Advanced Placement English 2
Literature and Composition
Syllabus
Course Overview: Advanced Placement 2 focuses on world literature selections, predominantly those
from American and British authors, but includes writers from other countries as well. Students will
engage in seminar discussion, write extensive essays, and improve their use of syntax, vocabulary,
sentence structure, logical organization, rhetoric, tone and student voice. They will have opportunities to
write poetry applying literary techniques such as figurative language based on their studies of that genre.
The course progresses chronologically from the Old English Period (Beowulf) to the present
(Beloved/Grendel) and addresses a variety of literary genres. Students in this course are required to take
the AP English Literature and Composition Exam offered in May. Students do not need to have taken
Advanced Placement 1 to enroll in this course.
Students are required to keep a dialectical journal as they read the work. Focus not only on plot,
character, setting, and point of view, but also on atmosphere, theme, style and conflict. Ask questions in
your journal about structure, style, theme, social/historical values, figurative language, symbolism,
imagery and tone. (“Why didn’t this character just say thus and thus?”) Say why you liked or disliked a
particular work.
Students will develop their critical reading skills by asking questions: What conflicts does the
work raise, how do conflicts in one work connect to other works thematically, what expressions develop
character? Focus on a pivotal scene. Examine the style of the particular passage: how do the words,
figurative language, imagery, details, or syntax contribute to the development of a character or to the
author’s meaning? Most, if not all, major literary works include an Essential Question that the instructor
has designed to help students formulate journal responses as a way to facilitate understanding, stimulate
discussion, and provide focus for essay responses.
Advanced Placement is not about becoming an English major. It is not solely about preparing for
the exam. It is a course that exposes students to a wide variety of reading and writing opportunities so
that they can succeed in any course and so that they can make a place for reading as an enjoyable
activity in their lives. Students should think of this class as a workshop – a safe place to try various
writings and tie personal experiences to larger cultural experiences present in literature.
Course Requirements: First and foremost, hard work on the part of the individual, and careful reading
and discussion on the part of the class is expected.
Reading Assignments: Students must read every assignment carefully. Some works require more time
than others so plan accordingly.
Writing Assignments: Each student will write a variety of formal and informal critical, analytical and
creative papers responding to a reading assignment. All papers must be typed, double spaced, in a
readable 12 pt font. Close reading analysis papers are routine with each major work totaling
approximately eighteen responses. Each student will compose original poems.
Senior Project: Students will choose a topic of study to research and analyze. There are three parts to
the project. First, they will write an 8 to 10 page paper using a variety of sources with correct MLA
citations. Second, they will complete a product relating to their area of research. Students are encourages
to tie their product to the community. This can be something tangible such as a shed or public service
campaign, an event such as a fundraising event for a local charity, or a journal or booklet. Finally,
students will complete a PowerPoint presentation on their topic to be delivered in front of their class.
In Class Writing, Quizzes and Exams: In class writings will be based on AP examination questions.
These will be used as a learning process. You will receive feedback from me and your peers so you can
track your progression as a writer. Quizzes will not always be announced ahead of time. As long as you
have completed the assigned reading, you will find them relatively easy. At times, there will be both
essay and open response style exams that ask students to synthesize in formation on a work(s) read.
Vocabulary: The instructor will assign literary terms listed in the glossary section of the Literature text.
There will be 25 to 30 vocabulary terms per term. Students will be responsible for knowing and finding
examples of these terms as we read. Students are expected to integrate these terms in their writing
throughout the year, as appropriate. In addition, we will expand our vocabulary by examining word
origins and word changes by completing a variety of vocabulary exercises in Word Study Resource
(Maple Level).
Portfolio: Each student is responsible for maintaining a writing portfolio containing all writing
completed during the course.
Oral Presentations: Students are expected to deliver oral presentations on poetry selections. Some
poems are assigned while others are chosen by the student (with instructor permission.)
Style/Grammar: Students will review and practice various grammar and usage challenges including but
not exclusive of modifier placement, verb tense, and choosing correct words.
