchess” and “Fra Lippo Lippi” by Robert Browning
 “The Hollow Men” and “The Journey of the Magi” by T.S. Eliot
 “Sailing to Byzantium” and “A Prayer for My Daughter” by W. B. Yeats
 Responding to classmates’ postings/entries:
o Respond to at least two entries from your IHHS classmates. Your grade will be based on
quality of responses to the poems as well as to your classmates. Of course, the more
involved you are with the text, the better your grade. General and quick responses are
fine, but they will not help your grade.
o Bloggers: If you create a blog, post your blog address on my blog:
http://apenglishihhs.wordpress.com Password: ihhsbraves. Please include the password if
you create one. You will be able to get your classmates’ blog addresses at this site.
Word Press is a good blogging host if you are looking for one. If you have difficulty
setting up your blog, e-mail me.
o Journalers: You will need to pass your entries to a friend for responses and will need to
find another journaler for your responses.
 Connecting to the longer works
o As you finish each of the three longer required readings, write an entry that connects one
of the poems to the novel or play.
Summer Assignment for The Life of Pi, Othello, and Brave New World: It will be important that
you engage in close reading and textual annotation to do well on reading checks during the first week
of school. You will be asked questions that require knowledge of plot details, character motivations,
conflicts, themes, and tone. Spark Notes and other such “study aids” won’t be of much help. For each
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of these longer works, choose one of the AP prompts that follow. Write a polished 3-4 page word
processed essay in response to the prompt for EACH work. In sum, you will write three essays.

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

In a literary work, a minor character, often known as a foil, possesses traits that
emphasize, by contrast or comparison, the distinctive characteristics and qualities of the
main character. For example, the ideas or behavior of the minor character might be used
to highlight the weaknesses or strengths of the main character. Choose a novel or play
from the summer assignment in which a minor character serves as a foil to a main
character. Then write an essay in which you analyze how the relation between the minor
character and the major character illuminates the meaning of the work. Do not merely
summarize the plot.
In many works of literature, past events can affect, positively or negatively, the present
actions, attitudes, or values of a character. Choose a novel or play from the summer
assignment in which a character must contend with some aspect of the past, either
personal or societal. Then write an essay in which you show how the character’s
relationship to the past contributes to the meaning of the work as a whole. Do not merely
summarize the plot.
Many writers use a country setting to establish values within a work of literature. For
example, the country may be a place of virtue and peace or one of primitivism and
ignorance. Choose a novel or play from the summer assignment in which such a setting
plays a significant role. Then write an essay in which you analyze how the country
setting functions in the work as a whole. Do not merely summarize the plot.
In Kate Chopin’s The Awakening (1899), protagonist Edna Pontellier is said to possess
“that outward existence which conforms, the inward life which questions.” In a novel or
play from the summer assignment, identify a character who conforms outwardly while
questioning inwardly. Then write an essay in which you analyze how this tension
between outward conformity and inward questioning contributes to the meaning of the
work. Avoid mere plot summary.
According to critic Northrop Frye, “Tragic heroes are so much the highest points in their human
landscape that they seem the inevitable conductors of the power about them, great trees more
likely to be struck by lightning than a clump of grass. Conductors may of course be instruments
as well as victims of the divine lightning.” Select a novel or play from the summer assignment in
which a tragic figure functions as an instrument of the suffering of others. Then write an essay in
which you explain how the suffering brought upon others by that figure contributes to the tragic
vision of the work as a whole.
College Essays: Bring a copy of your college essay to class on the first day of school. You may bring the one
you completed at the end of your junior year or another one written over the summer. We will work on
polishing at least one college essay for a grade. If the copy you bring is ready to go, you will be officially
finished with that assignment; however, you will have the opportunity to work on as many essays as you need
for your college application process.
I very much look forward to getting to know you next year. Have a wonderful summer, and I’ll see you
in August.
Mrs. McFarlan
mcfarlan@ih.k12.oh.us
(513) 272-4583
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AP Senior English
Literary Specialist Assignment Sheet
Name____________________________
Goal: Students will read multiple literary pieces written by an academically respected author (American
authors are limited to those not studied in detail junior year) and become a literary specialist by analyzing
the pieces through one of the critical lenses/perspectives we have discussed in class. (Successful
completion of the Literary Specialist paper is a requirement for course credit.)
General guidelines for becoming a literary specialist:






Select an author or topic for project.
Submit the name/topic for approval.
Topics must be academically based. No current events.
Authors must be respected among literary circles.
American authors are limited to those not studied in detail junior year.
Learn all about your author/topic that you can.
 Read biographies about your author, but remember biography is secondary to the works and ideas
of the writer(s).
 Read the author’s works or books on your topic.
 Seek the opinions of others; interview scholars and professors.
 Form your OWN opinions and put them in writing.
 Learn about the time period in which your author lives(d).
 Read literary criticism about your author and his/her works.
 Add anything else you can think of - there are no limits.
 For every article, book, etc. that you read, record a written response in a notebook or on note cards.
 Include facts, summaries, observations, speculations, and
reflections.
 Write regularly.
 DO NOT PROCRASTINATE; this is a semester project.
Project Expectations:
 Meet all deadlines.
 Complete a 10-12 page paper using a critical lens that we have studied.
 Paper should center on the works of the author, not his/her life.
 Paper should center on a clear and interesting thesis and maintain a balance among your opinions, critical
opinions, and textual support.
 Use MLA format (Writer’s Inc. books are invaluable).
Grades:
 The final paper will comprise 35% of your third quarter grade. Papers will not be graded if note checks and
rough drafts are missing.

Notes and Rough Draft will be counted in the quarter in which they are graded.
Important Dates:
 December 11th, 2008 - Author/Topic Due.
 January 23rd, 2008 - Preliminary Works Cited Page/Notes and Tentative Thesis statement due
 February 4th, 2008 - Note Check and Annotated Works Cited. (One or two books should have been
completed at this point—notes should come from three critical sources.)
 February 19th, 2008 - Note Check. Outline due or other organizational plan. Outline may be topic or
sentence, but must reflect a conscious organization pattern that centers on your thesis. It should also contain
critical resources
 March 3rd, 2008 - First Draft of paper due for Peer Editing. Must be a complete draft.
 March 17th, 2008- Final Draft of paper due. No postponements. Submit to Turn It In through Blackboard.
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Satisfactory Completion of the Literary Specialist Project is a requirement for Course Credit.
Elements of an Effective AP Unit Design

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
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
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
Hooks
Genre (Focuses on One Genre, but uses others as supplement).
