AP® Literature and Composition Syllabus

Course Overview

I do not teach the same novels or Shakespearean dramas outlined here each year,

but I do use comparable material. I will substitute, add or delete depending on the

atmosphere and/or interests of the class. Students will respond to the same type of

essay prompts regardless of the novel, play, or poem.

Our year is divided into 9-week quarters. Students will write a minimum of three

papers and/or timed essays and have one major unit exam per quarter. Prompts

and short answer essays are worded to reflect the language of the AP Literature and

Composition Exam. All reading, with the exception of plays and poetry, is done

outside of class.

All students understand and interpret literature differently because of their various

backgrounds, experiences, and knowledge when reading a selection. I encourage

each student to express his or her own belief or interpretation. My only

requirement is that they support their opinion with textual evidence. Students

should learn to clearly defend their position to others by the end of the course.

For each essay that the students write, I provide comments that

display how students can vary sentence structure, improve diction,

and illustrative details. Students are familiar with the Jane Schaffer

model of paragraph structure, so we take what they know about

commentary and detail and build on those concepts throughout the

year. I teach them to create a paragraph that contains commentary

supported by detail from the text, observation, or experience.

We discuss before and after every reading or writing assignment. I

start the year by discussing style (diction, detail, syntax, figurative

language, etc.), voice, and structure in general. As we read and

write throughout the year, I counsel with individual students on the

strengths and weaknesses of their own essays. For each novel, we

focus on various elements so that students will better understand

them. I also discuss the AP Rubric that I will use throughout the

year. We analyze what an essay must contain to earn the higher

scores. I show them examples of good papers from past students to

demonstrate varied syntax, effective or moving diction, textual

evidence that aptly supports the thesis, effective transitions, etc.

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I have created handouts from Literature for Composition and

Prose Style for each student to use throughout the course. I have

also created a reference guide of literary terms, rhetorical devices,

and grammar rules to use daily. We will focus on revision,

annotation, audience and purpose, developing a thesis, syntax, and

many other aspects of writing in order to develop a mature writer’s

voice.

This course is designed to comply with the curricular requirements described in the

AP English Course Description.

I have attached an AP Rubric for grading essays, which I modify to meet the

expectations of individual prompts. I have also attached the AP Contract that I

require all student and parents to sign. In addition, I pledge my commitment to the

course.

Required Texts and Materials:

Many of these novels are available in the school library, but I encourage students to

purchase a personal copy because annotation is essential in understanding and

analyzing literature. While reading each novel, the students are required to create

their own legend to identify any notations they make. We discuss at the beginning

of each unit or novel all of the literary terms and rhetorical devices that will be

studied. I provide them with examples, and we practice close reading strategies

with passages throughout the year. Students should always look for detail, diction,

syntax, imagery, figurative language, etc. I also ask that each student identify the

themes, motifs, and symbolism in a particular work. I do not identify them before

reading because the students should become adept at recognizing these elements

independently. Class discussion will reveal pertinent symbolism and themes.

Possible list of novels and dramas:

Invisible Man—Ellison

Heart of Darkness—Conrad

Macbeth, Hamlet, King Lear—Shakespeare

Jane Eyre—Bronte

Things Fall Apart—Achebe

Short Story Unit—as selected from Perrine

Poetry— as selected from Perrine and Norton

Research novel from selected novels

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Handouts from Prose Style as used in a unit

Handouts from Literature for Composition to supplement writing responses

Handouts for Poetry Focus Statements

AP Style multiple choice question from Applied Practice and Released questions

Course Syllabus

1st Quarter

We begin the first nine weeks with a study of style. I use Prose Style: A

Contemporary Guide to demonstrate clarity, specificity, sentence variety, and

developing sound sentences. I use papers from students I have had in previous

years to demonstrate examples of varied and/or sophisticated syntax, effective word

choices, and appropriate supportive details. We also take weak, bland sentences

and transform them into more sophisticated sentences. I also provide the students

with a handout that they are to keep throughout the year for easy reference. It

includes definitions and examples of syntax (chiasmus, parallelism, anaphora,

subordination and coordination, appositives, etc). We will refer to this packet on a

daily basis. Throughout the year, I display how they can take the sentences from

their own writing and elaborate, combine, eliminate, and/or rearrange sentences to

create a richer ―voice.‖

Poetry 180—

o Students will write poetry focus statements using the following rubric. Poems will

be posted on my website with a due date. Focus statements must be typed and

turned in. Students will grade the focus statement of a classmate, rating them

according to the rubric. The student will then revise and rewrite 5 of their

statements for a test grade. These statements serve to enhance thesis statements

for prose and poetry essays that they will encounter in the AP Literature and

Composition Exam.

o Poetry Focus statement Rubric:

PFS Checklist Poem: _________________________________

1. _______ includes the title of the poem and the name of the poet (spelled and

punctuated)correctly

2. _______ is written in the “literary present tense”

3. _______ specifies the narrative situation of the poem (who, what, when, where, why)

4. _______ includes thoughtful, but concise indication of theme

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5. _______ identifies the tone(s) of the poem (These may be differing, but

complimentary. Shifts in tone may be identified as well.)

Short Story Study

Stories selected from Perrine include, but are not limited to:

Richard Connell--―The Most Dangerous Game;‖ Tobias Wolfe--―Hunters

in the Snow: Thomas Wolfe-- ―The Child by Tiger;‖ Alice Munro—―How I

Met My Husband;‖ Richard Wright—―The Man who was Almost a Man;‖

Graham Greene-- ―The Destructors;‖ Willa Cather--―Paul’s Case;‖

Ernest Hemingway-- ―Hills Like White Elephants;‖ Albert Camus-- ―The

Guest;‖ Shirley Jackson-- ―The Lottery;‖ Flannery O’Connor --

―Greenleaf;‖ Frank O’Connor—―The Drunkard;‖ McKnight Malmur--

―The Storm;‖ Edgar Allan Poe-- ―The Cask of Amontillado;‖ James

Thurber--―The Catbird Seat;‖ O. Henry-- ―A Municipal Report;‖ Susan

Glaspell-- ―A Jury of Her Peers;‖ Nathaniel Hawthorne—―Young Goodman

Brown;‖ Edith Wharton—―Roman Fever;‖ F. Scott Fitzgerald—―A New

Leaf;‖ Chinua Achebe—―Civil Peace‖

Questions to consider: 1. Explain how suspense is used in one of the following stories: ―The Most

Dangerous Game,‖ ―Child By Tiger,‖ ―The Storm,‖ ―The Cask of Amontillado,‖

or ―A Jury of Her Peers.‖ How does it create the mood, develop a theme, or

bring meaning to the story? Provide specific examples from the text.

2. The short story ―Child By Tiger‖ alludes to William Blake’s poem ―The Tiger.‖

Evaluate how the poem relates to the theme of the story. Also, analyze how it

relates to the passage to which Dick’s Bible was opened. Provide specific

examples from the story.

3. On the surface ―The Destructors‖ is a story of action, suspense, and adventure.

At a deeper level it is about delinquency, war, and human nature. Determine

what the story says about human nature in general. Provide specific examples

from the story, history, or personal experience.