Grading: 70% (tests: all in class and other essays and oral presentations)
20% (quizzes: reading and vocabulary)
10% (homework)
School wide rubrics will be used for grading writing and oral presentation assignments.
Writing Rubric
Essay Criteria
90+(9) (8)
80+ (7)
70+ (6)
60+ (5) (4)
50+ (4) (3) (2)
(1)
Is absent or is
not logically
implied.
Thesis
statement:
Expressed or
implied;
logically
connected to
content.
Expresses or implies the
writer’s attitude toward
the subject; identifies the
writer’s direction or
specific strategies
(narrative, poetic,
argumentative); has a
clear focal point that is
developed consistently
in the essay.
Expresses writer’s attitude
with some specifics; thesis
statement is developed
somewhat in the essay.
States facts; expresses
writer’s attitude but
lacks specifics; minimal
development of thesis
statement in the essay.
Is unclear;
states facts;
inconsistent or
inaccurate
development of
thesis
statement.
Details,
specificity,
examples:
Expand
clearly upon
the thesis
statement; are
supportive of
it.
Analysis:
After
identifying
details,
diction,
allusions,
poetic devices,
or narrative
techniques, as
appropriate,
the writer
steps back and
asks, “So
what?”
Organization:
Logical
presentation of
ideas; uses
Accurate supporting
details explain position;
supported with
integrated quotations, if
necessary; details
developed accurately.
Some support integrated; some
supporting details developed;
some details not developed
accurately.
Paraphrased
summarized; details not
developed ; details not
connected to thesis
statement or focus point;
some inaccuracies in
supporting examples.
Superficial or
inadequate
support;
inaccuracies
obscure the
writer’s
purpose.
Establishes how the
examples relate to the
particular strategy,
theme, or tone;
considers all sections of
the work in responding.
Offers examples but does not
fully integrate their purpose.
Examples listed rather
than explained.
Details and
illustrative
examples
missing or
undeveloped;
several
inaccuracies in
supporting
examples.
Examples do
not relate to the
thesis
statement;
student merely
summarizes.
Ideas are introduced and
developed logically and
sensibly; writer
incorporates transitional
Ideas presented somewhat
clearly; some transitions
lacking.
Somewhat disorganized;
necessary transitions
lacking or are
inappropriate.
Ideas not
clearly or
logically
presented; no
Disorganized.
Examples do
not relate to
the thesis
statement and
are unrelated
pieces of
information.
Teacher
comments
Student
goals
appropriate
transitions.
devices that create
coherence.
transitions.
Style:
Mature,
insightful
comments;
uses
appropriate
rhetorical
strategies to
address the
audience;
demonstrates
understanding
of
grammatical
concepts.
Conventions:
Employs
Standard
Written
English;
follows
grammar and
usage rules;
adheres to
correct
spelling,
punctuation,
and
mechanics.
Coherence:
Adheres to
topic; content
developed
with clarity;
responds to
the question.
Conveys writer’s voice;
conveys awareness of
audience by using
appropriate language
and syntax.
Some awareness of audience
exhibited through language
and syntax; less subordination
of ideas.
Style is immature; uses
choppy sentences,
inappropriate language;
little awareness of
audience.
Fragments,
choppy
sentences,
run- ons,
inappropriate
language; little
syntactical
control; little or
no awareness of
audience
No syntactical
control;
no awareness
of audience.
No errors in placement
of modifiers or in
subordination; no
spelling, punctuation, or
mechanical errors;
writer adheres to all
grammatical constructs.
Some errors but none are
pervasive.
Several errors; some
sections of the essay are
difficult to understand
because of various kinds
of errors.
Distracting
errors.
The essay is
unreadable.
Introduces topic;
develops it, supports it
logically, responds to
the question fully.
Adheres to topic but could be
clearer in explanations;
responds to question
adequately.
Responds to the topic for
most of the essay; some
off-topic areas; some
unclarity.
