AP English – Summer Reading
Summer reading, like all reading, should be purposeful. The goal of this assignment is to help you identify the two
most common types of literary allusions: Biblical allusions and mythological allusions, and to prepare you for the
AP test which is administered in May. The summer reading you are being required to complete as a prerequisite to
AP English will have carryover value in the college course work you pursue and in everything you read in the
future. Allusions are everywhere, news stories, advertisements, movies, even TV shows; your ability to recognize
and properly interpret allusions is a mark of cultural literacy. I am assigning three books for allusions, one is an
original source, the other two are standard reference works; with these three works you will have the source of all
Biblical allusions and a reference source that will enable you to quickly find the vast majority of mythological
allusions. You will need to obtain (or access on line) Bulfinch’s Mythology (the Edmund Fuller abridgment), the
King James Version of the Holy Bible, and Strong’s Biblical Concordance by James Strong. Prepare 3X5 note
cards (one card per item) which include, at the very least, the Biblical and mythological places, names, terms, and
events listed on the attached sheets. During your research you will encounter many interesting items beyond the
minimal amount listed on the attachment pages, do yourself a favor and include as much supplemental information
as you can on your 3X5 cards. Take notes on each work; you will be allowed to use handwritten notes as well as
your 3X5 cards for the test which will be given over this material. The allusions test will be administered during the
first full week of school in September. The test will cover, at a minimum, the contents of these attached sheets;
again, you will be allowed to use your handwritten notes (or notecards) during the test.
In addition to the literary allusions assignment, you will also need to obtain a copy of Aldous Huxley’s Brave New
World and complete the following:
1. Research the background of Aldous Huxley and the time period during which he wrote the novel. Make
note of any personal and historical details that may have been influential factors in his writing or in the
process he employed when writing.
2. Read and annotate Brave New World. As you progress through the novel, make note of any themes and
motifs you see developing, as well as any symbols, cultural allusions or profound quotes you deem worthy
of discussion. Your margin notes should be thorough enough to validate that you were thoughtfully
interacting with the text cover to cover.
3. For each of the chapters in the novel, write a journal entry in which you elaborate on the notes and
annotations you have made. As you write, take time to consider how the society Huxley depicts is, in many
ways, alarmingly reflective of our own.
While your notes from the research portion of the assignment should be typed with all sources accurately cited, the
journal entries are to be handwritten to foster a more immediate and authentic response. Please know that your
background research, annotated novel, and the chapter journals will be collected on the first day of class, and plan
accordingly.
I encourage you to think of these summer reading assignments as an investment that will pay dividends in the future,
regardless of the career path you choose, and look forward to sharing an engaging school year with you all.
Best wishes for an enriching summer,
Mr. Spangler, AP English
Mythological Allusions
Greek and Roman Terms
Acheron River
Aeneas
Aphrodite (Venus)
Ares (Mars)
Artemis (Diana)
Calypso
Cerberus
Chimaera
Creon
Danae
Dionysus
Eros
Gorgons
Hector
Hera (Juno)
Hestia (Vesta)
Iris
Laocoon
Medea
Midas
Narcissus
Odysseus (Ulysses)
Orion
Paris
Persephone
Prometheus
Scylla
Stentor
Theseus
Achilles
Agamemnon
Antigone
Ariadne
Atalanta
Cassandra
Ceres (Demeter)
Circe
Cupid (Eros)
Danaids
Echo
Europa
Galatea
Hecuba
Heracles (Hercules)
Hydra
Janus
Leda
Medusa
Minos
Nausicaa
Oedipus
Orpheus
Parnassus
Perseus
Proteus
Sirens
Styx River
Tiresias
Actaeon
Ajax
Apollo (Phoebus)
Argonauts
Bacchus
Castor and Pollux
Charon
Clio
Cyclops
Delphi
Electra
Eurydice
Hades (Pluto)
Helen
Hermes (Mercury)
Icarus
Jason
Lethe River
Menelaus
Minotaur
Nemesis
Olympia
Pan
Pegasus
Polyneices
Psyche
Sisyphus
Tantalus
Zeus
Aegeus
Amazons
Arachne
Argus
Calliope
Centaurs
Charybdis
Clytemnestra
Daedalus
Dido
Elysian Fields
Euterpe
Hecate
Hephaestus (Vulcan)
Hyacinth
Iphigenia
Jocasta
Lucifer
Mentor
Morpheus
Niobe
Orestes
Pandora
Penelope
Poseidon (Neptune)
Pygmalion
Sphinx
Telemachus
Norse Terms
Baldur
Valkyries
Sig
Niffleheim
Skuld
Freki
Fenris Wolf
Frigga
Brunhild
Loki
Valhalla
Aske
Norns
Hugin
Frey
Midgaard Serpent
Tiu
Thor
Midgaard
Embla
Urdur
Munin
Freya
Hela
Sigfried
Odin
Asgaard
Jotunheim
Verdandi
Geri
Bragi
Tyr
Sigurd
Biblical Allusions
The Old Testament
Adam and Eve - fig-leaf, apple, Eden, serpent, original sin, cast from the garden
Cain and Abel - mark of Cain, Land of Goshen
Noah and the Flood - the dove, the raven, the rainbow
Tower of Babel
Abraham – Patriarch, sons - founders of tribes/races of men
Lot and his wife - Sodom and Gomorra
Sarah, Hagar, Ishmael
Isaac, Rebecca
Jacob and Esau - mess of pottage, dream ladder
Rachel and Leah
Joseph - coat of many colors, sold into Egypt, Potiphar's wife, Pharaoh's dream
Moses - burning bush, Aaron's rod, Passover, crossing the Red Sea, 10 commandments, Golden Calf, Baal,
Beelzebub, manna from heaven, unable to enter the promised land
Samson -jawbone of an ass, Delilah
Ruth and Naomi
Saul
David – Goliath, Jonathan, Bathsheba, Absalom
Solomon - the Temple
Ahab and Jezebel
Elijah and Elisha
Job
Isaiah - prophecies relevant to New Testament
Jeremiah
Daniel - Nebuchadnezzar, writing on the wall, lion's den
The New Testament
Mary and Joseph - shepherds, wise men, Bethlehem,
Marriage in Cana
Beatitudes
Sermon on the Mount
Miracles of Jesus
Mary and Martha
Raising of Lazarus
Prodigal Son
Feeding of 5,000
Walking on Water
Whited Sepulcher
Parable of Talents
Good Samaritan
Judas - the kiss, 30 pieces of silver, hanged
Last Supper - bread and wine
Garden of Gethsemane
Pontius Pilate - what is truth, handwashing
stone, Angel's
Barabas
Golgotha
Calvary - last words
Joseph of Arimathea
House of David
Mary Magdalene
Road to Damascus
Doubting Thomas
Peter
Pentecost
Stephen
Saul
Paul
Armageddon
Second Coming
New Jerusalem
Pale horse
Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse
Millennium
Waters of Bethesda
Resurrection - Rolling away the
message