Advanced Placement English IV
Literature and Composition
Mr. Diamond
2009-2010
The Advanced Placement Literature and Composition course is designed to develop
students’ abilities as a close reader, critical thinker, and well organized writer by offering
them a college-level course during their senior year of high school.
Course Description: In this course, students will learn to read and comprehend some of
the finest poetry, plays, novels, short stories and essays written at various times and in
various cultures. This course emphasizes discovery of the meaning in literature through
attention to diction, imagery, syntax, characterization, etc. and the various techniques and
strategies authors use to evoke emotional responses from readers. Students are expected
to justify their interpretations by reference to details and patterns found in the text.
AP English is both demanding and intellectually stimulating. It requires your best effort
consistently and emphasizes your development of thought and mature habits of critical
thinking. Classroom discussion and active participation are vital. Written assignments,
both short and long term, will be an important and frequent feature of the course. You
are expected to work with considerable independence at home and to contribute
frequently to small groups and class discussions.
The ultimate goal for this class is to prepare the student for the AP English Literature and
Composition exam. All of the work that is done in the class is directly related to the
exam. I want every student in this class to have an excellent opportunity to score a 3 or
higher on the AP test.
IN ADVANCED PLACEMENT LITERATURE AND COMPOSITION,
STUDENTS WILL…
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Write and revise compositions in response to interpretive exercises to explicate given
literary selections
Write and revise critical essays that explicate poetry, including consideration of
structure and style as they reflect content
Explicate, in discussion or critical essay, short prose narratives, selected novels, and
plays
Write and/or present orally critical analysis or persuasive selections
Examine, in discussion or essay, the logic, language, syntax, structure, and tone of
prose and poetry selections as those elements combine to produce an effect on the
reader
Write documented evaluative and expository essays on topics relating to literature
Sharpen skills in close reading by perceiving patterns of language such as motifs,
symbols, images and metaphors as well as the effect of tone and the contributions to
poetry of sounds and metrical devices
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Sharpen organizational and transitional skills in writing
Analyze the AP Literature and Composition test, including sample essay responses
and sample multiple choice questions.
Learn close reading strategies.
Write. Essay writing techniques are a focus for this year; all essays will be graded
using a rubric.
*Attitude, attendance, and class participation are all considered in the final semester
grade.
For each unit of study, students will write and revise formal, extended analysis by
 Writing to understand: Informal, exploratory writing activities that enable you to
discover what you think in the process of writing about the reading
 Writing to explain: Expository, analytical essays in which you draw upon textual
details to develop and extended explanation/interpretation of the theme of a work
 Writing to evaluate: Analytical, argumentative essays in which students drew upon
textual details to make and explain judgments about a work’s artistry and quality, and
its social and cultural values.
Reading
Students will be assigned works to read outside of class that supplement what we are
doing in class. Most of the semester you will be dealing with two works at the same
time. In order to be successful in this class, students need to have read all the required
materials when they are assigned and be prepare to write about and discuss them when
requested.
Thematic Course of Study
During the following course of study, students will be expected to
 Incorporate/master a wide-ranging vocabulary with denotative accuracy and
connotative resourcefulness
 Incorporate/master syntax variety include appropriate use of subordinate and
coordinate structures
 Incorporate/master a logical organization, enhanced by specific techniques of
coherence such as repetition, transitions, and emphasis
 Incorporate/master an effective use of rhetoric, including controlling tone,
maintaining a consistent voice, and achieving emphasis through parallelism,
antithesis, etc.
 Incorporate/master a balance of generalization and specific, illustrative detail
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The Search for Identity
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How do we form and shape our identities?
In a culture where we are bombarded with ideas and images of “what we should be,”
how does one form an identity that remains true and authentic for her/himself?
What turning points determine our individual pathways to adulthood?
What happens when identities collide?
If language shapes identity, how does it do so?
Major Texts will include at least one of the following:
Mark Twain, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Ralph Ellison, Invisible Man
Charlotte Bronte, Jane Eyre
*Assignments: Vocabulary identification in context; novel overview including major
characters, setting, conflict, allusions, and plot synopsis; dialectical journal; historical
context analysis; development of a theme statement; analysis/annotation of selected
passages for the effect created by the diction, imagery, details, language, and syntax
(DIDLS)
Poems:
T.S. Eliot, “The Hollow Men”
May Swenson, “The Centaur”
*Assignments: Paraphrase and analysis of literal meaning and interpretive level through
study of TPCASTT (title, paraphrase, connotation, attitude, shifts, title, theme) and
literary devises including figurative language
**Unit Assessment will involve one or more of the following: graded large group
discussion, graded small groups discussion, Socratic seminar, timed writings, objective
tests/quizzes, portfolio.
The Human Condition / Spirit
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In the face of adversity, what causes some individuals to prevail while others fail?
What is the meaning of life and does that shape our beliefs regarding death?
Are we governed/guided by fate, free will, a greater power, or do we fall somewhere
on the spectrum between?