Essay is offtopic and
unclear;
responds
somewhat to the
topic as a
whole.
Incoherent.
Format:
As applicable,
work is
doublespaced; font is
12-point
Times New
Roman, 1”
margins;
pages are
correctly
numbered.
Adheres consistently to
format criteria.
Is inconsistent in one
formatting area.
Is inconsistent in two
formatting areas.
Is inconsistent
in three
formatting
areas.
Does not
adhere to
format criteria.
Oral Presentation Rubric
Criteria
100 – 90 Advanced
89 – 80 Proficient
Purpose
Speaker skillfully
establishes a clear
focus, engages
audience focus and
demonstrates his or
her understanding
of the concept or
question; that is
later developed
thoroughly
Speaker adequately
establishes a clear
focus, addresses the
topic and answers
the questions
involved;
demonstrates some
awareness of
audience and task
79 – 70
Developing
Speaker’s focus
is somewhat
unclear; some
specifics lacking;
student answers
question in part,
but not fully;
demonstrates a
limited
awareness of
audience and
task
Organization
Speaker follows a
beginning, middle,
and end
Speaker attempts to
follow logical order
with a beginning,
Speaker attempts
to follow logical
order
69 – 50 <
Beginning
Speaker
attempts to
establish a
purpose but
fails;
demonstrates
little or no
awareness of
audience or
task; fails to
engage
audience; fails
to adhere to
topic
Speaker does
not follow
logical order.
Teacher
Comments
Student
goals
presentation;
connects main
ideas clearly; uses
transitions that
enhance
understanding;
speaker adheres to
the time limit
middle and end;
transitions are
generally present;
speaker generally
adheres to the time
limit
but beginning,
middle or end is
out of sequence;
transitions are
seldom present;
speaker seldom
adheres to the
time limit
Speaker addresses
all possible
implications of the
concept or
question; main
ideas are developed
and are supported
by details and
examples
effectively;
presenter shows
how the examples
support the focal
point; if pertinent,
biographical and
historical material
is included to
enhance meaning;
presentation
contains originality
Speaker’s words
are appropriate and
correct; speaker
pronounces words
clearly and uses
Standard English
Speaker adequately
addresses the
question or topic;
some details
omitted; some
supplementary
information
pertinent to the
topic is lacking
Some main ideas
are not
developed;
presentation
lacks creativity
and uniqueness
Most words are
appropriate; few
errors in Standard
English
Inaccurate
vocabulary;
incorrect
pronunciation;
does not use
Standard English
consistently
Inappropriate
vocabulary
throughout;
Standard
English lacking
II. Voice
and Tone
Student speaks
clearly and seems
interested in topic;
student addresses
audience
effectively,
adjusting pace and
volume; conveys a
sense of
“ownership” of
topic (i.e., knows
topic very well and
is comfortable
talking about it)
Some lapses in
clarity; some
difficulty with pace
and volume and
connecting to
audience
Speaks clearly
but does not
adjust pace and
volume; does not
connect
effectively with
audience
Speaks
unclearly
without
attention to pace
or volume
III. Physical
Speaker establishes
genuine rapport
with audience;
makes eye contact;
may involve
audience by asking
questions or asking
Establishes rapport;
dresses
appropriately
Makes
occasional eye
contact; reads
from notes
without engaging
the audience;
dress or gestures
Fails to make
eye contact;
dresses
inappropriately
and is
uninterested in
engaging
Content
Delivery
I. Language
Usage
Expression
No distinction
between
beginning,
middle and end;
frequently off
topic; lacks
transitions;
speaker
disregards or
ignores time
limit
Incomplete,
summarized; no
creative effort
IV. Visual
Aids
for assistance;
speaker dresses
appropriately to
enhance the
presentation
Speaker uses high
quality audio,
visual, or digital
materials to
enhance the
presentation;
handouts, if any,
are clear; speaker
uses the aids to
support the
presentation, does
not merely read
from them
Good quality aids
enhance the
presentation
detract from
presentation
audience
Aids used are
inadequate or
used
ineffectively
Does not use
audio or visual
aids to
supplement the
presentation
Summer Reading: Students are assigned three works for summer reading: Things Fall Apart by Chinua
Achebe, Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse and The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. Study guides are
posted on the CCHS library webpage.