Historical and Cultural Influences
Macroscopic Analysis
 Theme
 Character
 Setting
 Plot Structure
Microscopic
 Diction
 Tone
 Devices (Literary Terms and Concepts)
 Syntax/grammar
Writing
 Formal Analysis
 Creative Writing
 In Class Essays
 Close Reading
Connections
 To Real World
 To Other Literature
Activities
 Large Group
o Teacher Notes
o Seminar
o Presentations
 Small Group
o Literary Circles
o Presentations
o Macroscopic Analysis
o Microscopic Analysis
o Peer Editing
o Prewriting
 Individual
o Writing
o Tests
o Quizzes
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Lesson or Unit Design
Title:
Big idea(s):
Essential questions:
Prerequisite skills to reinforce:
New Learning (including vocabulary):
Literature and writing assignments to use:
Pre-, ongoing, and final assessments:
Direct Instruction Methods:
Guided Practice:
Authentic Practice:
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AP English: Literature and Composition
Name___________________
Major Works Data Sheet
Biographical information about the author:
Title:___________________________
Author:_________________________
Date of Publication:_______________
Genre: __________________________
Historical information about the period of publication:
Characteristics of the genre: (Poetry – Play – Novel – Nonfiction)
Plot Summary and Structure Analysis:
Exposition:
Inciting Force:
Rising Action:
Climax:
Falling Action:
Denoument:
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Major Works Data Sheet Page 2
Describe the author’s style:
Examples that demonstrates the style
(ASR):
Memorable Quotationss
Quotations and Speaker
Speaker and page #:
Quotation:
Significance (Code to Themes and Old AP Questions)
Speaker and page #:
Quotation:
Speaker and page #:
Quotation:
Speaker and page #:
Quotation:
Speaker and page #:
Quotation:
:
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Major Works Data Sheet Page 3
Characters
Name
Role in the story
Significance
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Adjectives
The Exam and Course Design
Major Works Data Sheet
Page 4
Significance of the opening scene
Setting
Location:
Significance:
Location:
Significance:
Significance of the ending/closing scene
Symbols
Symbol:
Significance:
Symbol:
Significance
Old AP Questions
1. Year:
Thesis
Symbol:
Significance
2. Year:
Thesis:
Possible Themes
1. Thematic Topic:
Thematic Statement (complete sentence):
2. Thematic Topic:
Thematic Statement (complete sentence):
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Poetry Prompts, 1971 – 2011
1971
"Elegy for Jane" (Theodore Roethke) Write an essay in which you describe the speaker's attitude
toward his former student.
1972
"The Unknown Citizen" (W. H. Auden) In a brief essay, identify at least two of the implications implicit in
the society reflected in the poem. Support your statements by specific references to the poem.
1973
No poem
1974
"I wonder whether one expects. . . " (No poet listed) Write a unified essay in which you relate the
imagery of the last stanza to the speaker's view of himself earlier in the poem and to his view of how
others see poets.
1975
No poem
1976
"Poetry of Departures" (Philip Larkin) Write an essay in which you discuss how the poet's diction
(choice of words) reveals his attitude toward the two ways of living mentioned in the poem.
1977
"Piano" (two poems by D. H. Lawrence) Read both poems carefully and then write an essay in which
you explain what characteristics of the second poem make it better than the first. Refer specifically to
details of both poems.
1978
"Law Like Love" (W. H. Auden) Read the poem and then write an essay discussing the differences
between the conceptions of "law" in lines 1-34 and those in lines 35-60.
1979
"Spring and All" (William Carlos Williams) and "For Jane Meyers" (Louise Gluck) Read the two poems
carefully. Then write a well-organized essay in which you show how the attitudes towards the coming of
spring implied in these two poems differ from each other. Support your statements with specific
references to the texts.
1980
"One Art" (Elizabeth Bishop) Write an essay in which you describe how the speaker's attitude toward
loss in lines 16-19 is related to her attitude toward loss in lines 1-15. Using specific references to the
text, show how verse form and language contribute to the reader's understanding of these attitudes.
1981
"Storm Warnings" (Adrienne Rich) Write an essay in which you explain how the organization of the
poem and the use of concrete details reveal both its literal and its metaphorical meanings. In your
discussion, show how both of these meanings relate to the title.
1982
"The Groundhog" (Richard Eberhart) Write an essay in which you analyze how the language of the
poem reflects the changing perceptions and emotions of the speaker as he considers the
metamorphosis of the dead groundhog. Develop your essay with specific references to the text of the
poem.
1983
"Clocks and Lovers" (W. H. Auden)
Write a well-organized essay in which you contrast the attitude of the clocks with that of the lover. Through careful
analysis of the language and imagery, show how this contrast is important to the meaning of the poem.
1984
No poem
1985
"There Was a Boy" (William Wordsworth) and "The Most of It" (Robert Frost) These two poems present
encounters with nature, but the two poets handle those encounters very differently. In a well-organized
essay, distinguish between the attitudes (toward nature, toward the solitary individual, etc.) expressed in
the poems and discuss the techniques that the poets use to present these attitudes. Be sure to support
your statements with specific references.
1986
"Ogun" (E. K. Braithwaite) Read the poem. You will note that it has two major sections that are joined
by another section, lines 21-26. Write an essay in which you discuss how the diction, imagery, and
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movement of the verse in the poem reflect differences in tone and content between the two larger
sections.
1987
"Sow" (Sylvia Plath) Read the poem. Then write an essay in which you analyze the presentation of the
sow. Consider particularly how the language of the poem reflects both the neighbor's and the narrator's
perceptions of the sow and how the language determines the reader's perceptions. Be certain to
discuss how the portrayal of the sow is enhanced by such features as diction, devices of sound,
images, and allusions.
1988
"Bright Star (John Keats) and "Choose Something Like a Star" (Robert Frost) Read the following two
poems very carefully, noting that the second includes an allusion to the first. Then write a wellorganized essay in which you discuss their similarities and differences. In your essay, be sure to
consider both theme and style.
1989
"The Great Scarf of Birds" (John Updike) Write a well-organized essay in which you analyze how the
poem's organization, diction, and figurative language prepare the reader for the speaker's concluding
response.
1990
Soliloquy ("Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown") from Henry IV, Part II (Shakespeare) In the
soliloquy, King Henry laments his inability to sleep. In a well-organized essay, briefly summarize the
King's thoughts and analyze how the diction, imagery, and syntax help to convey his state of mind.
1991
"The Last Night that She Lived" (Emily Dickinson) Write an essay in which you describe the speaker's
attitude toward the woman's death. Using specific references from the text, show how the use of
language reveals the speaker's attitudes.
1992
from The Prelude (William Wordsworth) "One summer evening (led by her) I found. . . were a trouble to
my dreams." In the passage below, which comes from William Wordsworth's autobiographical poem
The Prelude, the speaker encounters unfamiliar aspects of the natural world. Write an essay in which
you trace the speaker's changing responses to his experience and explain how they are conveyed by
the poem's diction, imagery, and tone.
1993
"The Centaur" (May Swenson) Read the following poem carefully. Then write an essay in which you
discuss how such elements as language, imagery, structure, and point of view convey meaning in the
poem.
1994
The following two poems are about Helen of Troy. Renowned in the ancient world for her beauty, Helen
was the wife of Menelaus, a Greek king. She was carried off to Troy by the Trojan prince Paris, and her
abduction was the immediate cause of the Trojan War.
Read the two poems carefully. Considering such elements as speaker, diction, imagery, form, and
tone, write a well-organized essay in which you contrast the speakers' views of Helen.
("To Helen" by E. A. Poe and "Helen" by H.D.)
1995
Read the following poem carefully. Then, in a well-organized essay, analyze how the speaker uses the
varied imagery of the poem to reveal his attitude toward the nature of love.
("The Broken Heart" by John Donne)
1996
Read carefully the following poem by the colonial American poet, Anne Bradstreet. Then write a wellorganized essay in which you discuss how the poem's controlling metaphor expresses the complex
attitude of the speaker.
