AP ENGLISH LITERATURE AND COMPOSITION
2013 - 2014 COURSE SYLLABUS
K. Fisher
Fisherk@lake.k12.fl.us
Welcome to your senior year and your Advanced Placement English Literature and Composition class. In this
class, you will become engaged in the careful reading and critical analysis of imaginative literature. Through
the close reading of selected texts and works, you should be able to deepen your understanding of the ways
writers use language to provide both meaning and pleasure for their readers. The AP English Literature course
is also concerned with enabling students to write in order to understand, explain, and evaluate a literary work.
You will be studying representative works from the sixteenth century to contemporary times (from
Shakespeare to the present) and you will read short stories, novels, essays, plays, and poetry. The study of
poetry will be an important element of the course because questions that deal directly with poetry, whether
multiple-choice or free-response, appear frequently on the AP English Literature Exam. Although many
selections will come from the works of British writers, American literature will also be a focus.
Course Objectives
Students should be able to
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Carefully read and critically analyze imaginative literature
Develop accurate, perceptive reading through close study of major texts (English, American, and
Classical) representing various literary genres and periods (from the sixteenth century to the present)
but know a few works extremely well
Understand the way writers use language to provide meaning and pleasure and to consider a work’s
structure, style, and themes as well as the use of figurative language, imagery, symbolism, and tone
Acquire a fluent, precise writing style through the preparation of essays about the texts, including
expository, analytical, and argumentative essays, and also be provided with opportunities to prepare
creative writing examples/products
Understand the technique of poetry (such as scansion and metrical variations) as it affects and
enhances meaning in a poem
Generate independent, thoughtful, and analytical discourse during class discussions
Deliver oral reports with poise and clarity
Become aware through speaking, listening, reading, and chiefly writing of the resources of language:
connotation, metaphor, irony, syntax, and tone
Performance Tasks
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Timed essays based on past AP prompts
Responses to essay questions as required of college-level writers
Reading, responding, and analyzing novels, drama, fiction, non-fiction, and poetry
Formal literary analysis papers—expository, persuasive, and comparison/contrast
Reader’s notebook, master works data sheets, paragraph responses, journal responses, and annotation
of text
Well-organized and well-maintained class notebook
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Evaluation and Assessment
Achievement of the objectives is measured by:
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Regular writing assignments—both formal and informal
Oral reports and projects
Grammar/mechanics review and assessment
Class Participation
Quizzes for assigned material
In-class journals/responses to selections/reader’s notebook/Master Works Data Sheets (MWDS)
Cumulative examinations
The AP Exam
The major text for class this year (published in 2008 and recently purchased) is the college-level text The
Bedford Introduction to Literature, Eighth Edition. Many of the works to be studied this year as provided in
this syllabus come directly from this text. You will be issued the text to take home but will be expected to
bring it to class with you every class session. Although this text will be the primary text for the course, other
texts will be used for supplementation:
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Foster, Thomas C. How to Read Literature Like a Professor. New York: Harper, 2003.
Vogel, Richard. Multiple-Choice and Free-Response Questions in Preparation for the AP English
Literature and Composition Examination, Seventh Edition. Brooklyn, NY: D&S Marketing Systems,
Inc., 2006.
Kovacs, Mary Anne. Advanced Placement Short Story: Challenging Approaches for Honors, Gifted,
and AP English Classes. Westlake, OH: The Center for Learning, 1993.
Jago, Carol, et al. Literature & Composition: Reading – Writing – Thinking, First Edition. Boston, MA:
Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2011.
Before beginning our study of literature, we will start with a series of lessons on how to approach the study of
literature and consider the following questions:
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Why study literature?
What makes an effective reader?
What is close reading?
What are the elements of style?
What are the special considerations for reading poetry closely?
How do you develop a thesis and organize a close analysis essay?
What are the elements of fiction?
What are the special considerations for analyzing drama?