4. Evaluate how setting serves as a symbol in ―Hills Like White Elephants.‖ Include

textual references to validate your answer.

5. Existentialism holds that man has no predetermined nature and that he defines

himself through his choices. Explain how this belief is presented in ―The Guest.‖

Analyze how each man’s choice defines his character.

6. Analyze how the title subtly sheds light on a deeper meaning in two of the

following stories: ―The Storm,‖ ―‖A Jury of Her Peers,‖ ―The Most Dangerous

Game,‖ ― Child By Tiger,‖ ―The Catbird Seat,‖ ―The Lottery,‖ or ― Hills Like

White Elephants.‖ You might want to consider elements such as irony,

symbolism, setting, or theme.

7. The central conflict of both ―A Municipal Report‖ and ―A Jury of Her Peers‖ is

resolved by murder. What does each story offer in the way of analysis of the

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psychology or morality of murder? Is there a justification for Caesar’s murder of

Caswell or Minnie’s murder of John? Use specific references to the texts.

8. In ―A Jury of Her Peers,‖ ―The Storm,‖ or ―Greenleaf,‖ how does one

object/event symbolize the inner turmoil of a character? Identify the object/event

and completely analyze its symbolic meaning within the story. Include textual

evidence to support your opinion.

Novel Study: Invisible Man—Ralph Ellison

Students are assigned to read approximately 4-5 chapters per week. They

are to identify symbols, motifs, and themes independently, annotate their

text to indicate their thoughts, and bring these thoughts to the class

discussion. Students must prove their opinion with textual evidence. They

must also consider the discussion questions posted on my website. As a

class we consider these questions as they apply to historical and current

times. During the course of the reading, students will write 2-3 timed essays

analyzing a passage from the novel. At the end they will have an

opportunity to choose their best response, edit it, and submit it for grading.

Discussion topics include, but are not limited to:

Evaluate the narrator’s concept of being invisible.

Analyze the social comments that Ellison makes in the first 10 chapters.

Analyze the function and meaning of blindness.

Evaluate how light imagery is used in the first 10 chapters.

Analyze the elements of moral and emotional ambiguity.

How have the Founder and Booker T. Washington become invisible men

according to the author?

Analyze how Dr. Bledsoe is indicative of prejudice.

Explain the motif of masks.

Analyze the beginning of the narrator’s journey.

Evaluate Bledsoe’s betrayal of the narrator.

Analyze the idea of purity throughout the first 10 chapters.

Analyze the concept of rebirth in Chapter 11.

Evaluate the use of stereotypes in Chapter 11.

Evaluate the use of allusions in Chapter 11.

Analyze the idea that the narrator’s time with Mary represents a second

childhood in Chapter 12.

Evaluate how he begins to embrace his heritage in Chapter 13.

Analyze the narrator’s speech at the eviction.

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Evaluate the Brotherhood and Brother Jack.

Evaulate the foreshadowing in the episode at the coin bank.

Analyze the extended metaphor in the speech at the rally in Chapter 16.

Evaluate idea of blindness and invisibility in Chapters 11-16.

Explain the symbolism of the ―mask‖ used in Chapters 18-19.

Compare and contrast the ideology of the college and the Brotherhood.

How do they promote blindness and invisibility?

Analyze how invisibility is used and presented in Chapters 18-19. Evaluate

what the narrator discovers about visibility.

Evaluate how Tarp still symbolically and/or literally wears the chain. How

does this apply to the African American culture as a whole.

Analyze the incident of Tod Clifton’s death. Make sure to discuss the

symbolism of the dolls and the events that take place.

Evaluate the idea of betrayal in Chapters 20-21.

Analyze the symbolic meaning of the puppets. Consider how this applies

to society as a whole.

Explain the narrator’s purpose and message in Tod Clifton’s eulogy.

What rhetorical devices are used in the speech to convey this message?

Explain the paradox between the Brotherhood and the idea of individual

freedom. How does this apply to the narrator’s experience with the

college?

Evaluate how the Brotherhood perpetuates racism through its ideology,

reaction to Clifton’s death, and its treatment of the narrator.

Analyze the symbolism of Jack’s glass eye.

Explain how Rinehart, though never physically present in the novel,

symbolizes the true invisibility that the narrator can never achieve.

Evaluate how the narrator becomes visible to himself.

Analyze the epiphany the narrator experiences at the end of the novel.

Analyze the symbolism of the narrator’s briefcase throughout the novel.

Read the prologue and the epilogue. Though they mirror one another,

they contrast. Analyze how the narrator’s focus and thoughts throughout

the novel have evolved, changed or disintegrated.

Essay topics include, but are not limited to:

Read the passage from Chapter 8 of Invisible Man which begins

“The next morning I took an early subway” and ends “This was

New York” (pgs. 164-168). Then, in a well-organized essay,

discuss the narrator’s attitude toward New York and his new life

and the rhetorical devices (such as diction, point of view, and

selection of detail) that the author uses both to convey this

attitude to the reader and to shape the reader’s perspective

toward the narrator and his situation.

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In many works of literature, contrasting places play an important

role in developing the ideas or themes of the work. Choose two

or three locations which are prominent in Invisible Man, and, in a

well-organized essay, discuss how these contrasting locations

help develop one or more of the themes of the novel.

One of the fundamental ideas presented in Invisible Man is that

people tend to “look through” or not see as fellow humans those

whom they consider to be inferior (whether socially,

economically, intellectually, or racially). In a well-organized

essay, discuss whether you believe this observation that people

“look through” those they perceive to be inferior is accurate,

drawing upon the novel, observation, or experience to support

your position.

2nd Quarter

Study of Shakespearean Tragedy Macbeth—Students will read the play aloud acting out the parts and hearing

the language. As we read, the class will discuss motif, themes, puns, and the

elements of drama present in the play. Throughout the reading, students

will analyze individual passages and use the close reading strategies to

identify elements of syntax and other literary devices. Again, students will

write a total of three essays for these two plays. First, they will analyze a

passage from both dramas. We will look at the selection as a whole group.

I break them into groups to discuss and highlight certain aspects of the

passage. One group might have figurative language and diction and another

might focus on syntax and detail provided and/or omitted. As a class, we

analyze all the elements. After responding to the first prompt, I evaluate

each student’s essay and provide examples of how to better the syntax,

diction, and structure of the essay. The first essay is never a grade as I

always give them an opportunity to practice responding to the various

prompts.

Paper and discussion topics include, but are not limited to:

o Discuss how Banquo serves as a foil to Macbeth. Support your

opinion with evidence from the play.

o Analyze the character of Lady Macbeth.

o Analyze Macbeth’s character before the murder of Duncan. After

the subsequent murders, does Macbeth’s character change or

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transform? If you believe he does, explain your opinion with

evidence from the play. If you believe he does not experience any

change, explain your opinion with evidence from the play.

o Consider Macbeth’s culpability. Do you believe that he is

completely a victim of the Witches’ prophecy and Lady Macbeth’s

urging? Or, does Macbeth carry out his own desires? Support your

opinion with textual evidence.

Hamlet—Students will also read this play aloud as a class. We will employ

the same strategies used in reading Macbeth.