("The Author to Her Book" by Anne Bradstreet)
1997
Read the following poem carefully. Then write a well-organized essay in which you explain how formal
elements such as structure, syntax, diction, and imagery reveal the speaker's response to the death of a toad.
1998
("The Death of a Toad" by Richard Wilbur)
The following poem was written by a contemporary Irish woman, Eavan Boland. Read the poem
carefully and then write an essay in which you analyze how the poem reveals the speaker's complex
conception of a "woman's world." (“It’s a Woman’s World” by Eavan Boland)
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1999
Read the following poem carefully, paying particular attention to the physical intensity of the language.
Then write a well-organized essay in which you explain how the poet conveys not just a literal
description of picking blackberries but a deeper understanding of the whole experience. You may wish
to include analysis of such elements as diction, imagery, metaphor, rhyme, rhythm, and form.
(“Blackberry-Picking” by Seamus Heaney)
2000
The story of Odysseus’ encounter with the Sirens and the enchanting but deadly song appears in Greek
epic poetry in Homer’s Odyssey. An English translation of the episode is reprinted in the left column
below. Margaret Atwood’s poem in the right column is a modern commentary on the classical story.
Read both texts carefully. Then write an essay in which you compare the portrayals of the Sirens. You
analysis should include discussion of tone, point of view, and whatever poetic devices (diction, imagery,
etc.) seem most important.
2001
In each of the following poems, the speaker responds to the conditions of a particular place and time—
England in 1802 in the first poem, the United States about 100 years later in the second. Read each
poem carefully. Then write an essay in which you compare and contrast the two poems and analyze
the relationship between them. (“London,” 1802 by William Wordsworth and “Douglass” by Paul
Laurence Dunbar)
2002
Read the following poem carefully. Then, taking into consideration the title of the poem, analyze how
the poetic devices convey the speaker’s attitude toward the sinking of the ship. (“The Convergence of
the Twain” by Thomas Hardy)
2003
The following poems are both concerned with Eros, the god of love in Greek mythology. Read the
poems carefully. Then write an essay in which you compare and contrast the two concepts of Eros and
analyze the techniques used to create them.
2004
The poems below are concerned with darkness and night. Read each poem carefully. Then, in a wellwritten essay compare and contrast the poems, analyzing the significance of dark or night in each. In
your essay, consider elements such as point of view, imagery, and structure. (“We Grow Accustomed to
the Night” by Emily Dickenson and “Acquainted with the Night” by Robert Frost)
2005
The poems below, published in 1789 and 1794, were written by William Blake in response to the
condition of chimney sweeps. Usually small children, sweeps were forced inside chimneys to clean
their interiors. Read the two poems carefully. Then, in a well-written essay, compare and contrast the
two poems, taking into consideration the poetic techniques Blake uses in each. (“The Chimney
Sweeper” one for The Songs of Innocence and one from The Songs of Experience by William Blake)
2006
Read the following poem carefully. Then write a well organized-essay in which you analyze
how the
poet uses language to describe the scene and to convey the mood and meaning. (“Evening Hawk by
Robert Penn Warren)
2007
In the following two poems, adults provide explanations for children. Read the poems carefully. Then
write an essay in which you compare and contrast the two poems, analyzing how each poet uses
literary devices to make his point. (Suggested time—40 minutes)
2008
In the two poems below, Keats (“When I Have Fears”) and Longfellow (“Mezzo Cammin”) reflect on
similar concerns. Read the poems carefully. Then write an essay in which you compare and contrast
the two poems, analyzing the poetic techniques each writer uses to explore his particular situation.
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2009
In the following speech from Shakespeare’s play Henry VIII, Cardinal Wolsey considers his sudden downfall
from his position as advisor to the king. Spokesmen for the king have just left Wolsey alone on stage. Read the
speech carefully. Then write a well-organized essay in which you analyze how Shakespeare uses elements
such as allusion, figurative language, and tone to convey Wolsey’s complex response to his dismissal from
court.
2010
Read carefully the following poem [“The Century Quilt”] by Marilyn Nelson Waniek. Then write an essay
analyzing how Waniek employsliterary techniques to develop the complex meanings that the speaker
attributes to The Century Quilt. You may wish to consider such elements as structure, imagery, and tone.
2011
The following poem [“A Story”] is by the contemporary poet Li-Young Lee. Read the poem carefully. Then
write a well developed essay in which you analyze how the poet conveys the complex relationship of the
father and the son through the use of literary devices such as point of view and structure.
AP English: Literature and Composition
Prose Passage Questions
1984 - 2011
1984 Read the following passage carefully. Then write a coherent essay showing how this passage provides a
characterization and evaluation of Emma more than Harriet.
1985 The excerpts below represent early and later drafts of a prose passage that records the writer's thoughts on
how the experience of war affected his attitude toward language.
Write a well-organized essay in which you discuss the probable reasons for the writer's additions and deletions
and the ways in which those revisions change the effect of the paragraph.
1986 The passage below is the opening of a novel. Read the passage carefully. Then write an essay in which you
define the narrator's attitude toward the characters and show how he directs the reader's perceptions of those
characters through his use of such stylistic devices as imagery, diction, narrative structure, and choice of
specific details.
1987 In the selection below, George Eliot presents a conception of leisure that has lost its place in the society of her
own time. Write an essay in which you describe her views on "old Leisure" and on leisure in the society of her
own time and discuss the stylistic devices she uses to convey those views.
1988 Below is a complete short story. Read it carefully. Then write a well-organized essay in which you analyze the
blend of humor, pathos, and the grotesque in the story.
1989 Read the following passage carefully. Then write an essay that describes the attitude of the speaker toward
Captain MacWhirr and that analyzes the techniques the speaker uses to define the captain's character.
1990 Write a well-organized essay in which you analyze the style and tone of the passage below, explaining how
they help to express the author's attitudes.
1991 Read the following passage from The Life of Samuel Johnson by James Boswell. Then, in a well-organized
essay, discuss the ways Boswell differentiates between the writing of Joseph Addison and that of Samuel
Johnson. In your essay, analyze Boswell's views of both writers and the devices he uses to convey those
views.
1992 In the following excerpts from the beginning and ending of Tillie Olsen's short story "I Stand Here Ironing," a
mother's reflections are prompted by another person's concern about her daughter. Read the passage
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carefully. Then write an essay in which you analyze the narrative techniques and other resources of language
Olsen uses to characterize the mother and the mother's attitudes toward her daughter.
1993
In the following excerpts from an essay, Lytton Strachey presents his conception
of Florence Nightingale. In a well-organized essay, define Strachey's view and analyze how
he conveys it. Consider such elements as diction, imagery, syntax, and tone.
1994 Read the following passage carefully. Then write an essay showing how the author dramatizes the young
heroine's adventure. Consider such literary elements as diction, imagery, narrative pace, and point of view.
1995 Read the following short story carefully. Then write an essay analyzing how the author,
Sandra Cisneros, uses literary techniques to characterize Rachel.
1996 Read the following passage from Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel The House of the Seven Gables. Then write a
careful analysis of how the narrator reveals the character of Judge Pyncheon. You may emphasize whichever
devices (e.g. tone, selection of detail, syntax, point of view) you find most significant.