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The following is the list of works you will be studying, although there definitely will be additions or deletions
made as the class progresses. AP test practice, timed writings, literary analysis, grammar review, research
assignments, literary terms and content vocabulary study, and class discussions of all works studied will be an
ongoing and important part of the curriculum. Although not listed in the course outline, films, where
appropriate, will be used to enrich the study of a particular work. We will also study other works, such as
poems and excerpts from short stories and novels, through our multiple-choice practice tests, used either for
bell-ringers or full-length practice tests.
Unit 1: Home and Family
Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.
-- Leo Tolstoy, Anna Karenina
 What makes a house a home?
 What do human families have in common?
 How do the sins of one generation play out in the lives of future generations?
 Why do we sometimes have conflicted feelings toward a home?
Literary Time Periods: The Greek Tragedians, The Victorian Period, The Modern Period
Drama:
Antigone—Sophocles
Novel:
Scarlet Letter--Hawthorne
Short Stories:
“Miss Brill” – Katherine Mansfield
“Sonny’s Blues”—James Baldwin
“Babylon Revisited”—F. Scott Fitzgerald
Poetry:
“My Papa’s Waltz” – Theodore Roethke
“Those Winter Sundays” – Robert Hayden
“Rite of Passage”—Sharon Olds
“To an Athlete Dying Young””—Housman
Socratic Circle:
“Daddy”—Sylvia Plath
Timed Writing:
Comparison/Contrast: “My Papa’s Waltz” and “Those Winter Sundays”
Formal Essay:
Analysis: Explore the Theme of Home and Family
Style/Language:
Connotation, Purpose, Voice, Style, Point of View, Characterization
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Unit 2: Love and Relationships
Ay me! for aught that I could ever read,
Could ever hear by tale or history,
The course of true love never did run smooth.
--William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night’s Dream
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What is it about love and relationships that has captured the imaginations of poets and writers
throughout the ages?
Why are we drawn to love stories?
How can we recognize true love?
Can we ever really be sure of love?
Does love interfere with one’s individual freedom?
Literary Time Periods: The Renaissance, The Restoration (England), The Romantic Period, The Victorian Period, The
Modern Period
Drama:
The Importance of Being Earnest: A Trivial Comedy for Serious People—Oscar Wilde
Novel:
Frankenstein—Mary Shelly
Short Stories:
“The Lady with the Pet Dog”—Anton Chekhov and Joyce Carol Oates
“The Story of an Hour”—Kate Chopin
“A Rose for Emily”—William Faulkner
Poetry:
“The Flea”—John Donne
“To His Coy Mistress”—Andrew Marvell
“Coy Mistress”—Annie Finch
“She Walks in Beauty”—George Gordon, Lord Byron
“Weighing the Dog”—Billy Collins
“My Last Duchess”—Robert Browning
“Short Story on a Painting of Gustave Klimt”—Lawrence Ferlinghetti
Painting:
The Kiss—Gustav Klimt
Socratic Circle:
Ferlinghetti’s poem “Short Story on a Painting of Gustave Klimt” and Klimt’s The Kiss
Timed Writing:
College Board Prompt: Poetry
Formal Essay:
Analyzing Irony in The Importance of Being Earnest
Style/Language:
Playful, Satiric, and Sarcastic Irony, Tone, Setting
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Unit 3: Identity and Culture
No man, for any considerable period, can wear one face to himself, and another to the multitude, without
finally getting bewildered as to which may be true.
-- Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter
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What makes us who we are?
How do we determine what we value in life?
Is defining identity based on difference a divisive or a constructive force in society?
Do we create an identity—or inherit one?
What is the influence of colonization on national politics and personal identity?
Literary Time Periods: The Renaissance, The Romantic Period, The Victorian Period, The Modern Period
Novella:
Heart of Darkness—Joseph Conrad
Drama:
A Doll’s House—Henrik Ibsen
Short Stories:
“Young Goodman Brown”—Nathaniel Hawthorne
“A & P”—John Updike
“Clothes”—Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
“Cathedral”—Raymond Carver
“I Stand Here Ironing”—Tillie Olsen
“Better Be Ready ‘Bout Half Past Eight”—Alison Baker
Poetry:
“When I Consider How My Light Is Spent”—John Milton
“The World Is Too Much with Us”—William Wordsworth
“The Fish”—Elizabeth Bishop
“Ironing Their Clothes”—Julia Alvarez
“Piano”—D. H. Lawrence
Socratic Circle:
Excerpt from “An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad’s Heart of Darkness”—Chinua Achebe
Timed Writing:
Analyzing for Tone/Attitude in Lawrence’s “Piano”
Formal Essay:
Analysis: Culture Clashes and/or Identity Conflicts As Evidenced in Unit 3 Selections
Style/Language:
Conflict, Connotation, Denotation, Symbolism
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Unit 4: Conformity and Rebellion
Not all those who wander are lost. – J. R. R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings
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Why is there a struggle between conformity and rebellion?
