John W. Hallahan High School
Mrs. McQuoid
English II ~ Course Syllabus
English 2 is organized in a thematic way, grouping various genres from various periods into units based
on a particular theme. The units will roughly correspond to the academic quarters. The following list will
help you to know what is coming up, but it is only a tentative list; I may make adjustments as needed
throughout the year.
Unit One: Good & Evil
 Epic: “Beowulf,” “Paradise Lost”
 Poetry: “Sir Gawain & The Green Knight,” “The Rape of the Lock,” “Rime of the Ancient
Mariner”
 Novel: Great Expectations
 Writing: Compare/Contrast Essay, Creative Writing – Epic form, Introduction to Literary
Analysis
Unit Two: Social Commentary & Criticism
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Long Poetry: “The Canterbury Tales” – Prologue, “The Pardoner’s Tale”
Short Poetry: “The Chimney Sweeper,” “London, 1802,” “The Lamb,” “The Tyger”
Short Story: “The Train from Rhodesia,”
Nonfiction: “A Modest Proposal,” “In Defense of the Lower Classes,” “On the Passing of the
Reform Bill,” “Shooting an Elephant”
 Novel: 1984
 Writing: Problem/Solution Essay; introduction to Persuasion
Unit Three: Politics, Conflict, and War
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Drama: Macbeth
Nonfiction: “Speech Before Her Troops,” “Wartime Speech”
Short Story: “The First Year of My Life,” “The Distant Past”
Poetry: “Anthem for a Doomed Youth,” “The Soldier,” “To An Athlete Dying Young”
Writing: Persuasive Essay
Unit Four: Women in Society & Views toward Women
 Novel: Sense & Sensibility
 Short Story: “The Lady in the Looking Glass”
 Poetry: “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning,” “To his Coy Mistress,” “To Lucasta: On Going to
the Wars,” “She Walks in Beauty,” “The Lady of Shallot,” “My Last Duchess,” Shakespearean
sonnets,
 Nonfiction: “On Making an Agreeable Marriage,” “A Vindication of the Rights of Women”