1997 Read carefully the following passage from Joy Kogawa's Obasan, a novel about the relocation of Japanese
Canadians to internment campus during the Second World War. Then in a well-organized essay, analyze how
changes in perspective and style reflect the narrator's complex attitude toward the past, In your analysis,
consider literary elements such as point of view, structure, selection of detail, and figurative language.
1998 Read carefully the following passage from George Eliot's novel Middlemarch (1871). Then write an essay in
which you characterize the narrator's attitude toward Dorothea Brooke and analyze the literary techniques
used to convey this attitude. Support your analysis with specific references to the passage
1999 In the following passage from Cormac McCarhjty’s novel The Crossing (1994), the narrator describes a
dramatic experience. Read the passage carefully. Then in a well-organized essay, show how McCarthy’s
techniques convey the impact of the experience on the main character.
2000 In the following passage from The Spectator (March 4, 1712), the English satirist Joseph Addison creates a
character who keeps a diary. Read the passage carefully. Then, in a well-organized essay, analyze how the
language of the passage characterizes the diarist and his society and how the characterization serves
Addison’s satiric purpose. You may wish to consider such elements as selection of detail, repetion, and tone.
2001 The passage below is taken from the novel Tom Jones (1749) by the English novelist and playwright Henry
Fielding. In this scene, which occurs early in the novel, Squire Allworthy discovers an infant in his bed. Read
the passage carefully. Then, in a well-organized essay, analyze the techniques that Fielding employs in this
scene to characterize Mr. Allworthy and Mrs. Deborah Wilkins.
2002 In the following excerpt from a recent British novel, the narrator, a young man in his early twenties, is attending
a play with his new girlfriend Isabel when she unexpectedly discovers that her parents are in the theater.
Read the passage carefully. Then write an essay in which you analyze how the author produces a comic
effect.
2003 The following passage is an excerpt from “The Other Paris,’ a short story by the Canadian writer Mavis
Gallant. Read the passage carefully. Then, in a well-written essay, explain how the autor uses narrative voic
and characterization to provide social commentary.
2004 The following passage comes from the opening of “The Pupil” (1891), a story by Henry James. Read the
passage carefully. Then write an essay in which you analyze the author’s depiction of the three characters
and the relationsips among them. Pay particular attention to tone and point of view.
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2005 Printed below is the complete text of a short story written in 1946 by Katharine Brush. Read the story
carefully. Then write an essay in which you show how the author uses literary devices to achieve her purpose.
2006 The following passage is an excerpt from Lady Windermere’s Fan, a play by Oscar Wilde, produced in 1892.
Read the passage carefully. Then write a welll-organized essay in which you analyze how the playwright
reveals the values of the characters and the nature of their society.
2007 Read carefully the following passage from Dalton Trumbo’s novel Johnny Got His Gun (1939). Then write a
well-organized essay in which you analyze how Trumbo uses such techniques as point of view, selection of
detail, and syntax to characterize the relationship between the young man and his father.
2008 The following passage is taken from Fasting, Feasting, a novel published in 1999 by Indian novelist Anita
Desai. In the excerpt, Arun, an exchange student from India, joins members of his American host family for an
afternoon at the beach. Read the passage carefully. Then write an essay in which you analyze how the author
uses such literary devices as speech and point of view to characterize Arun’s experience.
2009 The following selection is the opening of Ann Petry’s 1946 novel, The Street. Read the selection carefully and
then write an essay analyzing how Petry establishes Lutie Johnson’s relationship to the urban setting through
the use of such literary devices as imagery, personification, selection of detail, and figurative language.
2010 In the following passage from Maria Edgeworth’s 1801 novel, Belinda, the narrator provides a description of
Clarence Hervey, one of the suitors of the novel’s protagonist, Belinda Portman. Mrs. Stanhope, Belinda’s
aunt hope to improve her niece’s social prospects and therefore has arranged to have Belinda stay with the
fashionable Lady Delacour.
Read the passage carefully. Then write an essay in which you analyze Clarence Hervey’s complex
character as Edgeworth develops it through such literary techniques as tone, point of view, and language.
2011
The following passage is from the novel Middlemarch by George Eliot, the pen name of Mary Ann Evans
(1819-1889). In the passage, Rosamond and Tertius Lydgate, a recently married couple, confront financial
difficulties.
Read the passage carefully. Then write a well-developed essay in which you analyze how Eliot portrays
these two characters and their complex relationship as husband and wife. You may wish to consider such
literary devices as narrative perspective and selection of detail.
Free Response Questions
2011 – In a novel by William Styron, a father tells his son that life “is a search for justice.”
Choose a character from a novel or play who responds in some significant way to justice or
injustice. Then write a well-developed essay in which you analyze the character’s understanding
of justice, the degree to which the character’s search for justice if successful, and the significance
of this serach for the work as a whole.
You many choose a work from the list below or another work of comparable literary merit. Do
not merely summarize the plot.
2010 – Palestinian American literary theorist and cultural critic Edward Said has written that
“Exile is strangely compelling to think about but terrible to experience. It is the unhealable rift
forced between a human being and a native place, between the self and its true home: its
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essential sadness can never be surmounted.” Yet Said has also said that exile can become “a
potent, even enriching” experience.
Select a novel, play, or epic in which a character experiences such a rift and becomes cut off
from “home,” whether that home is the character’s birthplace, family, homeland, or other special
place. Then write an essay in which you analyze how the character’s experience with exile is
both alienating and enriching, and how this experience illuminates the meaning of the work as a
whole. You may choose a work from the list below or one of comparable literary merit. Do not
merely summarize the plot.
2009- A symbol is an object, action, or event that represents something or that creates a range of
associations beyond itself. In literary works a symbol can express an idea, clarify meaning, or
enlarge literal meaning.
Select a novel or play and, focusing on one symbol, write an essay analyzing how that symbol
functions in the work and what it reveals about the characters or themes of the work as a whole.
Do not merely summarize the plot.
2008 – In a literary work, a minor character, often known as a foil, possesses traits that
emphasize, by contrast or comparison, the distinctive characteristics and qualities of the main
character. For example, the ideas or behavior of the minor character might be used to highlight
the weaknesses or strengths of the main character.
Choose a novel or play in which a minor character serves as a foil to a main character. Then
write an essay in which you analyze how the relation between the minor character and the major
character illuminates the meaning of the work.
You may choose a work from the list below or another appropriate novel or play of similar
literary quality. Do not merely summarize the plot.
2007 - In many works of literature, past events can affect, positively or negatively, the present
actions, attitudes, or values of a character. Choose a novel or play in which a character must
contend with some aspect of the past, either personal or societal. Then write an essay in which
you show how the character’s relationsip to the past contributes to the meaning of the work as a
whole.
You may choose a work from the list below or another appropriate novel or play of similar
literary merit. Do not merely summarize the plot.
2006 – Many writers use a country setting to establish values within a work of literature. For
example, the country may be a place of virtue and peace or one of primitivism and ignorance.
Choose a novel or play in which such a setting plays a significant role. Then write an essay in
which you analyze how the country setting functions in the work as a whole. Do not merely
summarize the plot.
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2005 – In Kate Chopin’s The Awakening (1899), protagonist Edna Pontellier is said to possess
“that outward existence which conforms, the inward life which questions.” In a novel or play
that you have studied, identify a character who conforms outwardly while questioning inwardly.
Then write an essay in which you analyze how this tension between outward conformity and
inward questioning contributes to the meaning of the work. Avoid mere plot summary.
