Week/d
W 9/7
M 9/12
In Class
Topic
Introductions
Syllabi
Nonfiction
(biographies,
essays,
literary
criticism)
Fate vs. free
will
Homework
MLK http://www.africa.upenn.edu/Articles_Gen/Letter_Birmingham.html
Essay 1
Dali Lama,
http://books.google.com/books?id=LwDEYUP6XYC&printsec=frontcover&dq=dalai+lama&hl=en&ei=
7rdhTIfvLoH2swO2zJW9CA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=book-thumbnail&resnum=
7&ved=0CFcQ6wEwBg#v=onepage&q&f=false
(Chapter 1)
PemaChodron:
http://books.google.com/books?id=sBRYTFo_CQMC&printsec=frontcover&dq=
pema+chodron&hl=en&ei=U7dhTInjOJS8sQPwsYCnCA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=bookthumbnail&resnum=3&ved=0CD4Q6wEwAg#v=onepage&q=pema%20chodron&f=false
(Chapters 1 and 2)
W 9/14
M 9/19
W 9/21
M 9/26
Intro to
impact of
literary
devices:
Point of
view
Tone
Poetry
The impact
of literary
devices:
Poetic
license
Imagery
Figurative
language
Irony
Rhythm and
rhyme
Essay 1 due next class
In class work: your interpretation. Life from a different point of view
The impact
of literary
devices:
Poetic
license
Imagery
Figurative
language
Irony
Rhythm and
rhyme
ee cummings, http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/15402 (Grasshopper)
http://www.americanpoems.com/poets/eecummings/331 (She being brand new)
Compare
and contrast
Beauty and love:
Shakespeare: http://shakespeare.mit.edu/Poetry/sonnet.CXXX.html
TS Eliot: the Lovesong of Alfred J Prufrock. http://www.bartleby.com/198/1.html
Death:
Langston Hughes, Suicide’s note http://rpo.library.utoronto.ca/poem/1079.html
Dylan Thomas, Fern Hill http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/15378
Newspaper day
Read and look over:
Billy Collins http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/introduction-to-poetry/
http://www.english.upenn.edu/~jenglish/English104/tzara.html Dadaism (Dada Manifesto
excerpt)
http://www.poemofquotes.com/tools/dada.php (Homework)
http://www.poemofquotes.com/tools/dada.php (Look up)
http://www.uic.edu/classes/ad/ad382/sites/Projects/P014/P014_context.html (How to make a
Dadaist poem) project for class. We will do this in class
Computer lab Reviews of poems
Due
Date
Essay 2
Langston Hughes http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/15614 (Theme for English
B)
Ginsberg, http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/a-supermarket-in-california/
Jane Kenyon, http://www.poetryfoundation.org/archive/poem.html?id=177701
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/archive/poem.html?id=238646
Essay 2
Plath http://www.angelfire.com/tn/plath/cin.html (Cinderella)
http://www.angelfire.com/tn/plath/paralytic.html (Paralytic)
W 9/28
M 10/3
Shakespeare, http://shakespeare.mit.edu/ (Choose one to reinterpret and bring to class next
class)
Essay 2 due next class
W 10/5
In class
Reinterpretations of poems.
Metamorphosis; Kafka
M
10/10
W
10/12
Fiction
(short
stories, the
novel, the
novella)
Metamorphosis; Kafka
Essay 3 short Bring in quotes for essay 3. See example of essay possibilities
Essay 3 in class
M
10/17
Don Quixote http://www.gutenberg.org/files/996/996.txt
(Chapter 8/VIII)
W
10/19
Man vs man
Man vs
nature
man vs
himself
man vs.
society
Don Quixote http://www.gutenberg.org/files/996/996.txt
(Chapter 8/VIII)
http://austen.thefreelibrary.com/Emma
http://austen.thefreelibrary.com/Emma
http://maugham.thefreelibrary.com/Of-Human-Bondage (Get a feel for what this is like.