Final Thoughts: This course is about learning, not grades. I recognize that grades are important to a
student; therefore, the grade in the class is based on the choices a student makes on application of effort,
not just paper grades. This course is not only about rigor, but about personal responsibility and work
ethic of you as a student. The course will be stimulating and demanding where a student can grow,
interact and explore. Learning is a two way street; we will learn together.
Reading and Writing Schedule
Week 1: Introduction to course and The Kite Runner
Novel: The Kite Runner
Essential Question: How does Hosseini integrate the conflicts between Hazaras and Pushtans,
Amir and Baba, Amir and Hassan? How does he connect these conflicts to one of the novel’s
themes – reconciliation?
Essay: “Art, Postmodern Criticism, and the Emerging Integral Movement”
Informal Writing: Close Reading sheet on Kite Runner
Analyzing Literature (Perrine Chapter 1 pp.371-374)
Week 2: Poetry and Things Fall Apart
Novel: Things Fall Apart
Essential Question: How is Oknonkwo a tragic hero?
Review Aristotelian and Shakespearean tragic hero characteristics.
Poetry: Robert Frost “The Road Not Taken” and “Mending Wall”
Essay: Laurence Perrine “The Nature of Poetry”
Interpretive Writing: Compare Frost’s “The Road Not Taken” and “Mending Wall” using
evaluative questions from Perrine
Informal Writing: Close Reading sheet on Things Fall Apart
The Basics (Understanding and Evaluating Poetry---Perrine’s Ch. 1 and 2 pp.647 – 685)
Week 3: Poetry
Poetry: Philips’ “Wish You Were Here” and Wilbur’s “The Writer”
Writing Workshop:
Analyze Philips’ “Wish You Were Here” for diction
Teacher and peer feedback
In class reading aloud of poetry with discussion of denotation and connotation.
Grammar: Syntax review (Sentence Composing for College, selected examples, pp. 2-6)
Denotation and Connotation (Perrine Ch. 3 pp.686 – 699)
Week 4: Poetry and Siddhartha
Novel: Siddhartha
Essential Questions: What is the difference between knowledge and wisdom? What are the basic
premises of Buddhist thought? How do a person’s personal philosophic beliefs shape their
identity and affect their actions?
Poetry: William’s “The Red Wheelbarrow”
Whitman’s “A Noiseless Patient Spider”
Interpretive Writing: AP Exam Poetry Prompt from AP College Board from 2011 exam
Teacher and peer feedback
Informal Writing: Close Reading sheet on Things Fall Apart
Poetry: Imagery (Perrine Ch. 3 pp.700-713)
Major Project Term 1: Poetry Assignment
Analytical Writing: Students will analyze one poem from the list below. Students will generate
their own prompts for the assignment. They will write at least two typewritten pages (double
spaced, 12-point, Times New Roman font, adhere to MLA Citations.)
 “Blackberry Picking” by Seamus Heaney
 “The Author to Her Book” by Anne Bradstreet
 “Storm Warnings” by Adrienne Rich
 “To Helen” by Edgar Allen Poe
Weeks 5, 6 and 7: Poetry, Anglo Saxon Period (496–1066 AD)
Novel: Beowulf
Essential Questions: What did Anglo Saxons view as heroic? Is a hero wholly admirable or can
he be flawed? How does the character of Beowulf differ from the folk epic to the poem?
Poetry:
“Beowulf” a poem by Richard Willbur
“Century Quilt” by Marilyn Woniek
“The Chimney Sweeper” by William Blake
“Marks” by Linda Pushtan
“Before the Birth of One of her Children” by Anne Bradstreet
Interpretive Writing:
Analyze “Century Quilt” by Marilyn Nelson Waniek. How do the poet’s literary techniques develop
the complex meaning of the poem? Compare “The Chimney Sweeper” poems by William Blake.