2004 – Critic Roland Barthes has said, “Literature is the question minus the answer.” Choose a
novel or play and, considering Barthes’ observation, write an essay in which you analyze a
central question the work raises and the extent to which it offers any answers. Explain how the
author’s treatment of this question affects your understanding of the work as a whole. Avoid
mere plot summary.
2003 – According to critic Northrop Frye, “Tragic heroes are so much the highest points in their
human landscape that they seem the inevitable conductors of the power about them, great trees
more likely to be struck by lighting than a clump of grass. Conductors may of course be
instruments as well as victims of the divine lightning.”
Select a novel or play in which a tragic figure functions as an instrument of the suffering of
others. Then write an essay in which you explain how the suffering brought upon others by that
figure contributes to the tragic vision of the work as a whole.
2002 – Morally ambiguous characters- characters whose behavior discourages readers from
identifying them as purely evil or purely good – are at the heart of many works of literature.
Choose a novel or play in which a morally ambiguous character plays a pivotal role. Then write
an essay in which you explain how the character can be viewed as morally ambiguous and why
his or her moral ambiguity is significant to the work as a whole. Avoid mere plot summary.
2001 – One definition of madness is “mental delusion or the eccentric behavior arising from it.”
But Emily Dickinson wrote
Much madness is divinest Sense –
To a discerning Eye –
Novelists and playwrights have often seen madness with a “discerning Eye.” Select a novel or
play in which a character’s apparent madness or irrational behavior plays an important role.
Then write a well-organized essay in which you explain what this delusion or eccentric behavior
consists of and how it might be judged reasonable. Explain the significance of the “madness” to
the work as a whole. Do not merely summarize the plot.
2000 – Many works of literature not readily identified with the mystery or detective story genre
nonetheless involve the investigation of a mystery. In these works, the solution to the mystery
may be less important than the knowledge gained in the process of its investigation. Choose a
novel or play in which one or more of the characters confront a mystery and explain how the
investigation illuminates the meaning of the work as a whole. Do not merely summarize the plot.
1999 - The eighteenth-century British novelist Laurence Sterne wrote, "No body, but he who has
felt it, can conceive what a plaguing thing it is to have a man's mind torn asunder by two projects
of equal strength, both obstinately pulling in a contrary direction at the same time."
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From a novel or play choose a character (not necessarily the protagonist) whose mind is pulled in
conflicting directions by two compelling desires, ambitions, obligations, or influences. Then, in a
well-organized essay, identify each of the two conflicting forces and explain how this conflict
within one character illuminates the meaning of the work as a whole. You may use one of the
novels or plays listed below or another novel or play of similar literary quality.
1998 - In his essay “Walking,” Henry David Thoreau offers the following assessment of
literature:
In literature it is only the wild that attracts us. Dullness is but another name for tameness.
It is the uncivilized free and wild thinking Hamlet and The Illiad, in all scriptures and
mythologies, not learned in schools, that delights us.
From the works you have studied in school, choose a novel, play, or epic poem that you
may initially have thought was conventional and tame but that you now value for its “uncivilized
free and wild thinking.” Write an essay in which you explain what constitutes its “uncivilized
free and wild thinking” and how that thinking is central to the value of the work as a whole.
Support your ideas with specific references to the work you choose.
1997 - Novels and plays often include scenes of weddings, funerals, parties, and other social
occasions. Such scenes may reveal the values of the characters and the society in which they
live. Select a novel or play that includes such a scene and, in a focused essay, discuss the
contribution the scene makes to the meaning of the work as a whole.
1996 - The British novelist Fay Weldon offers this observation about happy endings:
“The writers, I do believe, who get the best and most lasting response from readers are
the writers who offer a happy ending through moral development. By a happy ending, I do not
mean mere fortunate events - a marriage or a last-minute rescue from death - but some kind of
spiritual reassessment or moral reconciliation, even with the self, even at death.”
Choose a novel or play that has the kind of ending Weldon describes. In a well-written
essay, identify the “spiritual reassessment or moral reconciliation” evident in the ending and
explain its significance in the work as a whole.
1995 - Writers often highlight the values of a culture or a society by using characters who are
alienated from that culture or society because of gender, race, class, or creed.
Choose a play or novel in which such a character plays a significant role and show how
that character’s alienation reveals the surrounding society’s assumptions and moral values.
1994 - In some works of literature, a character who appears briefly, or does not appear at all is a
significant presence. Choose a novel or play of literary merit and write an essay in which you
show how such a character functions in the work. You may wish to discuss how the character
affects action, theme, or the development of other characters. Avoid plot summary.
1993 - "The true test of comedy is that it shall awaken thoughtful laughter." - George Meredith
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Choose a novel, play, or long poem in which a scene or character awakens "thoughtful
laughter" in the reader. Write an essay in which you show why this laughter is "thoughtful" and
how it contributes to the meaning of the work.
1992 - In a novel or play, a "confidant"(male) or a "confidante"(female) is a character, often a
friend or relative of the hero or heroine, whose role is to be present when the hero or heroine
needs a sympathetic listener to confide in. Frequently the result is, as Henry James remarked,
that the "confidant" or "confidante" can be as much "the reader's friend as the protagonist's."
However, the author sometimes uses this character for other purposes as well.
Choose a confidant or confidante from a novel or play of recognized literary merit and write
an essay in which you discuss the various ways this character functions in the work.
1991 - Many plays and novels use contrasting places (for example, two countries, two cities or
towns, two houses, or the land and the sea) to represent opposed forces or ideas that are central to
the meaning of the work.
Choose a novel or a play that contrasts two such places. Write an essay explaining how the
places differ, what each place represents, and how their contrast contributes to the meaning of
the work.
1990 - Choose a novel or play that depicts a conflict between a parent (or a parental figure) and a
son or daughter. Write an essay in which you analyze the sources of the conflict and explain
how the conflict contributes to the meaning of the work. Avoid plot summary.
1989 - In questioning the value of literary realism, Flannery O'Connor has written, "I am
interested in making a good case for distortion because I am coming to believe that it is the only
way to make people see."
Write an essay in which you "make a good case for distortion," as distinct from literary
realism. Base you essay on a work from the following list or choose another work of comparable
merit that you know well. Analyze how important elements of the work you choose are
"distorted" and explain how these distortions contribute to the effectiveness of the work. Avoid
plot summary.
1988 - Choose a distinguished novel or play in which some of the most significant events are
mental or psychological; for example, awakenings, discoveries, changes in consciousness. In a
well-organized essay, describe how the author manages to give these internal events the sense of
excitement, suspense, and climax usually associated with external action. Do not merely
summarize the plot.
1987 - Some novels and plays seem to advocate changes in social or political attitudes or in
traditions. Choose such a novel or play and note briefly the particular attitudes or traditions that
the author apparently wishes to modify. Then analyze the techniques the author uses to influence
the reader's or audience's views. Avoid plot summary.
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1986 - Some works of literature use the element of time in a distinct way. The chronological
sequence of events may be altered, or time may be suspended or accelerated.
Choose a novel, an epic, or a play of recognized literary merit and show how the author's
manipulation of time contributes to the effectiveness of the work as a whole. Do not base your
essay on a work you know from having seen a television or movie production of it.