Compare even the first few chapters of Emma to Of Human Bondage)
M
10/24
Essay 4 Evaluating a work of literature in terms of its historical, social, and/or political
content.
W
10/26
M
10/31
W
11/2
M 11/7
Clueless
Essay 4
Clueless
Essay 4 due next class
W 11/9
group work
Drama
Magazine/journal day
hw story of an hour http://www.vcu.edu/engweb/webtexts/hour/
In class:
Figure out groups for presentations
Hw: Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption
NOTE: Group work will be on one of the following listed in the following four days. We’ll
go over it in class.
Waiting for Godot, http://www.samuel-beckett.net/Waiting_for_Godot_Part1.html
http://samuel-beckett.net/Waiting_for_Godot_Part2.html
Cyrano De Bergerac http://www.gutenberg.org/files/1254/1254-h/1254-h.htm
(Roxanne)
Pygmalion http://www.bartleby.com/138/
Preface, 5 acts, sequel
(Choose the movie)
We can also choose contemporary books like Fight Club.
M
11/14
W
11/16
M
11/21
W
11/23
M
11/28
W
11/30
M
12/5
W 12/7
M
12/12
W12/14
week of
19th
group work
group work
Conferences
Conferences
Essay 5
Movie
movie
comic book day
Essay 5 due
Presentations
Presentations
Finals
For MLA format, see the OWL at Purdue website. Also see easybib.com for work cited pages.
All papers will be in MLA format with a work cited page.
Essay 1 (Will be about 3 pages)
Synthesizing how two or more authors handle the same theme in literary works, and do a comparative
analysis of them,
Examples:
Using the works of Chodron, the Dali Lama, and/or MLK, analyze the perspectives on fate vs free will of
human emotion.
or
Define several patterns or themes and expand to explore each that you find interesting or intriguing.
Paraphrase ideas of the writers to supplement your ideas. Use quotes that demonstrate your ideas. Be sure
to connect your quote to the author/speaker and explain what the quote means.
Essay 2 (will be about 3 pages)
Critical thinking: Analyze the effect of an author’s use of figurative language in a poem.
Example:
Compare and contrast the two poems from any one theme. How doe they deal with the theme?
or
Do you believe written and spoken language is a greater contributor or combatant of prejudice and
stereotypes? In your essay, summarize the essays that most clearly corresponds to or contradicts your
own theory about the impact of language. Argue your side of: how does figurative language impact
prejudice and stereotypes?
or
Quote. Paraphrase. Don’t summarize, analyze. Choose one of the works that spoke to you. What
questions do you have, what would you argue about the work? Be bold with your argument, and detail
with support from the work. It should end with the answer to “so what?”
Essay 3
Short paper (About 2 pages handwritten)
After reading Metamorphosis, write a short essay integrating quotes from the story, followed by
logical commentary and analysis. Critiquing a written work, noting tone and word choice and how they
affect your analysis.
Example: How does the tone and word choice affect the perception of the main character himself? His
sister? How does word choice affect your analysis of the characters.
Essay 4 (about 3-4 pages)
Evaluating a work of literature in terms of its historical, social, and/or political content.
Example:
Evaluate the major themes of Emma and its different interpretations through the years. Which stenotypes
still hold true? What historical, political, and/or social content is applicable today?
or
Argument: Take an issue or concept, belief or idea expressed in one of the works we have read, and argue
your way of seeing it. Make an arguable claim then provide compelling support from the work and other
supporting materials.
Essay 5 (Will be about 3-4 pages)
Constructing a persuasive essay that argues for a particular interpretation of a play
Essay: historical content of gender views, relationships, or beauty
Example:
Compare/contrast: analyze your generation in depth by comparing the idea of beauty or relationships
across generations. This requires synthesis, a written discussion that draws on two or more sources. The
design of the essay is inductive, who will pose a question, provide a series of points that address the
question, and conclude with a statement of thesis in your final paragraph. This invites the reader in a
discovery.
You may replace an essay or two of your choice with your own creative work. In other words, you may
creatively interpret the essay, using the themes discussed, etc.