ENGLISH LITERATURE AND COMPOSITION
Syllabus
Fall 2011
Advanced Placement English IV focuses on critical analysis of literature through
advanced rhetorical skills. The course will follow the curricular requirements set forth by
the College Board and will prepare students for successful completion of the A.P.
Literature and Composition Exam in May. Works of literary merit are studied throughout
the year, followed by analytical discussion and writing.
Students are expected to possess advanced skills in reading comprehension, analysis, and
writing. However, equally important are diligence and determination. The student who
struggles with rhetorical skills yet possesses a strong work ethic will find “success
unexpected in common hours.”
TEXTS
Elements of Literature. 6th ed. Orlando, FL: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 2007. Print.
Hodges, John, Cheryl Glenn, Robert Miller, and Suzanne Webb. Hodges' Harbrace
Handbook. 17th ed. U.S.A.: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2010. Print
Meyer, Michael. The Bedford Introduction to Literature. 7th ed. Boston: Bedford Books,
2005. Print.
Multiple-Choice & Free Response Questions in Preparation for the AP English
Literature and Composition Examination. 7th ed. Brooklyn, NY: D&S Marketing
Systems, Inc., 2010. Print.
MATERIALS NEEDED
1. Three-ring notebook (1” rings)
2. Four subject dividers—in this specific order:
a.
b.
c.
d.
Notes
Journal
Hand-outs
Returned Work
3. Paper (no spiral paper allowed)
4. Pen or pencil
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GRADING
Each assignment will fall into one of the following categories:
Course Work
Percent of Final Grade
Category 1: Essays, Tests, Creative Group Projects, MWDS……………….............70%
Category 2: Participation Grade, Quizzes, 3QR, Notebook Grade……………..….. .20%
Category 3: Journal Writing, Poetry Responses, Completion Assignments…………10%
LATE WORK POLICY
Late work will be penalized 25 points for each school day that it is late.
FINAL EXAM POLICY
In addition to the school policy, if you miss 7 or more of my classes due to field trips or
other school-related activities, you will take the final exam. This is completely
independent of your usual absences (e.g., illness, death in the family, etc.).
When you have an extra-curricular activity, remember the key word is extra-curricular.
English is a core curriculum class needed for graduation.
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SCOPE AND SEQUENCE
This is a tentative syllabus and is subject to change as the year progresses. Because the
AP English Literature and Composition Exam focuses on novels, plays and poetry, each
unit will emphasize these genres. Short stories, which do not appear on the exam, will be
studied as time allows.
Unit 1
I. Literary Period: “The Anglo-Saxons” (449 A.D.—1066 A.D.)
a. Introduction to the Literary Period (pp. 2-17)
b. Major work: Beowulf (c. 700 A.D.)
II. Poetry
Each poem will be studied and analyzed for its specific emphasis on the following
literary devices: (1) word choice, word order and tone (2) imagery (3) figures of
speech (4) symbolism, allegory, and irony and (5) patterns of rhythm.
Randall Jarrell, “The Death of the Ball Turret Runner,” p. 758; Jeanette Barnes,
“Battle-Piece,” p. 792; Margaret Atwood, “You Fit into Me,” p. 817; Robert Frost,
“Acquainted with the Night,” p. 838; Walt Whitman, “Song of the Open Road,”
p. 892.
III. Short Stories
Each short story will be studied and analyzed for its specific emphasis on the
following elements of literature: (1) plot (2) characterization (3) setting
(4) point-of view (5) symbolism (6) theme (7) style, tone and irony
Joyce Carol Oates, “Three Girls,” p. 74; May-Lee Chai, “Saving Sourdi,”
p. 121; Ernest Hemingway, “Soldier’s Home,” p. 170; Anton Chekov,
“The Lady with the Pet Dog,” p. 225; Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni,
“Clothes,” p. 250; Stephen Crane, “The Bride Comes to the Yellow Sky,”
p. 285; T. Coraghessan Boyle, “Carnal Knowledge,” p. 324.
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Unit 2
I. Literary Period: “The Middle Ages” (1066—1485)
a. Introduction to the Literary Period (pp. 112-129)
b. Major work: The Canterbury Tales (late 1300s)
II. Poetry
E.E. Cummings, “she being Brand,” p. 760; Walt Whitman, “Cavalry Crossing a
Ford,” p. 793; Emily Dickinson, “Presentiment—is that long Shadow—on the
lawn--,” p. 818; Edgar Allan Poe, “The Haunted Palace,” p. 840; William
Wordsworth, “My Heart Leaps Up,” p. 895.
