AP English Literature and Composition 2011-2012
Weekly Poetry Assignments
Often students cringe when they learn that a major focus of this course is poetry. As children most of you loved poetry, reciting nursery
rhymes and chanting limericks. What happened? I don’t have the answer, but one of my goals this year will be to rekindle your
enthusiasm for and appreciation of poetry.
Laurence Perrine suggests, “People have read poetry or listened to it or recited it because they liked it, because it gave them enjoyment.
But this is not the whole answer. Poetry in all ages has been regarded as important, not simply as one of several alternative forms of
amusement, as one person might choose bowling, chess, and poetry. Rather, it has been regarded as something central to existence,
something having unique value to the fully realized life, something that we are better off for having and without which we are spiritually
impoverished.”
John Ciardi writes, “Everyone who has an emotion and a language knows something about poetry. What he knows may not be much on
an absolute scale, and it may not be organized within him in a useful way, but once he discovers the pleasure of poetry, he is likely to be
surprised to discover how much he always knew without knowing he knew it. He may discover, somewhat as the character in the French
play discovered to his amazement that he had been talking prose all his life, that he had been living poetry. Poetry, after all, is about life.
Anyone who is alive and conscious must have some information about it.”
This year we will approach poetry two ways. We will study some poems in class, learning about the tools and devices poets use in their
craft, talking about what a poem means or how it made you feel, or seeking answers to questions we raised while reading or studying. We
might call this our structured or formal study of poetry. But we will also study poetry informally through poetry focuses, responses and
Socratic seminars.
First, you will have a weekly FOCUS assignment (chapter readings, assigned poem(s) and questions); these are always due on the first
day of the week, and they will count as daily grades. All poetry focus assignments must be completed in your spiral.
In addition, you will be assigned to write and turn in a weekly poetry RESPONSE/TIMED WRITING. Please look closely at the Schedule of
Assignments to know when these responses are due. You should choose one poem from those in the chapter that you teacher indicates
are options and write the response to that poem (personal or analytical as indicated on the schedule). These responses should be a
minimum of one typed page. It must be typed in the correct format. (You should plan in advance to attend tutorials and use the computer
lab if you do not have a computer at home.) You will submit all responses to the dropbox at www.turnitin.com by the due date. (They will
NOT be accepted late!) These assignments will count as test grades.
What should you write in a poetry response? All responses are written formally—well developed, formal language, formal organization,
etc. When you write an analytical response to the poem, you should begin by paraphrasing the poem and relating one or more of the
themes presented in the poem. Then, you should address the weekly literary focus. Remember an analytical assignment should focus on
analysis of meaning and devices! When you write a personal response, you should apply the poem to yourself by relating a personal,
historical, literary or observed experience. Instead of analyzing the devices and meaning, the purpose of these responses is to generate
connections to the subjects, settings, and/or speakers. On occasion, you will be expected to write poems of your own modeling the
formats and/or styles of poems we study to demonstrate your understanding of the genre. In any response, refrain from inappropriate
topics, telling how you could not understand the poem or couldn’t come up with a connection, summarizing, or plagiarizing; be thoughtful!
Naturally, I do not expect you to like all the poems, but I do intend to introduce you to a variety of classic as well as modern poetry.
In some instances, you will also be expected to be prepared for Poetry Slams over the assigned works. For such activities, you should be
prepared to analyze meaning, devices, thematic connections, comparisons, contrasts, historical and/or literary context, and critical
analyses and work together with your classmates to do so. These activities will count as test grades (unless otherwise indicated).
Read through all of the poems from the list every week. Read them at different times, in different places, and in different moods. You will
notice how the poems will reveal themselves to you over the weeks. Although you are only required to respond on paper to one poem, you
should become acquainted with all the poems on the list as you may be quizzed or tested over them.
M. L. Roe
AP English IV-VVHS
AP English Literature and Composition 2011-2012
Weekly Poetry Assignments
First, remember that this will quite possibly seem like the most cumbersome and challenging
aspect of AP English IV and that you should devise a personal system for completing these
assignments successfully and on-time.