Paper and discussion topics include, but are not limited to:

o Analyze Hamlet’s madness. Do you believe that he is truly mad or

does he deceive those around him? Is there a point where the

feigned madness turns into a reality?

o Analyze the diction, syntax, imagery, etc. in Hamlet’s soliloquy from

Act III, scene i. Discuss his state of mind. Why does he consider

this option?

King Lear—Students will read this play independently as they now have a

deeper understanding of Shakespearean tragedy.

Essays: Students will respond to Macbeth and Hamlet in in-class, timed

essays. Students will also develop a formal, persuasive essay encompassing

all three tragedies. They will have two weeks to develop a thesis statement

and complete the paper. Throughout the process, they will submit a thesis

statement for approval. If the student needs to strengthen the statement,

this gives me an opportunity to counsel with the student and discuss ideas,

support, evidence, etc. They must also submit an outline for review, so I

can provide comments on the direction, clarity, or lack of support for the

thesis.

Novel Study: Heart of Darkness—Joseph Conrad

Students are given two weeks to read each of the three parts of the novel.

After each part we will discuss and write a timed essay. The first two will be

passage analysis. Students must focus on diction, detail, syntax, and other

rhetorical strategies used by Conrad. The final essay will be a longer

response to the novel as a whole. Students will have a week to develop a

thesis and obtain the textual evidence to support their argument. As a class

we will discuss the correlation between the two novels we have read during

this quarter. Students will write a total of three essays for this novel. First,

they will analyze a passage from the first few chapters. We will look at the

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chapter selection as a whole group. I break them into groups to discuss and

highlight certain aspects of the passage. One group might have diction and

another might focus on syntax. As a class, we analyze all the elements.

After responding to the first prompt, I evaluate each student’s essay and

provide examples of how to better the syntax, diction, and structure of the

essay. The first essay is never a grade. When we begin a unit or novel, I

always give them an opportunity to practice responding to the various

prompts, so that I can help the students improve sentence structure,

illustrative details, and word choice.

Paper and discussion topics include, but are not limited to:

o What leads people to commit evil actions?

o Is evil inherent in all people?

o Choose one setting from the novel, and explain its symbolism and

the role it plays in developing one of the novel’s themes.

3rd Quarter

Independent Research Paper

Students will select a novel from the following authors, playwrights, and poets:

Chinua Achebe; Dante Alighieri; Jane Austen; Samuel Beckett; Berthold Brecht;

Charlotte Bronte; Emily Bronte; John Bunyan; Albert Camus; Lewis Carroll; Miguel de

Cerventes Saavedra; Geoffrey Chaucer; Anton Chekov; Joseph Conrad; Daniel

Defoe; Charles Dickens; Alexander Dumas; George Eliot; T.S. Eliot; Henry Fielding;

Gustave Flaubert; E.M. Forester; Gabriel Garcia-Marquez; William Golding; Oliver

Goldsmith; Thomas Hardy; Homer; Victor Hugo; Aldous Huxley; Henrik Ibsen; Ben

Johnson; James Joyce; D.H. Lawrence; Christopher Marlowe; Somerset Maugham;

John Milton; George Orwell; Alan Paton; Harold Pinter; Alexander Pope; Samuel

Richardson; Sir Walter Scott; William Shakespeare; George Bernard Shaw; Mary

Shelley; Laurence Sterne; Robert Louis Stevenson; Bram Stoker; Tom Stoppard;

Jonathan Swift; William Thackery; J.R.R. Tolkien; Ivan Turgenev; Evelyn Waugh;

H.G. Wells; Oscar Wilde; Virginia Woolf

o Students receive this list of authors during the second nine weeks. They

must select their novel, have it approved by me, and then begin reading and

taking notes independently.

o Students will write an 8-10 page paper using critical essays and other

material to support a self-selected thesis. Throughout the unit students

must consult with me each week to determine feasibility of thesis

statement, outline, and rough draft. When students submit the rough draft,

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they will spend approximately one week conducting peer review and edit

sessions. I will also review and edit each paper. The final draft of the paper

will be due at the end of the nine weeks.

Poetry Study—poems selected from Perrine and Norton

Throughout our study of poetry, the class will focus on the elements of

poetry: connotation, denotation, imagery, figurative language, allusion,

tone, syntax, and musical devices.

Students will learn to read the poem and identify how the devices

utilized in each poem contribute to the overall meaning of the poem.

Students will respond to a variety of prompts. In the beginning,

prompts will address one poetic technique, and then each will include

multiple devices. Students will have many opportunities to write and

have the responses evaluated by peers. I include several activities for

the students to write as a group in response to a poem. We will have

group discussions about the syntax, interpretation of the poem, and

effectiveness of each of the groups’ responses. I will also evaluate

individual student papers to help improve their responses to poetry.

The last essay in this unit will be graded based on the techniques we

have studied.

We will also continue the Poetry 180 Focus Statement activities. We

will also use this technique with poems on previous AP Exams and

those in the textbook.

Division of poetry studied:

o Renaissance Poetry—Sonnets: Shakespearean, Petrarchan, and Spenserian

o Metaphysical Poetry—Donne, Johnson

o Cavalier Poetry—Herrick, Suckling, Lovelace, Marvell

17th

and 18th

Century Literature—

o Puritan Literature

Milton—excerpts from Paradise Lost

Bunyan—excerpts from Pilgrim’s Progress o Pepys—excerpts from his Diary o Defoe—excerpts from Journal of the Plague Year

In this unit, students will study the historical events which prompted these

authors to write in a particular manner or which influenced their views.

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Prompts from AP Exams (1971-2011)

o 1971 "Elegy for Jane" (Theodore Roethke) Write an essay in which you describe the speaker's attitude toward his

former student.

o 1972 "The Unknown Citizen" (W. H. Auden) In a brief essay, identify at least two of the implications implicit in

the society reflected in the poem. Support your statements by specific references to the poem.

o 1973 No poem

o 1974 "I wonder whether one expects. . . " (No poet listed) Write a unified essay in which you relate the imagery

of the last stanza to the speaker's view of himself earlier in the poem and to his view of how others see poets.

o 1975 No poem

o 1976 "Poetry of Departures" (Philip Larkin) Write an essay in which you discuss how the poet's diction (choice of

words) reveals his attitude toward the two ways of living mentioned in the poem.

o 1977 "Piano" (two poems by D. H. Lawrence) Read both poems carefully and then write an essay in which you

explain what characteristics of the second poem make it better than the first. Refer specifically to details of both

poems.

o 1978 "Law Like Love" (W. H. Auden) Read the poem and then write an essay discussing the differences between

the conceptions of "law" in lines 1-34 and those in lines 35-60.

o 1979 "Spring and All" (William Carlos Williams) and "For Jane Meyers" (Louise Gluck) Read the two poems

carefully. Then write a well-organized essay in which you show how the attitudes towards the coming of spring

implied in these two poems differ from each other. Support your statements with specific references to the texts.

o 1980 "One Art" (Elizabeth Bishop) Write an essay in which you describe how the speaker's attitude toward loss

in lines 16-19 is related to her attitude toward loss in lines 1-15. Using specific references to the text, show how

verse form and language contribute to the reader's understanding of these attitudes.