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Without duty and order, without cooperation and teamwork, where would we be?
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Why do we celebrate those heroes who rebel?
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What are the challenges and promises of rebellion?
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What if the line between conformity and rebellion blurs?
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Literary Time Periods: The Renaissance, The Victorian Period, The Modern Period
Drama:
Macbeth—William Shakespeare
Novella:
The Metamorphosis—Franz Kafka
Short Stories:
“Bartleby, the Scrivener: A Story of Wall Street”—Herman Melville
“Harrison Bergeron”—Kurt Vonnegut
“One of These Days”—Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Poetry:
“Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night”—Dylan Thomas
“Her Kind”—Anne Sexton
“Sonnet: The Ladies’ Home Journal”—Sandra Gilbert
“next to of course god america I”—E. E. Cummings
“Is About”—Allen Ginsberg
Cartoon:
From The Metamorphosis—Peter Kuper
Timed Writing:
College Board Prompt for The Metamorphosis
Formal Essay:
Analyzing Theme in Macbeth
Style/Language:
Tone, Satire, Paradox, Irony
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Unit 5: Tradition and Progress
The world owes all its onward impulses to men ill at ease. The happy man inevitably confines himself within
ancient limits.
--Nathaniel Hawthorne
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How do we determine which traditions are worth keeping and which must be jettisoned for the sake
of progress?
Which generation is more traditional and which is more progressive?
How should the old and the new overlap?
What about the clash between the traditions of one’s country of birth and the more progressive ways
of American life?
What are the myths we grasp at in order to define ourselves as our lives progress?
Literary Time Periods: The Restoration, The Romantic Period, The Victorian Period, The Modern Period
Novella:
Daisy Miller—Henry James
The Awakening—Kate Chopin
Short Stories:
“Good Country People”—Flannery O’Connor
“The Yellow Wallpaper”—Charlotte Perkins Gilman
“Everyday Use”—Alice Walker
“Girl”—Jamaica Kincaid
“Spunk”—Zora Neale Hurston
Poetry:
“The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”—T. S. Eliot
“Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard”—Thomas Gray
“London”—William Blake
“God’s Grandeur”—Gerard Manley Hopkins
“Mending Wall”—Robert Frost
“Forty Acres”—Derek Walcott
Socratic Circle:
Articulating Theme in Jamaica Kincaid’s “Girl”
Formal Essay:
Character Development in either Daisy Miller or The Awakening
Timed Writing:
College Board Prompt: Prose
Style/Language:
Syntax, Figurative Language, Imagery
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Unit 6: War and Peace
Do dreams offer lessons? Do nightmares have themes, do we awaken and analyze them and live our lives and
advise others as a result? Can the foot soldier teach anything important about war, merely for having been
there? I think not. He can tell war stories.
--Tim O’Brien, If I Die in a Combat Zone
What is it in human nature that is satisfied by what war provides?
Why do we continue to look to warriors as our heroes?
What is the nature of heroism?
What is the role of the citizen during wartime?