III. Short Stories
Stephen King, “All That You Love Will Be Carried Away,” p. 81; Herman Melville,
“Bartleby the Scrivener,” p. 135; Andrea Lee, “Anthropology,” p. 177; Joyce
Carol Oates, “The Lady with the Pet Dog,” p. 227; Collette, “The Hand,” p. 259;
Katherine Mansfield, “Miss Brill,” p. 295; Susan Minot, “Lust,” p. 339.
Unit 3
I. Literary Period: “The Renaissance” (1485-1660)
a. Introduction to the Literary Period (pp. 270-290)
b. Major works:
1. Hamlet (1599)
2. Macbeth (1603)
II. Poetry
From Bedford: Judith Ortiz Cofer, “Common Ground,” p. 762; David Soloway,
“Windsurfing,” p. 793; Anne Bradstreet, “The Author to Her Book,” p. 819; Edward
Arlington Robinson, “Richard Cory,” p. 842; Timothy Steele, “Waiting for the
Storm,”p. 897.
From Elements of Literature: William Shakespeare, “Sonnet 18,” “Sonnet 29,”
“Sonnet 30,” Sonnet “71,” “Sonnet 73,” “Sonnet 116,” “Sonnet 130.”
No short stories are included in this unit.
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Unit 4
I. Literary Period: “The Restoration” (1660-1800)
a. Introduction to the Literary Period (pp. 560-578)
b. Major work: Candide (1758)
II. Poetry
Ted Kooser, “Year’s End,” p. 763; Theodore Roethke, “Root Cellar,” p. 795;
Rosario Castellanos, “Chess,” p. 820; E.E. Cummings, “next to of course god
america i,” p. 844; William Butler Yeats, “That the Night Come,” p. 897.
III. Short Stories
William Faulkner, “A Rose for Emily,” p. 90; Faye Weldon, “IND AFF or Out of
Love in Sarajevo,” p. 186; Alice Walker, “Roselily,” p. 242; Ralph Ellison,
“Battle Royal,” p. 262; Dagoberto Gilb, “Love in L.A.,” p. 298; Z.Z. Packer,
“Brownies,” p. 346.
Unit 5
I. Literary Period: “The Romantic Period” (1778-1832)
a. Introduction to the Literary Period (pp. 702-717)
b. Major work: Pride and Prejudice (1813)
II. Poetry
From Elements of Literature: William Blake, “The Tiger,” p. 720; “The Lamb,” p.
723; “A Poison Tree,” p. 731; William Wordsworth, “Lines Composed a Few Miles
Above Tintern Abbey,” p. 735; “Composed upon Westminster Bridge,” p. 743; “The
World Is Too Much with Us,” p. 745; Samuel Coleridge, “Kubla Khan,” p. 758;
The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, p. 762; George Gordon, Lord Byron, “She Walks in
Beauty,” p. 794; Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage, Canto IV, p. 796; Percy Shelley,
“Ozymandias,” p. 802; “Ode to the West Wind,” p. 805; John Keats, “On First
Looking into Chapman’s Homer,” p. 825; “When I Have Fears,” p. 827; “Ode to a
Nightingale,” p. 830; Ode to a Grecian Urn,”p. 835; Robert Burns, “To a Mouse,”
p. 840; “To a Louse,” p. 843.
No short stories are included in this unit.
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Unit 6
I. Literary Period: “The Victorian Period” (1832-1901)
a. Introduction to the Literary Period (pp. 874-893)
b. Major works: Wuthering Heights (1847)
II. Poetry
Robert Herrick, “To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time,” p. 766; William Blake,
“London,” p. 802; Dylan Thomas, “The Hand That Signed the Paper,” p. 822;
Stephen Crane, “A Man Said to the Universe,” p. 845; A.E. Housman, “When I
was one-and-twenty,” p. 899.
III. Short Stories
Audre Dubas, “Killings,” p. 100; Helena Maria Viramontes, “The Moths,” p. 194;
Michael Chibon, “Along the Frontage Road,” p. 274; Alison Baker, “Better Be
Ready ‘Bout Half Past Eight,” p. 301.
Unit 7
I. Literary Period: “The Modern World” (1901-present)
a. Introduction to the Literary Period (pp. 1018-1036)
b. Major Work: Lord of the Flies (1954)
II. Poetry
Richard Wilbur, “A Late Aubade,” p. 770; Ezra Pound, “In a Station of the Metro,”
p. 812; Sylvia Plath, “Mirror,” p. 828; Carl Sandburg, “Buttons,” p. 849; Alfred
Lord Tennyson, “The Charge of the Light Brigade,” p. 906;
III. Short Stories
Nathaniel Hawthorne, “Young Goodman Brown,” p. 383; Flannery O’Conner,
“A Good Man is Hard to Find,” p. 430; William Faulkner, “Barn Burning,” p. 483;
James Joyce, “Eveline,” p. 516.
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