o 1981 "Storm Warnings" (Adrienne Rich) Write an essay in which you explain how the organization of the poem

and the use of concrete details reveal both its literal and its metaphorical meanings. In your discussion, show how

both of these meanings relate to the title.

o 1982 "The Groundhog" (Richard Eberhart) Write an essay in which you analyze how the language of the poem

reflects the changing perceptions and emotions of the speaker as he considers the metamorphosis of the dead

groundhog. Develop your essay with specific references to the text of the poem.

o 1983 "Clocks and Lovers" (W. H. Auden) Write a well-organized essay in which you contrast the attitude of the

clocks with that of the lover. Through careful analysis of the language and imagery, show how this contrast is

important to the meaning of the poem.

o 1984 No poem

o 1985 "There Was a Boy" (William Wordsworth) and "The Most of It" (Robert Frost) These two poems present

encounters with nature, but the two poets handle those encounters very differently. In a well-organized essay,

distinguish between the attitudes (toward nature, toward the solitary individual, etc.) expressed in the poems and

discuss the techniques that the poets use to present these attitudes. Be sure to support your statements with

specific references.

o 1986 "Ogun" (E. K. Braithwaite) Read the poem. You will note that it has two major sections that are joined by

another section, lines 21-26. Write an essay in which you discuss how the diction, imagery, and movement of the

verse in the poem reflect differences in tone and content between the two larger sections.

o 1987 "Sow" (Sylvia Plath) Read the poem. Then write an essay in which you analyze the presentation of the sow.

Consider particularly how the language of the poem reflects both the neighbor's and the narrator's perceptions of

the sow and how the language determines the reader's perceptions. Be certain to discuss how the portrayal of the

sow is enhanced by such features as diction, devices of sound, images, and allusions.

o 1988 "Bright Star (John Keats) and "Choose Something Like a Star" (Robert Frost) Read the following two poems

very carefully, noting that the second includes an allusion to the first. Then write a well-organized essay in which

you discuss their similarities and differences. In your essay, be sure to consider both theme and style.

o 1989 "The Great Scarf of Birds" (John Updike) Write a well-organized essay in which you analyze how the

poem's organization, diction, and figurative language prepare the reader for the speaker's concluding response.

o 1990 Soliloquy ("Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown") from Henry IV, Part II (Shakespeare) In the

soliloquy, King Henry laments his inability to sleep. In a well-organized essay, briefly summarize the King's

thoughts and analyze how the diction, imagery, and syntax help to convey his state of mind.

o 1991 "The Last Night that She Lived" (Emily Dickinson) Write an essay in which you describe the speaker's

attitude toward the woman's death. Using specific references from the text, show how the use of language reveals

the speaker's attitudes.

o 1992 from The Prelude (William Wordsworth) "One summer evening (led by her) I found. . . were a trouble to

my dreams." In the passage below, which comes from William Wordsworth's autobiographical poem The

Prelude, the speaker encounters unfamiliar aspects of the natural world. Write an essay in which you trace the

speaker's changing responses to his experience and explain how they are conveyed by the poem's diction, imagery,

and tone.

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o 1993 "The Centaur" (May Swenson) Read the following poem carefully. Then write an essay in which you

discuss how such elements as language, imagery, structure, and point of view convey meaning in the poem.

o 1994 The following two poems are about Helen of Troy. Renowned in the ancient world for her beauty, Helen

was the wife of Menelaus, a Greek king. She was carried off to Troy by the Trojan prince Paris, and her

abduction was the immediate cause of the Trojan War.

o Read the two poems carefully. Considering such elements as speaker, diction, imagery, form, and tone, write a

well-organized essay in which you contrast the speakers' views of Helen. ("To Helen" by E. A. Poe and "Helen" by

H.D.)

o 1995 Read the following poem carefully. Then, in a well-organized essay, analyze how the speaker uses the

varied imagery of the poem to reveal his attitude toward the nature of love. ("The Broken Heart" by John Donne)

o 1996 Read carefully the following poem by the colonial American poet, Anne Bradstreet. Then write a well-

organized essay in which you discuss how the poem's controlling metaphor expresses the complex attitude of the

speaker. ("The Author to Her Book" by Anne Bradstreet)

o 1997 Read the following poem carefully. Then write a well-organized essay in which you explain how formal

elements such as structure, syntax, diction, and imagery reveal the speaker's response to the death of a toad. ("The

Death of a Toad" by Richard Wilbur)

o 1998 The following poem was written by a contemporary Irish woman, Eavan Boland. Read the poem carefully

and then write an essay in which you analyze how the poem reveals the speaker's complex conception of a

"woman's world." (―It’s a Woman’s World‖ by Eavan Boland)

o 1999 Read the following poem carefully, paying particular attention to the physical intensity of the language.

Then write a well-organized essay in which you explain how the poet conveys not just a literal description of

picking blackberries but a deeper understanding of the whole experience. You may wish to include analysis of

such elements as diction, imagery, metaphor, rhyme, rhythm, and form. (―Blackberry-Picking‖ by Seamus

Heaney)

o 2000 The story of Odysseus’ encounter with the Sirens and the enchanting but deadly song appears in Greek

epic poetry in Homer’s Odyssey. An English translation of the episode is reprinted in the left column below.

Margaret Atwood’s poem in the right column is a modern commentary on the classical story. Read both texts

carefully. Then write an essay in which you compare the portrayals of the Sirens. You analysis should include

discussion of tone, point of view, and whatever poetic devices (diction, imagery, etc.) seem most important.

o 2001 In each of the following poems, the speaker responds to the conditions of a particular place and time—

England in 1802 in the first poem, the United States about 100 years later in the second. Read each poem

carefully. Then write an essay in which you compare and contrast the two poems and analyze the relationship

between them. (―London,‖ 1802 by William Wordsworth and ―Douglass‖ by Paul Laurence Dunbar)

o 2002 Read the following poem carefully. Then, taking into consideration the title of the poem, analyze how the

poetic devices convey the speaker’s attitude toward the sinking of the ship. (―The Convergence of the Twain‖ by

Thomas Hardy)

o 2002 (B) The following poem is a villanelle, a form having strict rules of rhyme, meter, and repetition. Read

the poem carefully. Then write a well-organized essay in which you analyze how the formal elements of the poem

contribute to its meaning. (―If I Could Tell You‖ by W. H. Auden)

o 2003 The following poems are both concerned with Eros, the god of love in Greek mythology. Read the poems

carefully. Then write an essay in which you compare and contrast the two concepts of Eros and analyze the

techniques used to create them. (―EPΩΣ‖ by Robert Bridges and ―Eros‖ by Anne Stevenson)

o 2003 (B) The following poem is taken from Modern Love, a poetic sequence by the English writer George

Meredith. Read the poem carefully. Then write a well-organized essay in which you analyze how the poet

conveys a view of ―modern love.‖ (―Modern Love‖ by George Meredith)

o 2004 The poems below are concerned with darkness and night. Read each poem carefully. Then,in a well-

written essay, compare and contrast the poems, analyzing the significance of dark or night in each. In your essay,

consider elements such as point of view, imagery, and structure. (―We grow accustomed to the Dark‖ by Emily