Analyze the poems “Marks” by Linda Pastan and “Before the Birth of One of her Children” by Anne
Bradstreet. How do the poems reflect the times in which they were written? Use your knowledge and
experience to analyze each poem.
Informal Writing: Close Reading sheet on Beowulf
Creative Nonfiction: Janet Burroway’s “Embalming Mom”
Grammar: Beowulf sentence combining practice
Poetry: Figurative Language I (Perrine Ch. 5 pp.714-733)
AP Multiple Choice Practice Questions
Beowulf Poetry Assignment:
Part 1 Write a kenning
Part 2 Create a collage for one of the main characters
Part 3 Write an eight lined poem mimicking the four beat line and caesura; include the kenning and an
example of litotes
Part 4 Read your poem as you display your collage in class
Week 8: Grendel
Novel: Grendel
Essential Questions: Why do we feel more sympathy for Grendel in the novel? What significance does
the novel’s structure have?
Poetry: “Daedulus, Fly Away Home” by Robert Hayden and “The Waking” by Theodore Roethke.
Analytical writing: Timed writing using AP poetry free response question from 2010 exam
Interpretive Writing: Analyze the poems “Daedulus, Fly Away Home” by Robert Hayden and “The
Waking” by Theodore Roethke.
Informal Writing: Close Reading sheet on Grendel
Weeks 9 and 10: Middle English (1066-1500) and The Ballad
Drama: Everyman (in Beginnings of English Literature)
Short Story: “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight”
Excerpts: Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer
Essential Questions: How did the concept of a hero change from the Anglo Saxon
Period to the Medieval Period? What is Medieval romance and how is a romance
different from a fairy tale?
“Morte D’Arthur” (in Beginnings of English Literature)
Creative Nonfiction: Ryan Van Meter’s “If You Knew Then What I Know Now”
Poetry: “The Ballad of Birmingham” (in Beginnings of English Literature)
“Edward” (in Beginnings of English Literature)
“The Wife of Usher’s Well” (in Beginnings of English Literature)
“The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” (audio recording by Gordon Lightfoot)
Students will study the ballad as a poetic form.
Informal Writing: Close Reading sheet on Everyman
Expository Writing: Using Van Meter’s essay, how does the power of language bond or
separate a person from the larger community?
Persuasive Writing: AP poetry free response question from 2009 exam
Week 11: Poetry and MLA Citation
Poetry: Yeats’ “When You Are Old”
Yeats’ “Journey of the Magi”
Short Story: Orwell’s “Shooting an Elephant”
Timed writing: Analyze “Allegory of the Cave” by Stephen Dunn
Poetry: Figurative Language II (Perrine Ch. 6 pp.735-755)
AP Practice Multiple Choice Questions
Weeks 12 and 13: The English Renaissance Period (Elizabethan and Jacobean Periods and the
Restoration Age) (1500-1700)
Drama: Dr. Faustus by Christopher Marlowe
Dr. Faustus by Christopher Marlowe Essential Questions: What do we see of Marlowe’s
use of power? Is he a man in control or a man controlled? How is Marlowe’s “mighty
line” significant in the play? How does Faustus illustrate the qualities of a tragic hero?
Poetry focus: Students will study the sonnet in four of its major forms, the Italian, English, Miltonic and
Spenserian noting how iambic pentameter appeals to an audience. We will also look at the characteristics
of Cavalier poetry.