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Major Texts:
Anonymous, Beowulf
Dante Alighieri, The Inferno
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*Assignments: Vocabulary identification in context; novel overview including major
characters, setting, conflict, allusions, and plot synopsis; dialectical journal; historical
context analysis; development of a theme statement; analysis/annotation of selected
passages for the effect created by the diction, imagery, details, language, and syntax
(DIDLS)
Poems will include at least three of the following:
Robert Frost, “The Road not Taken,” “After Apple Picking”
William Butler Yeats, “An Irish Airman Foresees His Death”
Robert Hayden, “The Whipping”
Emily Dickinson, “There’s been a Death in the Opposite House”
Langston Hughes, “Cross”
William Wordsworth, “The World is Too Much with Us”
Elizabeth Bishop, “One Art”
John Milton, “On His Blindness”
John Donne, “Death be not Proud”
W.H. Auden, “Musee des Beaux Arts”
Lucille Clifton, “Tuesday 9/11/01”
*Assignments: Paraphrase and analysis of literal meaning and interpretive level through
study of TPCASTT (title, paraphrase, connotation, attitude, shifts, title, theme), and
literary devices including figurative language
**Unit Assessment will involve one or more of the following: graded large group
discussion, graded small groups discussion, Socratic seminar, timed writings, objective
tests/quizzes, portfolio.
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The Search for Truth: Appearance vs. Reality
What is reality and how is it constructed?
What tools can the individual use to judge the difference, or draw a line between,
illusion and reality?
What is hypocrisy and what can the individual / subculture / culture do about it?
Are there certain truths that can be considered universal or absolute?
What are the consequences of examining “all of the shades of gray”?
How does perspective shape or alter truth?
Major Texts:
Plato, The Allegory of the Cave
William Shakespeare, Hamlet
Sophocles, Oedipus Rex
*Assignments: Vocabulary identification in context; novel overview including major
characters, setting, conflict, allusions, and plot synopsis; dialectical journal; historical
context analysis; development of a theme statement; analysis/annotation of selected
passages for the effect created by the diction, imagery, details, language, and syntax
(DIDLS)
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Poems will include at least three of the following:
Matthew Arnold, “Dover Beach”
John Keats, “Ode on a Grecian Urn”
Sylvia Plath, “Mirror”
Edgar Allan Poe, “Eldorado”
Lawrence Ferlinghetti, “Constantly Risking Absurdity”
Margaret Atwood, “Siren Song”
Adrienne Rich, “Living in Sin”
*Assignments: Paraphrase and analysis of literal meaning and interpretive level through
study of TPCASTT (title, paraphrase, connotation, attitude, shifts, title, theme), and
literary devices such as figurative language
**Unit Assessment will involve one or more of the following: graded large group
discussion, graded small groups discussion, Socratic seminar, timed writings, objective
tests/quizzes, portfolio.
Utopia and Dystopia
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How would we define a utopian society and has the concept of utopia changed over
time and/or across cultures or societies?
What are the ideals (e.g., freedom, responsibility, justice, community, etc.) that
should be honored in a utopian society?
Why do people continue to pursue the concept of a utopian society?
How do competing notions of what a utopian society should look like lead to
conflict?
What are the purposes and/or consequence of creating and/or maintaining a dystopian
society?
Is utopia attainable? At what cost would it be worth attaining?
By attempting to eradicate disease and disfigurement, are we moving toward or away
from utopia?
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Major Texts:
George Orwell, 1984
Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities
*Assignments: Vocabulary identification in context; novel overview including major
characters, setting, conflict, allusions, and plot synopsis; dialectical journal; historical
context analysis; development of a theme statement; analysis/annotation of selected
passages for the effect created by the diction, imagery, details, language, and syntax
(DIDLS)
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Poems:
Samuel Coleridge, “Kubla Khan”
Gwendolyn Brooks, “First fight, Then fiddle”
*Assignments: Paraphrase and analysis of literal meaning and interpretive level through
study of TPCASTT (title, paraphrase, connotation, attitude, shifts, title, theme), and
literary devices including figurative language
**Unit Assessment will involve one or more of the following: graded large group
discussion, graded small groups discussion, Socratic seminar, timed writings, objective
tests/quizzes, portfolio.
The American Dream
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What is the American Dream and to what extent is it achievable for all Americans?
In what ways does the American Dream mean different things for different
Americans?
How has the American Dream changed over time?
What is the perspective of a given nature, culture, or region in regard to the American
Dream and what factors create those perceptions?
Major Texts:
Arthur Miller, Death of a Salesman
F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby
*Assignments: Vocabulary identification in context; novel overview including major
characters, setting, conflict, allusions, and plot synopsis; dialectical journal; historical
context analysis; development of a theme statement; analysis/annotation of selected
passages for the effect created by the diction, imagery, details, language, and syntax
(DIDLS)
*Assignments: Vocabulary identification in context, characterization analysis, setting
analysis, development of a theme statement, identification/analysis of DIDLS, and text
annotation
Poems:
Langston Hughes, “Dream Deferred”
Robert Frost, “The Gift Outright”
*Assignments: Paraphrase and analysis of literal meaning and interpretive level through
study of TPCASTT (title, paraphrase, connotation, attitude, shifts, title, theme), and
literary devices such as figurative language
**Unit Assessment will involve one or more of the following: graded large group
discussion, graded small groups discussion, Socratic seminar, timed writings, objective
tests/quizzes, portfolio.
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