1985 - A critic has said that one important measure of a superior work of literature is the ability
to produce in the reader a healthy confusion of pleasure and disquietude.
Select a literary work that produces this "healthy confusion." Write an essay in which you
explain the sources of the “disquietude” experienced by the readers of the work. Do not base
your essay on a movie, television program, or other adaptation of a work.
1984 - Select a line or so of poetry, or a moment or scene in a novel, epic poem, or play that you
find especially memorable. Write an essay in which you identify the line or the passage, explain
its relationship to the work in which it is found, and analyze the reasons for its effectiveness.
Do not base your essay on a work that you know about only from having seen a
television or movie production of it. Select a work of recognized literary merit.
1983 - From a novel or play of literary merit, select an important character who is a villain.
Then, in a well-organized essay, analyze the nature of the character's villainy and show how it
enhances meaning in the work. Do not merely summarize the plot.
The works listed below are examples. You may choose one from among them or select
another work of established literary merit. Do not base your essay on a work that you know
about only from having seen a television or movie production of it.
1982 - In great literature, no scene of violence exists for its own sake.
Choose a work of literary merit that confronts the reader or audience with a scene or
scenes of violence. In a well-organized essay, explain how the scene or scenes contribute to the
meaning of he complete work. Avoid plot summary.
The following titles are listed as suggestions. You may base your essay on one of them
or choose another work of equivalent literary merit on which to write.
1981 - The meaning of some literary works is often enhanced by sustained allusion to myths, the
Bible, or other works of literature. Select a literary work that makes use of such a sustained
reference. Then write a well-organized essay in which you explain the allusion that
predominates in the work and analyze how it enhances the work's meaning.
1980 - a recurring theme in literature is "the classic war between a passion and responsibility."
For instance, a personal cause, a love, a desire for revenge, a determination to redress a wrong, or
some other emotion or drive may conflict with moral duty.
Choose a literary work in which a character confronts the demands of a private passion
that conflicts with his or her responsibilities. In a well-written essay show clearly the nature of
the conflict, its effects upon the character, and its significance to the work.
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1979 - Choose a complex and important character in a novel or a play of recognized literary
merit who might--on the basis of the character's actions alone--be considered evil or immoral.
In a well-organized essay, explain both how and why the full presentation of the character in
the work makes us react more sympathetically than we otherwise might. Avoid plot summary.
1978 - Choose an implausible or strikingly unrealistic incident or character in a work of fiction
or drama of recognized literary merit. Write an essay that explains how the incident or
character is related to the more realistic or plausible elements in the rest of the work.
Avoid plot summary.
1977 - In some novels and plays certain parallel or recurring events prove to be significant.
In an essay, describe the major similarities and differences in a sequence of parallel or
recurring events in a novel or play and discuss the significance of such events. Do not
merely summarize the plot.
1976 - The conflict created when the will of an individual opposes the will of the majority is
the recurring theme of many novels, plays, and essays.
Select the work of an essayist who is in opposition to his or her society; or from a work of
recognized literary merit, select a fictional character who is in opposition to his or her
society.
In a critical essay, analyze the conflict and discuss the moral and ethical implications for
both the individual and the society. Do not summarize the plot or action of the work you
choose.
1975 - Although literary critics have tended to praise the unique in literary characterization,
many authors have employed the stereotyped character successfully..
Select one work of acknowledged literary merit and, in a well-written essay, show how the
conventional or stereotyped character or characters function to achieve the author's
purpose.
1974 - Choose a work of literature written before 1900. Write and essay in which you present
arguments for and against the work's relevance for a person in 1974. Your own position
should emerge in the course of your essay. You may refer to works of literature written
after 1900 for the purpose of contrast or comparison.
1973 - An effective literary work does not merely stop or cease; it concludes. In the view of
some critics, a work that does not provide the pleasure of significant "closure" has terminated
with an artistic fault. A satisfactory ending is not, however, always conclusive in every sense;
significant closure may require the reader to abide with or adjust to ambiguity and uncertainty.
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In an essay, discuss the ending of a novel or play of acknowledged literary merit. Explain
precisely how and why the ending appropriately or inappropriately concludes the work. Do
not merely summarize the plot.
1972 - In retrospect, the reader often discovers that the first chapter of a novel or the opening
scene of a drama introduces some of the major themes of the work. Write an essay about
the opening scene of a drama or the first chapter of a novel in which you explain how it
functions in this way.
1971 - The significance of a title such as The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is easy to
discover. However, in other works (for example, Measure for Measure) the full significance
of the title becomes apparent to the reader only gradually.
Choose two works and show how the significance of their respective titles is developed
through the authors' use of devices such as contrast, repetition, allusion, and point of view.
1970 - Choose a character from a work of recognized literary merit and write an essay in
which you (a) briefly describe the standards of the fictional society in which the character
exists and (b) show how the character is affected by and responds to those standards. In
your essay do not merely summarize the plot.
AP English: Literature and Composition
Novel/Play Selections
Absalom, Absalom!, 1976, 2000,2007
Adam Bede 2006
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, 1980, l982, l985,
1991, 1992, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1999, 2005,2006,
2008
Age of Innocence, 1997, 2202, 2005,2008
Agnes of God, 2000
Alias Grace, 2000,2004,2008
All the King’s Men, 2000, 2003,2004,2007,2008,2011
All My Sons, l985, 1990
All the Pretty Horses 1996, 2006,2008,2011
America is in the Heart 1995
The American 2005,2007
American Tragedy, l982, 1995,2003