Poetry: Various sonnets by William Shakespeare (in Shakespeare to Goldsmith)
“Death be not Proud” by John Donne (in Shakespeare to Goldsmith)
“On his Blindness” by John Milton (in Shakespeare to Goldsmith)
“Leda and the Swan” by William Butler Yeats (in Shakespeare to Goldsmith)
“To the Virgins to Make Much of Time” by Robert Herrick (in Shakespeare to Goldsmith)
Creative Nonfiction: Lauren Slater’s “Black Swans”
Informal Writing: Close Reading sheet on Dr. Faustus
Analytical Writing: “Henry VIII” analysis from AP exam
Teacher and peer feedback
Major Out Of Class Writing: The Springfield Republican’s annual essay contest
Literature: Tragedy and Comedy (Perrine Ch. 3 pp.1209-1216)
Poetry: Rhythm and Meter (Perrine Ch. 12 pp.838-864)
Major Project Term 2
Culturally/Socially Significant Film Essay: Students will develop a definition of what “socially
significant” means and then, after discussing some titles in class, choose a film set in the United States
by an American director and, in a well-organized essay, examine how the film the student has chosen is
a “socially significant” work. In writing this expository essay outside of class, each student will apply
the definition that the student has generated to the film ad explore implications that make the film
culturally or socially significant. Films to consider are ones that have evoked change, stirred
controversy, or created a lasting impact among viewers.
Supplemental readings accompanying this assignment: Costanzo, William V. “The Languages of Film”
and “Theories of Film” Reading the Movies: Twelve Great Films on Video and How to Teach Them.
Urbana: NCTE, 1992. 25-33, 62-72.
Weeks 14 and 15: Hamlet and MacBeth
Drama: Hamlet
Essential Questions: How do Hamlet’s soliloquies show a progression of his resolution of
his inner turmoil? What is the role of women in this play? Compare and contrast Hamlet
and Macbeth as tragic heroes.
Macbeth
Freytag Triangle Structure: Students will identify the essential elements of each act and how
those elements contribute to the overriding theme in the play.
Oral Presentation: In small groups, students will be assigned two of the eight soliloquies in
Hamlet. Each group will analyze the sonnets focusing on word choice, imagery, syntax, and
figurative language, and then present them to the class.
The Nature of Drama (Perrine Ch. 1 pp.1027-1073)
Analytical Writing: Question 2 from AP 2010
AP Practice Multiple Choice Questions
Week 16: The Neoclassical Period (1660-1798)
Essay: “On Lying” by Samuel Johnson (Xeroxed)
“Sound and Sense” by Alexander Pope (In Perrine)
“A Voyage to Lilliput” from Gulliver’s Travels (in Shakespeare to Goldsmith)
Analytical Writing: Students will analyze Question 1 from AP Exam 2008
Weeks 17 -19: Romanticism (1798-1832)
Novels: Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Frankenstein Essential Questions: How does this novel illustrate the various tenets of Romantic
thought? How are Victor and Robert Walton doppelgangers? How does this novel anticipate
modern themes about cloning and child abuse?
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austin
Pride and Prejudice Essential Questions: How does Austin use character to mock or criticize
status, marriage, courtship in this novel? How is this novel an epistolary novel?
Short Story: “The Birthmark” by Nathaniel Hawthorne (Xeroxed)
Poetry: “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” by Samuel Taylor Coleridge (in Romantics and
Victorians)
“Prometheus”
“Mutability” by Percy Bysshe Shelley (in Romantics and Victorians)
“London” by William Blake (in Romantics and Victorians)
“Lines Composed a Few Miles above Tintern Alley” by William Wordsworth (in Romantics
and Victorians)
“To Autumn,” “Ode on a Grecian Urn” and “On First Looking into Chapman’s Homer” by John
Keats (in Romantics and Victorians)
Poetry: Shelley’s “Mutability,” Coleridge’s “Rime of the Ancient Mariner” and Wordsworth’s
“Lines Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern Alley” are all included in Frankenstein. Why?
Grammar: The Awakening sentence combining practice
Literature: Characterization (Perrine Ch. 3 pp.161-187)
Poetry: Figurative Language III (Perrine Ch. 7 pp.756-777)
In class writing: Timed writing using AP exam Question 2 from 2009 exam
Argumentative Essay: Students will compose an essay analyzing the characters of Victor and
Aylmer. Who is more detestable?