Literary Time Periods: , The Renaissance, The Victorian Period, The Modern Period
Novel:
A Thousand Splendid Suns—Khaled Hosseini
Short Stories:
“How to Tell a True War Story”—Tim O’Brien
“The First Year of My Life”—Muriel Spark
“Soldier’s Home”—Ernest Hemingway
Poetry:
From Book 19 of the Iliad (“The Champion Arms for Battle”)—Homer
From Henry V, Act IV, scene iii (“If we are marked to die . . .”)—William Shakespeare
“Dulce et Decorum Est”—Wilfred Owen
“The Terrorist, He Watches”—Wislawa Szymborska
“Sadiq”—Brian Turner
“Ulysses”—Alfred, Lord Tennyson
Blog:
“Satisfy My Soul”—Rachelle Jones
Speech:
“Shall We Choose Death?”—Bertrand Russell
Timed Writing:
College Board Prompt: Prose
Formal Essay:
Analyzing Theme in A Thousand Splendid Suns
Style/Language:
Theme, Characterization, Plot Development
Attached is a handout entitled “Beyond the Syllabus,” which gives more of the practical, technical information you
will need in order to do well in this class. Also attached is an acknowledgement form which is to be signed by both
you and a parent or guardian, indicating that you and your parent or guardian understand and agree to the
requirements for the course. Please sign and then detach the form and return it to me for my records. The returning
of this acknowledgment form will give you your first completion grade in AP Lit and Comp. Please return it within five
days of receiving it.
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AP English Literature and Composition—K. Fisher fisherk@lake.k12.fl.us
Beyond the Syllabus 2013 - 2014
From Mrs. Fisher:
I want you to prepare to do an awesome job on the AP exam in May, but remember: The test is three hours – the class
is 180 days. There is much to experience in this English class and in obtaining your English IV credit. Prepare for the
test, but most of all, continue to read, think, and write well. That will be the focus of this class.
Notebook: You will need a three ring binder (1 ½ - 2 inches) with at least three divided sections. This is required and is
vital for success in this class. You will receive many handouts throughout the year that are designed to be supplements
for the course, such as literary terms and definitions; literature timelines and descriptions; and copies of literary works
for study and annotation. You will need to refer to these handouts often in class, and it is imperative that they be kept
so that they are readily accessible. Notebooks will be collected and graded; random notebook quizzes can be expected.
This “Beyond the Syllabus” handout and your AP Literature and Composition Course Syllabus should be the first items in
your notebook.
Academic Honesty: Cheating can be perceived as (1) receiving or providing information during a test, (2) receiving or
providing information on tests given in an earlier period or day, (3) using or copying another student’s homework
(Unless assignments, in or out of the classroom, are designated by me as “group activities,” all assignments are to be
completed by the student as an individual.), (4) allowing other students to use or copy your work on assignments, and
(4) using ideas or written materials from other sources: student, professional writers, internet notes/study guides—
without acknowledging the source in your own writing. The consequences for any violation of the above are a zero for
the assignment and disciplinary action (referral).
Missing/Late Assignments:
 Homework and class assignments are NOT ACCEPTED unless you have an EXCUSED absence.
 Larger, long-term assignments, papers and projects, will be accepted with one letter grade docked for each day
(each physical day, not class meeting days) the assignment is late.
 If you have an assignment due, yet you know you will be absent, you are encouraged to email your work to me.
 Any missing assignment will receive a zero in the grade book (e-Sembler).
 Any work completed in class after I have collected it (even if it is on the day an assignment is due) is considered
late.
 If you know that a due date for an AP Lit assignment is going to conflict with other due dates and will cause you
an undue hardship, discuss this with me ahead of time—not the day the assignment is due.
Attendance: Inconsistent attendance invariably leads to increased stress: too much make-up work, loss of continuity
with class activities, and inability to participate fully in class discussions. Good attendance is an indicator of success in
AP Lit & Comp. Take care of yourself by careful planning and managing your time wisely. Be in class if at all possible.
Classroom Behaviors:
 Ask questions.
 Be attentive in class (no heads down).
 Come to class prepared.
 Contribute to class discussions but allow for the input of ALL class members—class discussions should be lively
but controlled.
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AP English Literature and Composition—K. Fisher
(Fisherk@lake.k12.fl.us)
I have read the two handouts, AP English Literature and Composition
Course Syllabus 2013 – 2014 and Beyond the Syllabus 2013 – 2014, and
understand and acknowledge the behavior and work ethic needed for
success in AP Literature and Composition.
Student Signature
Date
Parent Signature
Date
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