Anna Karenina, 1980, 1991, 1999,
2002,2003,2006,2008
Another Country 1995
Antigone, 1979, 1980, 1990, 1994, 1999,2003,2011
Antony and Cleopatra, 1980, 1991
The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz, 1994
As I Lay Dying, 1978, l989, 1990, 1994, 2001,2006
As You Like It, 1992, 2005,2006
Atonement 2007,2011
The Autobiography of An Ex-Colored Man 2002, 2005
Awakening, l987, l988, 1991, 1992, 1995, 1997, 1999
2002,2007
Bear, The, 1994,2006
Beloved, 1990, 1999, 2001,2003,2007,2011
Benito Cereno, l989
Billy Budd, 1979, l981, l982, l983, l985, 1999,
2005,2008
Birthday Party, l989, 1997
Black Boy 2006
Bleak House, 1994, 2000
Bless Me, Ultima 1996, 1997,2005,2006
The Blind Assassin 2007,2011
Bluest Eye, The 1995
Bonesetter’s Daughter, The 2006,2007,2011
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Brave New World, l989, 2005
Brighton Rock, 1979
Brothers Karamazov, 1990 ,2008
Candide, 1980,1986, l987, 1991, 1996,2004
Caretaker , l985
Catch-22, l982, l985, l987, 1989, 1994, 2001, 2005
2008
Catcher in the Rye, 2001
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, 2000
Cat's Eye, 1994
Centaur, l981
Ceremony, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2001,2006
Cherry Orchard, The 1971, 1977, 2006,2007
Civil Disobedience, 1976
Cold Mountain 2008
Color Purple, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1996, 1997,2005
2008
Coming Through Slaughter, 2001
Crime and Punishment, 1976, 1979, 1980, l982, l988,
1996, 1999, 2000, 2001,2002,2003,2004,2011
Crucible, 1971, l983, l987,2005
Cry, the Beloved Country, l985, l987, 1991, 1995,
1996
2007
Daisy Miller, 1997
Dancing at Lughnasa, 2001
David Copperfield, 1978, l983,2006
Dead, The, 1997
Death of a Salesman, l986, l988, 1994,2003,2004
2005,2007
Death of Ivan Ilyich, l986
Delta Wedding, 1997
Desire Under the Elms, l981
Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant
The Diviners 1995
Doctor Faustus, 1979, l986, 1999,2004
Doll's House, 1971, l983, l987, l988, 1995,2005
Dollmaker, 1991
Don Quixote, 1992, 2001,2004,2006,2008
East of Eden 2006
Emma, 1996,2008
Enemy of the People, 1976, 1980, l987, 1999,
2001,2007
Equus, 1992, 1999, 2000, 2001,2008
Ethan Frome, 1980, l985,2003,2005,2006,2007
Eumenides, The 1996
Fall, l981
Farewell To Arms, 1991, 1999
Father, The 2001
Fathers and Sons, 1990
Faust 2002,2003
Federalist, 1996
Fences 2002, 2003
Fifth Business, 2000,2007
Fixer, The 2007
For Whom the Bell Tolls 2003, 2006
Frankenstein, l989, 2000,2003,2006,2008
Gathering of Old Men, 2000,2011
A Gesture Life 2004, 2005
Ghosts, 2000, 2004
Glass Menagerie, 1971, 1990, 1994, 1997, 1999,
2002, 2008
Go Tell it on the Mountain, l988, 1990,2005
God of Small Things 2011
Going After Cacciato, 2001
Good Soldier, The, 2000
Grapes of Wrath, l981, l985, l987, 1995,2006,2011
Great Expectations, 1979, 1980, l988, l989, 1992,
1995
1996, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004,2007
Great Gatsby , l982, l983, l988, 1991, 1997,
2002,2004,2007
Gulliver's Travels, l987, l989, 2001,2004
Hairy Ape, l989
Hamlet, l988, 1994, 1997, 1999, 2000
Hard Times, l987, 1990
Heart of Darkness, 1971, 1976, 1991, 1994, 1996,
1999, 2000, 2001,2002,2004
Hedda Gabler, 1979, 1992, 2000,2002,2003
Henry IV, 1980, 199,2008
Henry V 2002
Homecoming, 1978, 1990
House of Mirth, The 2007
House Made of Dawn 1995,2006
House of the Seven Gables, l989
Iliad, 1980
In the Lake of the Woods, 2000
Invisible Man, 1977, 1978, l982, l983, l985, l987, l988,
l989, 1991, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2001,2004,2005,
2008,2011
J. B., l981, 1994
Jane Eyre, 1978, 1979, 1980, l988, 1991, 1994, 1995,
1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2007
Jasmine, 1999
Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, 2000,2004
Joseph Andrews, 1991
Joy Luck Club, 1997
Jude the Obscure, 1971, 1976, 1980, l985, l987,
1991, 1995
Julius Caesar , l982, 1997
Jungle, l987
King Lear, 1977, 1978, l982, 1989, 1990, 1996, 2001,
2003, 2004,2005,2006,2008,2011
Kite Runner, The 2007,2008
A Lesson Before Dying, 1999,2011
Letters from an American Farmer, 1976
Light in August, 1971, 1979, l981, l982, l983, l985,
1995, 1999, 2003,2011
Little Foxes, l985, 1990
Long Day's Journey into Night, 1990, 2003,2007
Lord Jim, 1977, 1978, l982, l986, 2000. 2003,2007
Lord of the Flies, l985, 1992
Love Medicine 1995
Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, l985
Lysistrata, l987
Macbeth, l983, 1999, 2003
Madam Bovary, 1980, l985, 1995,2005,2006
Main Street, l987
Major Barbara, 1979, 1996,2004
Man and Superman, 1981
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The Exam and Course Design
Mansfield Park, 1991,2006
Mayor of Casterbridge, 1994, 1999, 2000, 2002
Medea, l982, 1992, 1995, 2001,2003,2011
Member of the Wedding, 1997
Merchant of Venice, l985, 1991, 1995,2002,2011
Metamorphosis, 1978, l989
Middlemarch 1995,2004,2005,2007
Midsummer's Night's Dream, 1991,2006
Mill on the Floss, 1990, 1992, 1995
Misanthrope, 1992,2008
Miss Lonelyhearts, l989
Moby Dick, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, l989,
1994,1996, 2001,2003,2004, 2007
Moll Flanders, 1976, 1977, l986, l987
Monkey Bridge, 2000
Moor’s Last Sigh, The 2007
Mother Courage, l985, l987
Mrs. Dalloway, 1994 , 1997,2005,2007
Mrs. Warren's Profession , l987, 1990, 1995,2002
Much Ado About Nothing, 1997
Murder in the Cathedral, 1976, 1980, l985, 1995,2011
My Last Duchess, l985
Native Son, 1979, l982, l983, l985, l987, 1995,
2001,2011
Native Speaker, 1999,2007
Nineteen Eighty-Four, l987, 1994,2005
No Country for Old Men 2011
No-No Boy 1995
No Exit, l986
Notes from the Underground, l989
O Pioneers 2006
Obasan, 1994, 1995,2004,2005,2006,2007
Odyssey, l986
Oedipus Rex, 1977, 2000, 2003,2004,2011
Of Mice and Men 2001
One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich 2005
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, 2001
One Hundred Years of Solitude, l989
Optimist's Daughter, 1994
Oresteia, 1990
Orlando 2004
Othello, 1979, l985, l988, 1992, 1995
Our Town, l986, 1997
Out of Africa 2006
Pale Fire, 2001
Pamela , l986
Paradise Lost, 1985, l986
Passage to India, 1971, 1977, 1978, l988, 1991,
1992,
2007
Pere Goriot 2002
Persuasion, 1990, 2005,2007
Phedre, 1992, 2003
Piano Lesson, The 1996, 1999,2007,2008
Picture of Dorian Gray 2002
The Plague 2002
Poccho 2002
Pnin, 1997
Poisonwood Bible 2011
Portrait of a Lady, 1992, 1996,2005
Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, 1976,
1977,1980, l981,
1986, 1988, 1996, 1999, 2004,2005
The Power and Glory 1995
Praisesong for the Widow, 1996
Pride and Prejudice, l983, l988, 1992, 1997,2008
Pygmalion, 1992,2008
Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, 1990
Ragtime 2003,2007
Raisin in the Sun, l987, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1994,
1996
1999
Rape of the Lock, l981
Redburn, l987
Remains of the Day, The, 2000
Reservation Blues, 2008
Richard III, 1979
Romeo and Juliet, 1990, 1992, 1997
Room of One's Own, 1976
Rosencrantz and Guilderstern are Dead, l981, 1994
2004,2005,2011
Saint Joan 1995
Sandbox, 1971
Scarlet Letter, 1971, 1977, 1978, l983, l988, 1991,
1999, 2002,2004,2005,2006
Sent for You Yesterday 2003
Separate Peace, l982,2007
Set This House on Fire 2011
Shipping News, 1997
Silas Marner 2002