Students are expected to read all of the poems in each chapter.
Poetry leaders are required to read aloud the assigned poem(s), to present terms, and to explain the
focus assignment on the first day of the week. Each student must sign up to lead at least one of the focus
assignments, and he/she will receive English bucks successful completion of this activity.
All focus assignments are due as soon as class begins on the first day of the week. They must be
completed in your spiral. NO ENGLISH BUCKS, NO LATE WORK!
All response assignments must be submitted electronically at www.turnitin.com by the due date. They
are to be typed in Microsoft Word, with Times New Roman 12-point font, 1” margins, 1 ½ -spaced, and
a full page (or very nearly) in length. Since these assignments are issued at the beginning of the
school year, students are expected to complete them on time regardless of absences. (Late work
will not be accepted without English bucks—one day maximum which is 3 English bucks, and
maximum of 2 times per semester.)
In some cases, analytical responses are scheduled as timed writings and while they are written like
analytical responses, they are completed in class on the scheduled due date. The student must complete
the response in the assigned time (usually 40 minutes). Also some responses are listed as style
imitations, in which case the student will write a poem of their own using the poem(s) they have read as
a model for structure and style.
Poetry Slams will take place in class and all poems in the chapter(s) will be possible material for slams.
Students must prepare in advance of the scheduled activity. (Note: The best way to prepare is to jot
down general notes and re-read all the poems in one sitting prior to the slam.)
In the event a student is absent for a slam or timed writing for any reason, then they will be required to
make up the grade by completing a timed writing in tutorials. On the first day of the student’s return to
class it is his/her responsibility to schedule the makeup for within 2 class days of the absence.
M. L. Roe
AP English IV-VVHS
AP English Literature and Composition 2011-2012
Aug. 29-Sept. 2
September 6-9
September 8
September 12-16
September 19-23
Sept. 25-30
October 3-7
October 10-14
October 12
October 17-21
October 24-28
M. L. Roe
Chapter 1 “What is Poetry?” pp. 633-657
Terms: Poetry
Focus Assignment: Read pp. 633-640 & all poems; Complete
“Winter” 1-3 p. 636, “Dulce et Decorum Est” 1-4 p. 638
Response: Personal
Chapter 2 “Reading the Poem” pp. 655-673
Terms: Paraphrase, Theme
Focus Assignment: Read pp. 655-664 & all poems; Complete “Is my
team plowing” 1-3 pp. 663
Response: Analytical, Use 1-10 list of questions on p. 587
Poetry Slam: Chapters 1 &2
Chapter 3 “Denotation and Connotation” pp. 674-688
Terms: Denotation, Connotation
Focus Assignment: Read pp. 674-680; Complete “There is no frigate
like a book” 1-3 p. 675
Response: Personal
Chapter 3 “Denotation and Connotation” pp. 674-688
Terms: Denotation, Connotation
Focus Assignment: Complete “When my love swears that she is
made of truth” 1-4 pp. 677; “Pathedy of Manners” 1-4, pp. 678-679
No Response!