Dickinson and ―Acquainted with the night‖ by Robert Frost)

o 2004 (B) Read the following poem carefully. Then, in a well-written essay, analyze the techniques the poet

uses to develop the relationship between the speaker and the swamp. (―Crossing the Swamp,‖ by Mary Oliver)

o 2005 The poems below, published in 1789 and 1794, were written by William Blake in response to the condition

of chimney sweeps. Usually small children, sweeps were forced inside chimneys to clean their interiors. Read the

two poems carefully. Then, in a well-written essay, compare and contrast the two poems, taking into

consideration the poetic techniques Blake uses in each.

o 2005 (B) Carefully read the two poems below. Then in a well-organized essay compare the speakers’

reflections on their early morning surroundings and analyze the techniques the poets use to communicate the

speakers’ different states of mind. (―Five A.M.‖ by William Stafford and ―Five Flights Up‖ by Elizabeth Bishop)

o 2006 Read the following poem carefully. Then write a well-organized essay in which you analyze how the poet

uses language to describe the scene and to convey mood and meaning. (―Evening Hawk‖ by Robert Penn

Warren)

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o 2006 (B) Read the following poem carefully. Then write an essay discussing how the poet uses literary

techniques to reveal the speaker’s attitudes toward nature and the artist’s task. (―To Paint a Water Lily‖ by Ted

Hughes)

o 2007 In the following two poems, adults provide explanations for children. Read the poems carefully. Then

write an essay in which you compare and contrast the two poems, analyzing how each poet uses literary devices to

make his point. (―A Barred Owl‖ by Richard Wilbur and ―The History Teacher‖ by Billy Collins)

o 2007 (B) Read the following poem carefully. Then, write a well-organized essay in which you analyze the

techniques the poet uses to convey his attitude toward the places he describes. (―Here‖ by Philip Larkin)

o 2008 In the two poems below, Keats and Longfellow reflect on similar concerns. Read the poems carefully.

Then write an essay in which you compare and contrast the two poems, analyzing the poetic techniques each

writer uses to explore his particular situation. (―When I Have Fears,‖ by John Keats and ―Mezzo Cammin‖ by

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow)

o 2008 (B) The following two poems present animal-eye views of the world. Read each poem carefully. Then

write an essay in which you analyze the techniques used in the poems to characterize the speakers and convey

differing views of the world. (―Hawk Roosting‖ by Ted Hughes and ―Golden Retrievals‖ by Mark Doty)

o 2009 The following speech from Shakespeare’s play Henry VIII, Cardinal Wolsey considers his sudden downfall

from his position as advisor to the king. Spokesmen for the king have just left Wolsey alone on stage. Read the

speech carefully. Then write a well-organized essay in which you analyze how Shakespeare uses elements such as

allusion, figurative language, and tone to convey Wolsey’s complex response to his dismissal from court.

o 2009 (B) The following poem, written by Edward Field, makes use of the Greek myth of Daedalus and

Icarus. Read the poem carefully. Then write an essay in which you analyze how Field employs literary devices in

adapting the Icarus myth to a contemporary setting. (―Icarus‖)

o 2010 Read carefully the following poem by Marilyn Nelson Waniek. Then write an essay analyzing how Waniek

employs literary techniques to develop the complex meanings that the speaker attributes to The Century Quilt.

You may wish to consider such elements as structure, imagery, and tone. (―The Century Quilt‖)

o 2010 (B) Each of the two poems below is concerned with a young man at the age of twenty-one, traditionally

the age of adulthood. Read the two poems carefully. Then write a well-organized essay in which you compare

and contrast the poems, analyzing the poetic techniques, such as point of view and tone, that each writer uses to

make his point about coming of age. (―To Sir John Lade, on His Coming of Age‖ by Samuel Johnson and

―When I was One-and-Twenty‖ by A. E. Housman)

o 2011 The following poem is by the contemporary poet Li-Young Lee. Read the poem carefully. Then write a

well-organized essay in which you analyze how the poet conveys the complex relationship of the father and the son

through the use of literary devices such as point of view and structure. (―A Story‖ by Li-Young Lee)

o 2011 (B) Read carefully the following poem by Robert Pack, paying close attention to the relationship

between form and meaning. Then, in a well-written essay, analyze how the literary techniques used in this poem

contribute to its meaning. (―An Echo Sonnet‖ by Robert Pack)

Novel Study: Jane Eyre—Charlotte Bronte Students will read the novel independently and annotate the appropriate

material. After reading the assigned section of the novel, students will bring

any questions they may have about certain issues, and their annotated texts.

We will discuss literary elements such as diction, detail, imagery, themes,

and symbols etc. Students will write a total of three essays for this unit—two

of which will be graded. The first essay will provide the students with an

opportunity to edit, counsel with me and their peers, and finally rewrite in

an effort to continue to improve syntax, and use of textual evidence. I will

select two essays for the students to evaluate as a group based on the AP

Rubric. They must justify their reasoning with examples from the essay.

Other students will also have the opportunity to debate the assessment.

Paper and discussion topics include, but are not limited to:

In many works of literature, a central character is used to examine the

conflict between the emotions and the intellect, and the outcome of

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this conflict serves as a comment on the relative value of each. In a

well-organized essay, discuss the presentation of such a conflict in Jane

Eyre, and explain how the conflict and its resolution contribute to the

overall themes of the novel.

Some literary works are used by their authors to criticize the hypocrisy

of certain social institutions or beliefs of their time. In a well-organized

essay, using evidence from the novel to support your points, discuss

how this is true of Jane Eyre.

Be prepared to discuss elements of Gothic novel—isolation, darkness,

fear, supernatural, nature.

Be prepared to discuss Jane’s journey.

Analyze/examine the significance of:

Red Room, Gateshead, Lowood, Thornfield, Moor House,

Ferndean; color—red; fire and ice, madness, and omens,

darkness and storms.

Evaluate the significance of the names of the 3 places Jane lives in

Chapters 1-15.

Choose 3 archetypal patterns you saw in these chapters and analyze

them.

Explain the theme of hypocrisy in the first part of the novel.

Evaluate the relationships that affect Jane.

4th Quarter

Continue Poetry Study from Perrine and Norton Throughout our study of poetry, the class will focus on the elements of poetry:

connotation, denotation, imagery, figurative language, allusion, tone, syntax, and

musical devices. I will provide sample poems to discuss as a class which will

illustrate each of the elements.

Students will learn to read the poem and identify how the devices utilized in

each poem contribute to the overall meaning of the poem.

Students will respond to a variety of prompts. In the beginning, prompts will

address one poetic technique, and then each will include multiple devices.

o Romantic Poets—Wordsworth, Coleridge, Byron, Shelley, Keats

o Victorian Poets—Millay, Browning—Elizabeth Barrett and Robert, Hardy,

Housman

o Modern Poetry—as selected

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Novel Study: Things Fall Apart—Chinua Achebe Students will be assigned several chapters to read independently. As always,

they are expected to annotate and develop thoughtful questions for the class

discussions. Students will write three essays for the novel. The first essay

will provide the students an opportunity for me to review their response and

help strengthen the response. I will be focusing on the fact that the students

are varying sentence structure, and providing original illustrative details.

