AP ENGLISH IV: Summer Reading-2015-2016
AP English students read and arrive ready to discuss and write about:
first, The House of the Spirits, by Isabelle Allende; second, a trilogy of Greek tragedies 1)
Oedipus Rex (the King) (pronounced Ed’-eh- pus), 2) Oedipus in Colonus, and 3) Antigone
(pronounced An-tig’-o-nee). These are all plays by the Greek playwright Sophocles,
written about 450 BCE, and have entered the collection of Western stories that are
referred to as myths - i.e., stories so large and enduring they are seen as statements and
explications of the common human condition. As well, AP students must read and be
familiar with one of the following Greek myths:
By Aeschylus:
Agamemnon
Prometheus Bound
By Aristophanes:
Lystistrata
By Euripides:
Hippolytus
Finally, read and be VERY familiar with Job, in the Old Testament of the Bible. Be
prepared to discuss and write about the issues facing the character Job and his
community at the time, and what questions the story asks us in our present time
regarding the issue of why righteous people suffer and wicked people prosper. In
preparation for this issue, you might want to read Bless Me, Ultima, by Rudolfo Anaya.
Additionally, use notes I gave you about Greek Tragedy (for the plays), and the
notes for use before and while reading Job.
Any questions? If questions come to you during the Summer, my email is
aharris@salesian.com; I will check it regularly. Do this work in July and August, and
you should know the work well.
- Mr. Harris
AP English IV
REQUIRED TEXTS FOR THE YEAR
THESE EDITIONS ONLY! ALL HARDCOPIES.
Hamlet by Wm Shakespeare - Folger Library edition only
King Lear by Wm Shakespeare - Folger Library edition only
Gilgamesh trans. Herbert Mason (this version only)
Ironweed by William Kennedy
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neal Hurston
Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
ISBN 074347712X
ISBN 0743477561
ISBN 0618275649
ISBN 0140070206
ISBN-10: 0061120065
ISBN-13: 978-0061120060
ISBN 0140186522
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
ISBN 0385474547
The Discovery of Poetry edited by Francis Mayes
ISBN 0156007622
Fast Track to a 5: Preparing for the AP English Literature and Composition Examination
(Purchase the green/orange book NOT the burgundy/green book)
SUPPLIED SUPPLEMENTAL READINGS
Eisenberg’s “Jocasta”; Non-fictions sources: “The Elements of Greek Tragedy”; “Notes from
Bettleheim’s Freud and Man’s Soul”; Miller’s “Tragedy and the Common Man”; Notes from
Jung’s Answer to Job”; Notes from Penchansky’s The Betrayal of God. “An Image of Africa:
Racism in Conrad’s Heart of Darkness“
FILMS (all or parts)
Scarecrow; Thelma and Louise; Hamlet; King Lear; Ironweed; Apocalypse Now
RECOMMENDED SUPPLEMENTAL TEXTS
Mythology by Edith Hamilton
Answer to Job by Carl Jung
Elements of Style by Strunk & White
RECOMMENDED SUPPLEMENTAL TEXTS
Mythology by Edith Hamilton
Answer to Job by Carl Jung
Elements of Style by Strunk & White