Timed Writing: TBA
Dickinson
Terms: Slant Rhyme
Focus Assignment: Complete “Because I could not stop for Death”
1-5 p. 742-743 and “I heard a fly buzz when I died” 1-4, pp. 869-870
Response: Analytical-Any other Dickinson not scheduled for a focus
assignment
AP M/C
Chapter 4 “Imagery” pp. 689-703
Terms: Imagery (visual, auditory, olfactory, gustatory, tactile)
Focus Assignment: Read 689-692 & all poems, Complete “Meeting
at Night” & “Parting at Morning” 1-3 p. 690-691
Response: Personal
Chapter 4 “Imagery” pp. 607-618
Terms: Imagery (visual, auditory, olfactory, gustatory, tactile)
Focus Assignment: Complete “Those Winter Sundays” 1-4, pp. 699700
Response: Analytical
Poetry Slam: Chapter 3 & 4
Frost
Terms: Tone, Metaphor, Symbolism, Imagery
Focus Assignment: Complete “Home Burial” 1-8, pp. 920-924,
“After Apple-Picking” 1-6, p. 699
Timed Writing: Frost/Dickinson Poems
AP M/C
Chapter 5 “Figurative Language 1” pp. 704-724
Terms: Simile, Metaphor, Personification, Apostrophe, Metonymy,
Synecdoche
Focus Assignment: Read pp. 704-715 & all poems; Complete
“Harlem” 1-2, p. 705, “The Telephone” 1-4, pp. 710-711
Response: Personal
AP English IV-VVHS
AP English Literature and Composition 2011-2012
Oct. 31-Nov. 4
November 7-11
November 14-18
Nov. 28-Dec. 2
December 1
December 5-9
December 12-16
January 2-6
January 9-13
January 10
M. L. Roe
Chapter 5 “Figurative Language 1” pp. 704-724
Terms: Simile, Metaphor, Personification, Apostrophe, Metonymy,
Synecdoche
Focus Assignment: Complete “Author to her Book” 1-3, p. 709 and
Exercise p. 715: 1-10
Response: Analytical
Hardy
Terms: Theme, Speaker, Irony
Focus Assignment: Complete “The Man He Killed” p. 657-658: 1-3
Response: Personal, any other Hardy poem
Chapter 6 “Figurative Language 2” pp.725-748
Terms: Symbol, Allegory
Focus Assignment: Read pp. 725-737 & all poems, “The Road Not
Taken” p. 725-726: 1-2; “A Noiseless Patient Spider” pp. 727-728: 1-3
No Response!
Chapter 6 “Figurative Language 2” pp.725-748
Terms: Symbol, Allegory
Focus Assignment: Complete “To the Virgins to Make Much of
Time” p. 733-734: 1-5, “Peace” 1-4, p. 735-736, Exer. 1-4, p. 736-737
Response: Analytical
Poetry Slam: Chapter 5 & 6
Student Choice-From pp. 943-1020
Terms: All those covered in 1st semester
Focus Assignment: Select 2 poems from this section of the text
Response: 1 Personal, 1 Analytical
Chapter 7 “Figurative Language 3” pp.747-771
Terms: Paradox, Overstatement, Understatement, Irony, Sarcasm,
Satire
Focus Assignment: Read pp. 747-759 & all poems, Complete “Much
madness is divinest sense” p. 750: 1-2; Exercise 1-9, p. 758-759
No Response!
Chapter 7 “Figurative Language 3” pp.747-771
Terms: Paradox, Hyperbole, Understatement, Irony (Dramatic,
Situational, Verbal), Satire, Sarcasm
Focus Assignment: Complete “My Last Duchess” 1-6, p. 768,
“Porphyria’s Lover” 1-5, p. 857-859
Timed Writing: Browning C/C
AP M/C
Chapter 8 “Allusion” pp. 722-784
Terms: Allusion
Focus Assignment: Read pp. 772-775 & all poems, Complete “Out,
Out--” 1-3 p. 773-774; Excerpt from Macbeth 1, pp. 774-775
Response: Personal
AP M/C
Poetry Slam: Chapter 7 & 8
NA
AP English IV-VVHS
AP English Literature and Composition 2011-2012
January 18-20
January 23-27
Jan. 30-Feb. 3
February 6-10
February 13-17
February 15
February 20-24
Feb. 27-March 2
M. L. Roe
Chapter 14 “Pattern”—Sonnets, pp. 881-885
Terms: Sonnet, Shakespearean Sonnet; Quatrain; Couplet
Focus Assignment: Read pp. 881-885, Complete “That time of year”
1-4 p. 885-886, “When my love swears she is made of truth”, 1-4
pp.676-677, “America” 1-4 pp. 892-893
Response: Analytical-any Shakespearean format
Chapter 14 “Pattern”—Sonnets, pp. 881-885
Terms: Sonnet, Petrarchan Sonnet; Octave; Sestet
Focus Assignment: Complete “On First Looking into Chapman’s
Homer” p. 884-885: 1-4, “We Wear the mask” pp. 893-894: 1-3, “The
Seaves” p. 891: 1-4
Response: Style Imitation—Write your own sonnet!