Paper and discussion topics include, but are not limited to:

Traditional societies are often thought to be generally

free of internal conflicts about values, and to be fixed and essentially unchanging over time. What aspects of

the society depicted in Things Fall Apart might resist those assumptions?

When the Europeans arrive in Okonkwo’s village, one

result is a new kind of government and a new kind of law. How do the new legal and governmental practices

and institutions differ from those that preceded them? Are the changes good, bad, or something more

complicated, and why?

Okonkwo’s self-understanding is deeply bound up with

his need to affirm and protect what he thinks of as his “manliness.” What are the main features of Oknokwo’s view of masculinity, and how does his view

relate to that of other important characters in the novel?

Evaluate the role of women in the novel.

Stories and storytelling play a central role in the novel

what are some of the most important aspects of that role, for instance, in the preservation of social customs, and the shaping of individual identities?

Okonkwo’s friend Obierika is described as “a man who

thought about things” (pg.125). What does Obierika think about, and how does that reflection ultimately put him at odds with Okonkwo?

An epic hero, like Odysseus, is typically set apart from other characters by his capacity to endure many trials

and tests. A tragic hero, like Hamlet or Oedipus, is typically a man of consequence brought down by an insuperable conflict, or through his own weakness.

Evaluate whether Okonkwo is an epic hero or a tragic hero, or is he a hero at all?

It is said of Okonkwo at one point that “Clearly his personal god or chi was not made for great things. A

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man could not rise beyond the destiny of his chi. The saying of the elders was not true—that if a man said

yea his chi also affirmed. Here was a man who chi said nay despite his own affirmation” (pg. 131). Evaluate

the roles of fate and individual responsibility in the novel in light of the role that the Ibo notion of the chi plays throughout the novel.

An important assumption in the novel is the close

connection between an individual’s action and the communal fate of all. Okonkwo is told by the priest of the earth goddess, Ani, “The evil you have done can

ruin the whole clan” (pg. 30). Consider whether this statement explains why, strong willed as he is,

Okonkwo accepts without question the communal sanctions prescribed for his misdeeds?

Drama Study: The Importance of Being Earnest—Oscar Wilde

We will read the play as a class. Students will be encouraged to block

certain scenes and enact them for a deeper understanding. We will also

enact each scene with varying emphasis and body language to understand

the subtly of dialogue and how it is read.

Paper and discussion topics include, but are not limited to:

o Analyze how wit, satire, and humor are used to portray the

aristocracy, the literary world, and British manners and customs.

o Read passage for Question 2 (Lady Windermere’s Fan-Wilde) from

the 2006 AP exam. How does this passage compare? Analyze the

voice of Wilde’s characters. What is his comment on society?

o Consider the question of ―identity‖ in the play. Provide textual

support for your answer.

Preparation for the Exam: To prepare the students for the exam, I will start dedicating one day each

week to responding to prompts from previous years. Because we have a 90-

minute class period, the students can write 2 essays total in 80 minutes to

simulate the testing environment. These essays will be ―graded‖ with the

AP rubric provided with the released exam. I will evaluate the essays and

provide suggestions for improvement. Students will highlight passive voice

verbs, simple sentences, and other mistakes. Each student will have an

opportunity to improve the essay after analyzing the points of his or her own

essay that would not meet the standards for a 7, 8, or 9 essay. Each student

will submit one essay of his or her choice for grading.

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English Literature and Composition Texts:

Ferguson, Margaret, Mary Jo Salter, and Jon Stallworthy. The Norton Anthology

of Poetry. 5th

Edition. New York: W. W. Norton and Company, 2005.

Kennedy, X.J., and Dana Gioia. Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry,

and Drama. 2nd

Edition. New York: Longman, 2000.

Perrine, Laurence, and Thomas Arp. Literature: Structure, Sound, and Sense. 6th

Edition. Fort Worth: Harcourt Brace College Publishers, 1993.

Handouts and excerpts from:

Barnet, Sylvan, et al., eds. Literature for Composition: Essays, Fiction,

Poetry, and Drama. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 2000.

Miles, Robert, Marc Bertonassco, and William Karns. Prose Style: A

Contemporary Guide. 2nd

Edition. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall,

1991.

.

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Advanced Placement Program

Expectations and Course Contract

Advanced Placement (AP) courses challenge and enrich motivated college bound

students to expand their education beyond the typical secondary program. AP

course work develops advanced skills and content background to prepare students

for college level work in Advanced Placement courses and on Advanced Placement

Exams. Success requires student’s commitment to the expectations of the AP

Program. Students will be expected to:

learn, analyze, synthesize, and manipulate knowledge and skills;

think critically;

budget time effectively and efficiently; expect a minimum of 60 minutes of

homework daily

develop successful study skills;

commit to a daily academic action plan;

engage in electronically-assisted research and/or communication;

develop advanced content vocabulary;

build subject specific portfolios;

utilize community and industry resources;

develop multi-media and oral presentation skills; and

commit to a contract supporting the expectations of the Advanced Placement

Program.

Success also requires support from all stakeholders: students, parents,

administrators, teachers, and counselors.

STUDENT: I agree to organize my time and effort to successfully complete the

English IV AP course. I have read the course description and agree to the

requirements of the class.

PARENT: I agree to be familiar with the English IV AP course requirements

and to help my son/daughter organize study time in support of class

assignments. I will notify the teacher immediately of any concerns that I have

relating to the English IV AP class or my child’s progress. I have read the course

description and agree to the requirements of the class.

TEACHER: I agree to teach the English IV AP class at a college preparatory

pace appropriate to the grade level as outlined by College Board. Students and

parents will be notified if assigned work and/or assessments are unsatisfactory.

EXIT POLICY: At the teacher’s discretion, students may be exited from an AP

class during the first grading period or at the end of the term, if they:

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fail in the first grading period;

fail to comply with terms of the contract.

HONOR CODE: This class will be conducted under an honor code. All students

will be expected to do their own work. Occasionally, students will be given

projects or exams that must be completed outside of class. If a student breaks

from this code, it may result in the student being removed from the class.

STUDENT:______________________ DATE:______________

PARENT:_______________________ DATE:______________

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AP Rubric for Essays

9 These essays are exceptionally well written, show unusual insight into

the topic, are very well organized, and support assertions with appropriate

examples. They remain focused on all aspects of the topic and present a unique

writer’s voice.

8 These essays are very well written, show clear understanding of and

focus on the topic, are well organized, and usually support assertions with

appropriate examples. They focus on all aspects of the topic and show a writer’s

voice. They may have a few mechanical errors, but only very minor ones.

7-6 These essays are well written, show an understanding of the topic, and

remain focused on almost all aspects of it. A few assertions may lack specific

examples, but the argument is clearly made. The writer’s voice is somewhat less

mature than that of an 8-9 essay, but it is still evident. There may be a few errors

in mechanics, but only minor ones.