Weeks 20 - 22: The Victorian Period (1832- 1900)
Novel: The Awakening by Kate Chopin
Essential Questions: How does the setting contribute to the themes of the novel? What
argument(s) does Chopin make about the role of women in society?
Turn of The Screw by Henry James
Essential Questions: Is the governess mad? Knowing what we know about Miss Jessel
and Peter Quint, could the children (Miles and Flora) be possessed? Is Mrs. Grose
irresponsible in any way? How does the school fail Miles? The children’s uncle exhibits
an unusual irresponsibility: what “protects” him from being called to account for his
refusal to be contacted at any time? What is this story about?
Excerpt: Paradise Lost by John Milton
Poetry: “Markheim” by Robert Louis Stevenson (in Romantics and Victorians)
“My Last Duchess” by Robert Browning (in Romantics and Victorians)
“Ulysses” by Alfred Lord Tennyson (in Romantics and Victorians)
“Dover Beach” by Matthew Arnold (in Romantics and Victorians)
“The Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock” by T.S. Eliot (in Romantics and Victorians)
Poetry: Notes on dramatic monologues, in class analysis of above poems.
In class reading aloud of poetry with discussion of dramatic monologue.
Persuasive Writing: Timed writing using AP exam free response question 3 from Exam 2010
Expository Writing: Explain how manners have changed over time
AP exam multiple choice question practice
Poetry: Tone (Perrine Ch. 10 pp.804-821)
Week 23: Midterm examinations
Weeks 24, 25, 26: Early Modern Period in Drama (late 1800’s to the 1950’s)
Drama: No Exit by Jean Paul Sartre
Essential Questions: How is this work a tragic comedy? How does it illustrate the tenets
of Existentialism?
Novel: Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce
Essential questions: How is this novel a bildungsroman? What social responsibilities
does the artist have? How is language development tied to cultural conflicts?
Poetry: “Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night” by Dylan Thomas
“One Art” by Elizabeth Bishop
“Le Paysage Moralisee” by W.H. Auden
“Sestine” by Elizabeth Bishop
“Theme for English B” by Langston Hughes
“The Writer” and “Mind” by Richard Wilbur
“The Diamond Cutters” by Adrienne Rich
Creative Nonfiction: “This is not Who We Are” by Naomi Shihab Nye
Poetry: Student will study the characteristics of the villanelle, sestina and free verse using the above
poems.
Persuasive Writing: Timed writing using AP exam free response question (3) from AP Exam 2008
Major Project Term 3: Using “Theme for English B” as a model, students will write an original parody
of this work. Students are to include specific autobiographical information or examples in their poem.
The only two lines that should rhyme should be the last two; otherwise, the poem should adhere to
Hughes free verse format. Students will mount their poems into a format of their choice, accompanying
their parody with appropriate photos from the student’s references in the poem (age, activities, and
school).
Weeks 27 and 28: Modern/Postmodern Period (1900-1980)
Selections: James Joyce “The Sisters” “An Encounter” “Araby” and “Eveline”
Short Story: “Araby” by James Joyce (in Perrine)
Poetry: “Leda and the Swan” by William Butler Yeats (in Perrine)
“The Hollow Men” by T.S. Eliot (in Perrine)
“Coconuts” by Bernard Shaw (Xeroxed)
“Dear Mother,” by Bernard Shaw (Xeroxed)
AP Multiple Choice Question Practice
Poetry: Sound and Meaning (Perrine Ch. 13 pp.864-882)
Analytical Writing: Using AP Question 1 from AP Exam 2007
Timed Writing: Using AP Question 2 from AP exam 2007
Weeks 29, 30, 31: The Modern Novel and Poetry (1980-present)
Novels: The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
Essential Questions: How is Groupthink exemplified in this novel? How much
of The Republic of Gilead do you see in the U.S. today? What does the work say
about modern society? How does Atwood comment on war, hunger, sex,
religion, education and work?