Chapter 9 “Meaning and Idea” pp. 785-799
Terms: Total meaning, prose meaning
Focus Assignment: Read pp. 785-789 & all poems, Complete
“Loveliest of Trees” p. 786-787: 1-3, “Stopping by the Woods on a
Snowy Evening” p. 787-788: 1-2
Response: Analytical
Keats
Terms: Ode, Imagery, Personification
Focus Assignment: Complete “Ode on a Grecian Urn” p. 917-918: 17 & “Ode to a Nightingale” p. 981-983: What is the speaker’s tone?
Response: Style Imitation-write your own ode!
AP M/C
Donne
Terms: Metaphysical poetry
Focus Assignment: Complete “The Apparition” p.811-812: 1-8, “The
Flea” pp. 812-813: 1-7
Response: Analytical (an approved Donne poem)
Poetry Slam: Sonnets, Chapter 9, Keats and Donne
Chapter 10 “Tone” pp. 800-817
Terms: Tone
Focus Assignment: Read pp. 800-806 & all poems, Complete “Since
There’s No Help” p. 804: 1-3; “Picnic Lighting” pp. 805-806: 1-4
Response: Analytical
Chapter 11 “Musical Devices” pp. 818-834
Terms: Alliteration, Assonance, Consonance, Ballad, Rhyme, Refrain
Focus Assignment: Read pp. 818-824 & all poems, Complete “That
Night When Joy Began” pp. 821-822: 1-3, “God’s Grandeur” p. 824825: 1-4, Exercise p. 825
Response: Personal
AP English IV-VVHS
AP English Literature and Composition 2011-2012
March 5-8
March 19-23
March 26-30
March 28
TBA
April 9-12
April 16-20
April 23-27
April 30-May 3
May 10
May 14-17
M. L. Roe
Chapter 12 “Rhythm and Meter” pp. 835-861
Terms: Rhythm, Stressed, Unstressed, Meter, Foot, Scansion, Iamb,
Trochee, Anapest, Dactyl, Spondee, Scansion, Blank verse, Free Verse
Focus Assignment: Read pp. 835-850 (TAKE NOTES) & all poems,
Complete “Virtue” 1-2, pp. 840-841
Response: Personal #143-152
Chapter 12 “Rhythm and Meter” pp. 835-861
Terms: Rhythm, Stressed, Unstressed, Meter, Foot, Scansion, Iamb,
Trochee, Anapest, Dactyl, Spondee, Scansion, Blank verse, Free
Verse—Quiz over all terms in chapter
Focus Assignment: Complete Exercises 1-3, pp. 849-850
Response: Group Scansion-TBA
Chapter 13 “Sound and Meaning” pp. 863-880
Terms: Onomatopoeia, Euphony, Cacophony
Focus Assignment: Read pp. 863-873 & all poems, Complete “Sound
and Sense” p. 865-866: 1-4
AP M/C
Poetry Slam: Chapters 11, 12, & 13
Mock AP EXAM
Chapter 15 &16 “Evaluating Poetry”
Focus Assignment: TBA
Response: TBA
Review/Practice
Focus Assignment: TBA
Timed Writing TBA
Review/Practice
Focus Assignment: TBA
Timed Writing TBA
Review/Practice
Focus Assignment: TBA
Timed Writing TBA
AP EXAM
Chapter 16 “Evaluating Poetry”
Focus Assignment: TBA
Response: Write your own poem on the subject of graduation
using the stylistic elements that we’ve studied throughout the year.
Your poem should be well organized and focused.
AP English IV-VVHS