AP English Language & Composition
Summer Assignment
2013
The purpose of this summer assignment is to lay the foundation for the course. Below you’ll find a lot of words
from Greek mythology (Part 1) as well as rhetorical devices and strategies (Part 3) to know for the course.
Additionally, your reading assignment is listed under Part 2, The Theban Plays.
Part 1: Words from Greek Mythology and Allusions, Lists 1 and 2
As part of our opening unit of the year, which focuses on Ancient Greek drama, philosophy, mythology, and
rhetoric, you will need to know the following terms/allusions. We will spend some time in class discussing the
terms and doing various activities/projects with the terms. Quizzes will be based on the individual lists (one list at
a time); the test will be based on both lists. Research each term using Edith Hamilton’s Mythology, the website
below, or any other reliable source, and write a brief summary/paraphrase (2-3 sentences) that includes the
following information:
1) The mythological definition: The mythological person, place or thing upon which the word is
based, and information about that person, place, or thing upon which the word is based.
2) Modern definition. Some of the words do not have a modern definition or usage aside from their
mythological meaning. In that case, provide only the mythological definition. I placed an asterisk (*)
next to those words. I want you to know these mainly for their roles in the books we read this year.
You will be submitting your work to a turnitin.com drop box, so make sure that the information you provide is in
your own words. If you know the mythological definition and modern usage for a word already, then by all means
tell what you know (you don’t have to look up the definitions for words you already know!). Plagiarized work will
not be accepted. Do NOT copy and paste! If you use a source aside from the ones below, please attach a Works
Cited page to your work.
An excellent book for this project:
Edith Hamilton’s Mythology
An excellent website for this project:
http://www.theoi.com
The due date for both lists will be two weeks after day 1 of the school year. I recommend that you finish the
assignment BEFORE the first day. 20 points total.
LIST 1:
1. Apollonian (spend some time researching this God)
2. Arachnid
2. Auroral
3. Bacchanal/Dionysian
4. Centaur* .
5. Cerberus *
6. Charon*
7. chronology
8. Cupidity
9. Chiron *
10. Elysian
11. Erotic
12Fate
13. Fury
14. Geryon *
15. Gorgon
16. Harpy
17. Hecate *
18. Herculean
19. Homeric
20. Labyrinthine
21. Laconic
22. Lethargic
23. Music
24 Nemesis
25. Odyssey
26. Oracular.
27. Paean
28. Panic
29. Phoenix
30. Phlegyas *
31. Palladium
32. Plutocratic
33. Plutonian
34. Satyr *
35. Siren
36. Sphinx *
37. Stygian
38. Tantalize
39. Thespian
40. The Twelve Olympians (Just a brief listing of the Gods/Goddesses and their characteristics will suffice)
List 2
1. Achilles heel
2. Adonis
3. Aegis
4. Amazon
5. ambrosial
6. Antaean
7. Atlas
8. Calliope
9. Cassandra
10. Chimerical
11. Cornucopia
12. Draconian
13. Elysian
14. halcyon
15. Hector
16. Hermetic
17. Hymeneal
18. Iridescent
19. Jovial
20. Martial
21. Medusa
22. Mentor
23. Mercurial
25. Myrmidon
26. Narcissism
27. Olympian
28. Pandora’s Box
29. Pygmalion
30. Promethean
31. Protean
32. Psyche
33. Pyrrhic
34 satire
35..Saturnine
36. Sisyphus *
37. Stentorian
38. Titanic
39. Zephyr
Part 2. Reading Assignment: The Theban Plays
Read Sophocles’s King Oedipus and Antigone. As you read King Oedipus, which is the first play we will
discuss, pay particular attention to all of the light and dark imagery, as well as the sight and blindness
imagery. Consider the following questions as you read and annotate: What purpose(s) do the images
serve in this play? What do they add to our understanding of Sophocles’s intentions in King Oedipus?
YOU CAN EXPECT TO HAVE AT LEAST ONE READING QUIZ PER TEXT THAT WE READ THROUGHOUT THE YEAR. YOU
CAN SAFELY ASSUME THAT WE WILL HAVE A READING QUIZ ON THE FIRST DAY OF OUR DISCUSSION OF KING
OEDIPUS.
Part 3: Rhetorical Devices, Strategies, and Language
When we examine and analyze texts in this class, we will be looking through the lens of rhetoric and
argumentation. Aristotle describes rhetoric as "the ability, in each particular case, to see the available means of
persuasion." With each text, we will explore the following questions:
What is the subject of this text? What is the occasion of this text? Who is the intended audience? What is the
purpose of the text? What stylistic, rhetorical techniques does the writer/speaker employ to achieve his/her
purpose? The acronym for this is SOAPS. Below are two excellent quizlet pages for you to develop a “rhetorical
language” that you’ll be expected to employ for close reading and rhetorical analysis. We’ll be discussing these
terms in depth throughout the year.
http://quizlet.com/12851861/the-language-of-composition-ch-1-flash-cards/
http://quizlet.com/14112805/chapter-2-language-and-composition-close-reading-the-art-and-craft-of-an-analysisflash-cards/
Enjoy your summer!!!!
Mr. Fisher
sfisher@zcs.k12.in.us