Sister Carrie, l987,2002,2004
Slaughterhouse Five, 1991
Snow Falling on Cedars, 2000
Song of Solomon, l981, l988, 1996, 2000
Sons and Lovers, 1977, 1990
Sound and the Fury, l986. 1997, 2001,2004,2008
Stone Angel, The 1996
Story of Edgar Sawtelle 2011
Stranger, 1979, l982, l986,2011
Streetcar Named Desire, 1991, 19922001,2007,2008
Sula, 1992, 1997,2002,2004,2008
Sun Also Rises, l985, 1991, 1995,2004,2005
Surfacing 2005
Tale of Two Cities, l982, 1991,2008
Tartuffe, l987
Tempest, 1971, 1978, 1996,2007
Tess of the D'Urbervilles, l982, 1991, 2003,2006,2007
Their Eyes were Watching God, l988, 1990, 1991,
1996, 2004,2005,2006,2007,2008
Things Fall Apart, 1991, 1997,2003,2004,2011
Thousand Acres, A 2006,2011
Thousand Splendid Suns 2011
To the Lighthouse, 1977, l986, l988
To Kill a Mockingbird 2011
Tom Jones, 1990 , 2000,2006,2008
Trial, l989, 2000,2011
Trifles, 2000
Tristram Shandy, l986
Turn of the Screw, 1992, 1994, 2000,2002,2004
Twelfth Night, l985, 1994, 1996
Typical American 2002,2005
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Uncle Tom's Cabin, l987
Vicar of Wakefield, A 2006
Victory, l983
Volpone, l983
Waiting for Godot, 1977, l985, l986, l989, 1994, 2001
Warden, The 1996
Washington Square, 1990
Waste Land , l981
Watch on the Rhine, l987
Watch that ends the Night, 1992
Way of the World, 1971
Way We Live Now, The 2006
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf, l988, 1994,
2000,2004,2007
Wide Sargasso Sea, l989, 1992
Wild Duck, 1978
Winter's Tale, 1986, l989,2006
Winter in the Blood 1995
Wise Blood, l982, l989, 1995
Woman Warrior, 1991
Wuthering Heights, 1971, 1977, 1978, 1979, l982,
l983,
l986, l989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1996, 1997, 1999,
2001,2006,2007,2008
Zoo Story, l982, 2001
Zoot Suit, 1995
In 1993, the test did not list specific works, but instead authors. Authors listed are below:
Aristophanes
Margaret Atwood
Jane Austen
Samuel Beckett
Lord Byron
Geoffrey Chaucer
Charles Dickens
T. S. Eliot
William Faulkner
Henry Fielding
Zora Neale Hurston
Aldous Huxley
Henry James
Ben Jonson
Franz Kafka
Margaret Laurence
Bobbie Ann Mason
Moliere
Vladimir Nabokov
Gloria Naylor
Walker Percy
Harold Pinter
Alexander Pope
Barbara Pym
Mordecai Richler
William Shakespeare
George Bernard Shaw
Tom Stoppard
Jonathan Swift
Anthony Trollope
Mark Twain
Voltaire
Evelyn Waugh
Oscar Wilde
No specific works nor authors were listed in 1998.
Resources:
Novel/Play Units and Course Materials
http://www.centerforlearning.org
http://mla.org Approaches for Teaching World Literature
www.npr.org
http://www5.unitedstreaming.com Ready Made Lesson Plans (must be a member, but can get a
30 day free trial)
http://www.webenglishteacher.com
http://school.discovery.com/schrockguide/ (this is the website I used to create the crossword
puzzle for the Blake poems).
http://www.appliedpractice.com/ - Excellent lesson ideas and multiple choice
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The Exam and Course Design
Historical and Cultural Resources
http://www.victorianweb.org/
http://www.4president.tv/
http://www.livingroomcandidate.org/commercials/1952
Poetry
http://www.favoritepoem.org/
www.loc.gov/poetry/180
Literary Criticism and Terms
Critical Encounters in High School English: Teaching Literary Theory to Adolescents
Author: Deborah Appleman – Published through NCTE
A Practical Glossary. Author: Brian Moon - Published through NCTE
Has easy to understand examples of literary theory for students
Popular Culture and Philosophy Series. William Irwin (Editor). Open Court Publishing Company
Has several titles ranging from the Simpsons to Harry Potter
http://www.cla.purdue.edu/academic/engl/theory/
William Blake
http://www.tate.org.uk/britain/exhibitions/blakeinteractive/index.html
http://www.blakearchive.org/
http://www.motco.com/blake%2Dpoet%2Dsket/
http://www.gailgastfield.com/Blake.html (amazing)
http://www.pitt.edu/~ulin/Paradise/Blake1808.htm
Grammar Websites
http://cctc.commnet.edu/grammar
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/grammar
http://drgrammar.org (has lots of sources – especially on etymology)
Frankenstein Websites
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/hmd/frankenstein/frankhome
http://www.watershedonline.ca/literature/frankenstein
Rhetoric Websites:
http://www.americanrhetoric.com/index.htm
http://www.uky.edu/ArtsSciences/Classics/rhetoric.html
http://humanities.byu.edu/rhetoric/silva.htm
http://www.kn.att.com/wired/fil/pages/listaplanguma.html#cat6
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The Exam and Course Design
Jamaica Kincaid:
http://www.english.emory.edu/Bahri/Kincaid.html
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5292754
http://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/virtualit/fiction/Girls/story.asp
Research:
www.questia.com
Vocabulary:
www.apstrategies.com
http://flocabulary.com
www.freerice.com
www.saddlieroxford.com
http://www.amscopub.com
http://www.worldskills.org/
http://www.lexfiles.com/14-words.html
vocab rock (CD) – can be downloaded to students’ MP3 players
http://visual.merriam-webster.com/ (visual dictionary)
http://www.wordle.net/ - This will help students identify theme and main idea
Quiz Makers
www.quizmaker.com
www.quizlet.com
Flash Fiction edited by James Thomas, Denise Thomas, Tom Hazuka
Norton Publishing
1992
0-393-03361-9
A good source of short pieces of fiction that can be used to teach discrete skills.
Technology Integration
http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2009/04/visual-dictionary-from-merriam-webster.html
http://springfieldebooks.wikispaces.com/ (list of sites for free e-books)
Satire/Comedy
www.mcsweeneys.net
www.comedycentral.com
Capitol Steps
At this Web site, current and former Congressional staffers use songs to provide a humorous look at political
events and personalities.
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
A smart and funny "fake news" broadcast that satirizes current events through interviews, features, and
Stewart's analysis. This program is taped Monday through Thursday and airs on Comedy Central.
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The Exam and Course Design
Doonesbury
Find the daily Doonesbury comic strip online, as well as portraits and biographies of the characters featured
in Doonesbury to assist new readers.
NOW with Bill Moyers: Who's Laughing Now? American Political Satire
This feature details the history of satire in U.S. politics. Links to satire examples from the 1700's to the
present are also provided.
The Onion
Online newspaper featuring satirical articles related to the current events of the day and people in the news.
Political Cartoons
A Web site containing political cartoons from well-known cartoonists around the world.
Saturday Night Live's "Weekend Update"
This "fake news" broadcast segment delivers headlines with a humorous twist. The Web site includes
transcripts from 1998 to the present.
The White House
This online newspaper features satirical articles related to the President of the United States and other
Washington leaders and their political agendas, policies, and procedures.
http://www.pbs.org/now/classroom/satire.html
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