Beloved by Toni Morrison
Essential Questions: What is stream of consciousness and how is it present in the
novel? What is the function of the ghost in this work? What does the word
community mean in the novel? How are the poems “Daedulus” and “Fly Away
Home” by Robert Hayden a comment on Morrison’s story?
Essays: “Groupthink” by Irving Janice
“Utopia and Violence” by Karl Popper
Poetry: “Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers” by Adrienne Rich
“The Unknown Citizen” by Karl Popper
In class timed writing: Timed writing using AP exam free response question from 2006
Major Projects Term 4: Cinquaine Project and Senior Paper Presentations
Individual Interpretation Writing: Choosing five works (plays, novels or poems) students will
write five cinquaines that illustrate unifying conflicts among the works and illustrate their project
with graphics appropriate to their poems. Students must use MLA citations for any graphics that
they extract from on-line sources.
Week 32: Review for AP exam
Review includes Multiple Choice Question practice, pre-writing strategies for each of the
three essay prompts, review of thesis statement, body paragraph and conclusion writing, and
review of literary terms from Perrine Literature book
Week 33 and 24: Senior Paper Presentations
Week 35: Senior Final Examinations
Students will read the novel below and write a coherent essay to the question posed.
Persuasive Essay: Edith Wharton’s House of Mirth (1905) How is this work a novel of
exploitation – of humans, of resources?
Advanced Placement English 2 – Literature and Composition
Bibliography
Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart. New York: Anchor Books, 1959.
Atwood, Margaret. The Handmaid’s Tale. New York: Fawcett Crest, 1985.
Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice. Four English Novels. Ed. J.B. Priestly and O.B. Davis. New York:
Harcourt, Brace and World, Inc., 1960.
Beowulf. Seamus Heaney, Translator. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2000.
Chaucer, Geoffrey. The Canterbury Tales: A Selection. Ed. Donald R. Howard. New York: NAL, 1969.
Chopin, Kate. The Awakening. New York: Dover Publications, 1993.
Everyman. The Beginnings of English Literature. Ed. Rev. William T. McNiff, O.S.C. New York: The
Macmillan Company, 1966.
Five Steps to a Five: AP English Literature. Ed. Estelle Rankin and Barbara Murphy. New York:
McGraw-Hill, 2002.
Gardner, John. Grendel. New York: Random House, Inc., 1971.
Hesse, Herman. Siddhartha. New York: Dover Thrift Editions, 1998.
Hosseini, Khaled. The Kite Runner. New York: Penguin Group, 2003.
James, Henry. The Turn of the Screw. New York: Penguin, 1986.
Joyce, James. Dubliners. New York: Penguin Books, 1968.
__________. A Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man. New York: Viking Press, 1971.
Malory, Thomas. Morte D’Arthur. The Beginnings of English Literature. Ed. Rev. William T. McNiff,
O.S.C. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1966.
Marlowe, Christopher. The Tragical History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus. The Norton
Anthology of English Literature. Vol. I (Revised). M.H. Abrams, et al. New York: W.W. Norton
Co., Inc., 1968.
Martin-Smith, Keith. “Art, Postmodern Criticism, and the Emerging Integral Movement” Integral
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Morrison, Toni. Beloved. New York: Plume, 1988.
Perrine, Laurence and Thomas R Arp. Literature: Structure Sound and Sense. 6th ed. New York:
Harcourt Brace College Publishers, Inc., 1992.
Sartre, Jean-Paul. No Exit and Three Other Plays. New York: Vintage International, 1989.
Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. New York: Dover Publications, 1992.
_________________. Macbeth. New York: Dover Publications, 1996.
Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein. New York: Airmont Publishing Co., 1963.
Sir Gawain and The Green Knight. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. Vol.I (Revised). Ed.
M.H. Abrams, et al. New York: W.W. Norton Co., Inc., 1968.
Touchstone Anthology of Contemporary Creative Nonfiction. Simon and Schuster. New York. 2007.
Wharton, Edith. The House of Mirth. New York: Bantam Books, 1984.