COURSE EXPECTATIONS
WESTERN LITERATURE
UNITS OF STUDY
• Writing Bootcamp
• Argumentative Writing
• Archetypes
• Bible
• Mythology
• Excerpts from Edith
Hamilton’s Mythology
• Greek Tragedy
• Sophocles’ Antigone
• Geoffrey Chaucer’s
The Canterbury Tales
• William Shakespeare’s
Romeo and Juliet
• Charles Dickens’ Great
Expectations
LITERARY ANALYSIS
“What does it mean when a fictional hero takes a journey?
Shares a meal? Gets drenched in a sudden rain shower?
Often, there is much more going on in a novel or a poem than
is readily visible on the surface—a symbol, maybe, that
remains elusive, or an unexpected twist on a character—and
there’s that sneaking suspicion that the deeper meaning of a
literary text keeps escaping you. In this practical and amusing
guide to literature, Thomas C. Foster shows how easy and
gratifying it is to unlock those hidden truths and to discover a
world where a road leads to a quest; a shared meal may
signify a communion; and rain, whether cleansing of
destructive, is never just rain. Ranging from major themes to
literary models, narrative devices, and form, How to Read
Literature Like a Professor is the perfect companion for making
your reading experience more enriching, satisfying, and fun.”
HONORS COURSEWORK
The Honors coursework for Western Literature includes a
reading assignment and response, as well as an annotated
glossary of literary terms and final capstone paper.
READING & RESPONSE ASSIGNMENT
• Read various chapters in Thomas Foster’s How to Read
Literature Like a Professor. You must complete typed
responses to prompts from the required reading.
• Please note that you are only required to do ten of the twelve
paragraph responses. Five of the paragraph responses are
due on December 1st. The other five are due April 20th.
• You are responsible for pacing yourself for this project.
• Remember your responses should be paragraphs—not pages. Some
chapters do not have a prompt, but they still must be read in
preparation for your final paper.
• Support your opinions with the evidence from the texts you use. You
must back up your assertions with quotes from the text in MLA
format.
HONORS COURSEWORK
ANNOTATED GLOSSARY OF LITERARY TERMS
A typed, organized glossary with definitions and examples for the
required literary terms. Examples should come from course readings.
You are responsible for the pacing of this assignment.
FORMAT:
Term: definition
Example: usually a quote from a work we have previously read during
our course; very rarely (but occasionally) not a direct quote, but a
title of a work or other specific summary. Whenever possible—use a
direct quote!
Title of work, and location in the work
SAMPLE:
Allusion: a reference to something literary, mythological, or historical
that the author assumes the reader will recognize
Example: “Angels are bright still, though the brightest fell.”
Macbeth, IV, iii, 22
LITERARY TERMS
First Set Due: October
14th
• static character
• dynamic character
• indirect
characterization
• direct characterization
• diction
• archetype
• imagery
• point of view
• theme
• Conflict
Second Set Due
December 16th
• details
• foreshadowing
• mood
• tone
• metaphor
• simile
• personification
• Motif
Third Set Due: February
2nd
• hubris
• hamartia
• catharsis
• alliteration
• allusion
• frame story
• satire
• dramatic irony
• allusion
• Symbol
Fourth Set Due: March
9th
• dramatic monologue
• soliloquy
• pun
• antithesis
• oxymoron
• hyperbole
• aside
• comic relief
• verbal irony
• situational irony
HONORS COURSEWORK
Final Capstone Paper for How To Read Literature Like a
Professor
• You will use the information from the chapters to
formulate a final essay for the class. Your essay will
examine one of the works we read in class using Foster’s
book. Your final essay will be due on May 18th. In depth
instructions and guidance for the essay will be provided
during the 2nd semester.
COURSE POLICIES
• GRADING POLICY
This class follows the traditional grading scale:
A= 90-100 ☙ B = 80-89 ☙ C = 70-79 ☙
D = 60-69 ☙ F = 59 & Below
• MISSING & LATE WORK POLICY
Each day an assignment is late, it drops 10%. After 5 days, no
late work will be accepted and it will be recorded as a zero.
• MAKE-UP WORK POLICY
If you are absent, check my website to see what you missed.
You must stay up to date on readings and homework
assignments. It is your responsibility to find out what you missed,
make up your work, and advocate for yourself if you have any
questions. You have two days for each excused absence to
make up your work for full credit.
COURSE POLICIES
ACADEMIC DISHONESTY
• This class requires you to do your own thinking. Any time you
use another source and claim it as your own, it is considered
academic dishonesty. Plagiarism is taking another’s work or
ideas and claiming them as your own—even if you change
some of the wording. Plagiarism is a serious offense and will
result in an automatic zero on the assignment.
SOCIAL CONTRACT
• Our class will decide on specific parameters for appropriate
behaviors and attitudes in our classroom to demonstrate
RESPECT at all times. Our classroom community will be a safe
place to share ideas and to grow without fear of rejection or
judgment. Violations of the social contract will result in a class
detention, a school detention, or a referral.
COMMUNICATION
• Email is the most efficient method of communication.
My email is abrooks@skyviewacademy.k12.co.us.
JOURNAL – 8/19/2014
• How could you represent your
personality? What symbols or
adjectives could you use to describe
yourself?
• Use complete sentences and precise
adjectives.