5 These essays are for the most part well written, and usually remain

focused on the topic, but they fail to deal with all aspects of the topic. The

assertions that are made may be somewhat vague in relation to the topic or a bit

superficial in nature. The supporting examples may be missing occasionally or

not well related to the topic. There seems to be some evidence of a writer’s voice,

but not one of a unique nature. These essays are usually characterized by some

minor errors in mechanics.

4-3 These essays have some problems with organization and coherence,

tend to wander from the topic in places, and deal only with one or two aspects of

the topic, or with all aspects in only a superficial manner. The assertions that are

made are too general in nature and are often unsupported by relevant examples.

The writing demonstrates weak control of mechanics, and a writer’s voice is

lacking or inconsistent.

2 These essays fail to focus on the topic clearly, stray repeatedly from

the topic, or simply restate the topic without any analysis. There is poor

organization and focus in the writing, and the few assertions are generally

unsupported. The writing is characterized by errors in mechanics and grammar.

1 These essays fail to deal with the topic, lack organization and coherence, and/or

contain many distracting mechanical and grammatical errors.

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Open-ended Questions for Advanced Placement

English Literature and Composition, 1970-2011

1970. Choose a character from a novel or play of recognized literary merit and write an essay in which you (a)

briefly describe the standards of the fictional society in which the character exists and (b) show how the

character is affected by and responds to those standards. In your essay do not merely summarize the plot.

1970 Also. Choose a work of recognized literary merit in which a specific inanimate object (e.g., a seashell, a

handkerchief, a painting) is important, and write an essay in which you show how two or three of the

purposes the object serves are related to one another.

1971. The significance of a title such as The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is so easy to discover.

However, in other works (for example, Measure for Measure) the full significance of the title becomes

apparent to the reader only gradually. Choose two works and show how the significance of their respective

titles is developed through the authors’ use of devices such as contrast, repetition, allusion, and point of view.

1972. In retrospect, the reader often discovers that the first chapter of a novel or the opening scene of a

drama introduces some of the major themes of the work. Write an essay about the opening scene of a drama

or the first chapter of a novel in which you explain how it functions in this way.

1973. An effective literary work does not merely stop or cease; it concludes. In the view of some critics, a

work that does not provide the pleasure of significant closure has terminated with an artistic fault. A

satisfactory ending is not, however, always conclusive in every sense; significant closure may require the

reader to abide with or adjust to ambiguity and uncertainty. In an essay, discuss the ending of a novel or play

of acknowledged literary merit. Explain precisely how and why the ending appropriately or inappropriately

concludes the work. Do not merely summarize the plot.

1974. Choose a work of literature written before 1900. Write an essay in which you present arguments for

and against the work’s relevance for a person in 1974. Your own position should emerge in the course of

your essay. You may refer to works of literature written after 1900 for the purpose of contrast or comparison.

1975. Although literary critics have tended to praise the unique in literary characterizations, many authors

have employed the stereotyped character successfully. Select one work of acknowledged literary merit and in

a well-written essay, show how the conventional or stereotyped character or characters function to achieve the

author’s purpose.

1975 Also. Unlike the novelist, the writer of a play does not use his own voice and only rarely uses a

narrator’s voice to guide the audience’s responses to character and action. Select a play you have read and

write an essay in which you explain the techniques the playwright uses to guide his audience’s responses to the

central characters and the action. You might consider the effect on the audience of things like setting, the use

of comparable and contrasting characters, and the characters’ responses to each other. Support your

argument with specific references to the play. Do not give a plot summary.

1976. The conflict created when the will of an individual opposes the will of the majority is the recurring

theme of many novels, plays, and essays. Select the work of an essayist who is in opposition to his or her

society; or from a work of recognized literary merit, select a fictional character who is in

opposition to his or her society. In a critical essay, analyze the conflict and discuss the moral and ethical

implications for both the individual and the society. Do not summarize the plot or action of the work you

choose.

1977. In some novels and plays certain parallel or recurring events prove to be significant. In an essay,

describe the major similarities and differences in a sequence of parallel or recurring events in a novel or play

and discuss the significance of such events. Do not merely summarize the plot.

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1978. Choose an implausible or strikingly unrealistic incident or character in a work of fiction or drama of

recognized literary merit. Write an essay that explains how the incident or character is related to the more

realistic of plausible elements in the rest of the work. Avoid plot summary.

1979. Choose a complex and important character in a novel or a play of recognized literary merit who might

on the basis of the character’s actions alone be considered evil or immoral. In a well-organized essay, explain

both how and why the full presentation of the character in the work makes us react more sympathetically than

we otherwise might. Avoid plot summary.

1980. A recurring theme in literature is the classic war between a passion and responsibility. For instance, a

personal cause, a love, a desire for revenge, a determination to redress a wrong, or some other emotion or

drive may conflict with moral duty. Choose a literary work in which a character confronts the demands of a

private passion that conflicts with his or her responsibilities. In a well-written essay show clearly the nature of

the conflict, its effects upon the character, and its significance to the work.

1981. The meaning of some literary works is often enhanced by sustained allusion to myths, the Bible, or

other works of literature. Select a literary work that makes use of such a sustained reference. Then write a

well-organized essay in which you explain the allusion that predominates in the work and analyze how it

enhances the work’s meaning.

1982. In great literature, no scene of violence exists for its own sake.Choose a work of literary merit that

confronts the reader or audience with a scene or scenes of violence. In a well-organized essay, explain how

the scene or scenes contribute to the meaning of the complete work. Avoid plot summary.

1983. From a novel or play of literary merit, select an important character who is a villain. Then, in a well-

organized essay, analyze the nature of the character’s villainy and show how it enhances meaning in the work.

Do not merely summarize the plot.

1984. Select a line or so of poetry, or a moment or scene in a novel, epic poem, or play that you find

especially memorable. Write an essay in which you identify the line or the passage, explain its relationship to

the work in which it is found, and analyze the reasons for its effectiveness.

1985. A critic has said that one important measure of a superior work of literature is its ability to produce in

the reader a healthy confusion of pleasure and disquietude. Select a literary work that produces this ―healthy

confusion.‖ Write an essay in which you explain the sources of the ―pleasure and disquietude‖ experienced

by the readers of the work.

1986. Some works of literature use the element of time in a distinct way. The chronological sequence of

events may be altered, or time may be suspended or accelerated. Choose a novel, an epic, or a play of

recognized literary merit and show how the author’s manipulation of time contributes to the effectiveness of

the work as a whole. Do not merely summarize the plot.

1987. Some novels and plays seem to advocate changes in social or political attitudes or in traditions. Choose

such a novel or play and note briefly the particular attitudes or traditions that the author apparently wishes to

modify. Then analyze the techniques the author uses to influence the reader’s or audience’s views. Avoid plot

summary.

1988. Choose a distinguished novel or play in which some of the most significant events are mental or

psychological; for example, awakenings, discoveries, changes in consciousness. In a well-organized essay,

describe how the author manages to give these internal events the sense of

excitement, suspense, and climax usually associated with external action. Do not merely summarize the plot.

1989. In questioning the value of literary realism, Flannery O’Connor has written, ―I am interested in making

a good case for distortion because I am coming to believe that it is the only way to make people see.‖ Write

an essay in which you ―make a good case for distortion‖" as distinct from literary

23

realism. Analyze how important elements of the work you choose are ―distorted‖ and explain how these

distortions contribute to the effectiveness of the work. Avoid plot summary.

1990. Choose a novel or play that depicts a conflict between a parent (or a parental figure) and a son or

daughter. Write an essay in which you analyze the sources of the conflict and explain how the conflict

contributes to the meaning of the work. Avoid plot summary.

1991. Many plays and novels use contrasting places (for example, two countries, two cities or towns, two

houses, or the land and the sea) to represent opposed forces or ideas that are central to the meaning of the

work. Choose a novel or play that contrasts two such places. Write an essayexplaining how the places differ,

what each place represents, and how their contrast contributes to the meaning of the work.

1992. In a novel or play, a confidant (male) or a confidante (female) is a character, often a friend or relative of

the hero or heroine, whose role is to be present when the hero or heroine needs a sympathetic listener to

confide in. Frequently the result is, as Henry James remarked, that the confidant or confidante can be as

much ―the reader’s friend as the protagonist’s.‖ However, the author sometimes uses this character for other

purposes as well. Choose a confidant or confidante from a novel or play of recognized literary merit and write

an essay in which you discuss the various ways this character functions in the work. You may write your essay

on one of the following novels or plays or on another of comparable quality. Do not write on a poem or short

story.

1993. ―The true test of comedy is that it shall awaken thoughtful laughter.‖ Choose a novel, play, or long

poem in which a scene or character awakens ―thoughtful laughter‖ in the reader. Write an essay in which you

show why this laughter is ―thoughtful‖ and how it contributes to the meaning of the work.

1994. In some works of literature, a character who appears briefly, or does not appear at all, is a significant

presence. Choose a novel or play of literary merit and write an essay in which you show how such a character

functions in the work. You may wish to discuss how the character affects action, theme, or the development

of other characters. Avoid plot summary.

1995. Writers often highlight the values of a culture or a society by using characters who are alienated from

that culture or society because of gender, race, class, or creed. Choose a novel or a play in which such a

character plays a significant role and show how that character’s alienation reveals the surrounding society’s

assumptions or moral values.

1996. The British novelist Fay Weldon offers this observation about happy endings. ―The writers, I do

believe, who get the best and most lasting response from their readers are the writers who offer a happy

ending through moral development. By a happy ending, I do not mean mere fortunate events -- a marriage or

a last minute rescue from death – but some kind of spiritual reassessment or moral reconciliation, even with

the self, even at death.‖ Choose a novel or play that has the kind of ending Weldon describes. In a well-

written essay, identify the ―spiritual reassessment or moral reconciliation‖ evident in the ending and explain its

significance in the work as a whole.

1997. Novels and plays often include scenes of weddings, funerals, parties, and other social occasions. Such

scenes may reveal the values of the characters and the society in which they live. Select a novel or play that

includes such a scene and, in a focused essay, discuss the contribution the scene makes to the meaning of the

work as a whole. You may choose a work from the list below or another novel or play of literary merit.

1998. In his essay ―Walking,‖ Henry David Thoreau offers the following assessment of literature: In

literature it is only the wild that attracts us. Dullness is but another name for tameness. It is the uncivilized

free and wild thinking in Hamlet and The Iliad, in all scriptures and mythologies, not learned in schools, that

delights us. From the works that you have studied in school, choose a novel, play, or epic poem that you may

initially have thought was conventional and tame but that you now value for its ―uncivilized free and wild

thinking.‖ Write an essay in which you explain what constitutes its ―uncivilized free and wild thinking‖

and how that thinking is central to the value of the work as a whole. Support your ideas with specific

references to the work you choose.

24

1999. The eighteenth-century British novelist Laurence Sterne wrote, ―No body, but he who has felt it, can

conceive what a plaguing thing it is to have a man’s mind torn asunder by two projects of equal strength, both

obstinately pulling in a contrary direction at the same time.‖ From a novel or play choose a character (not

necessarily the protagonist) whose mind is pulled in conflicting directions by two compelling desires,

ambitions, obligations, or influences. Then, in a well-organized essay, identify each of the two conflicting

forces and explain how this conflict with one character illuminates the meaning of the work as a whole. You

may use one of the novels or plays listed below or another novel or work of similar literary quality.

2000. Many works of literature not readily identified with the mystery or detective story genre nonetheless

involve the investigation of a mystery. In these works, the solution to the mystery may be less important than

the knowledge gained in the process of its investigation. Choose a novel or play in which one or more of the

characters confront a mystery. Then write an essay in which you identify the mystery and explain how the

investigation illuminates the meaning of the work as a whole. Do not merely summarize the plot.

2001. One definition of madness is ―mental delusion or the eccentric behavior arising from it.‖ But Emily

Dickinson wrote Much madness is divinest Sense- To a discerning Eye- Novelists and playwrights have often

seen madness with a ―discerning Eye.‖ Select a novel or play in which a character’s apparent madness or

irrational behavior plays an important role. Then write a well-organized essay in which you explain what this

delusion or eccentric behavior consists of and how it might be judged reasonable. Explain the significance of

the ―madness‖ to the work as a whole. Do not merely summarize the plot.

2002. Morally ambiguous characters -- characters whose behavior discourages readers from identifying them

as purely evil or purely good -- are at the heart of many works of literature. Choose a novel or play in which a

morally ambiguous character plays a pivotal role. Then write an essay in which you explain how the character

can be viewed as morally ambiguous and why his or her moral ambiguity is significant to the work as a whole.

Avoid mere plot summary.

2002, Form B. Often in literature, a character’s success in achieving goals depends on keeping a secret and

divulging it only at the right moment, if at all. Choose a novel or play of literary merit that requires a character

to keep a secret. In a well-organized essay, briefly explain the necessity for secrecy and how the character’s

choice to reveal or keep the secret affects the plot and contributes to the meaning of the work as a whole.

You may select a work from the list below, or you may choose another work of recognized literary merit

suitable to the topic. Do NOT write about a short story, poem, or film.

2003. According to critic Northrop Frye, ―Tragic heroes are so much the highest points in their human

landscape that they seem the inevitable conductors of the power about them, great trees more likely to be

struck by lightning than a clump of grass. Conductors may of course be instruments

as well as victims of the divisive lightning.‖ Select a novel or play in which a tragic figure functions as an

instrument of the suffering of others. Then write an essay in which you explain how the suffering brought

upon others by that figure contributes to the tragic vision of the work as a whole.

2003, Form B. Novels and plays often depict characters caught between colliding cultures -- national,

regional, ethnic, religious, institutional. Such collisions can call a character’s sense of identity into question.

Select a novel or play in which a character responds to such a cultural collison. Then write a well-organized

essay in which you describe the character’s response and explain its relevance to the work as a whole.

2004. Critic Roland Barthes has said, ―Literature is the question minus the answer.‖ Choose a novel, or play,

and, considering Barthes’ observation, write an essay in which you analyze a central question the work raises

and the extent to which it offers answers. Explain how the author’s treatment of this question affects your

understanding of the work as a whole. Avoid mere plot summary.

2004, Form B. The most important themes in literature are sometimes developed in scenes in which a death

or deaths take place. Choose a novel or play and write a well-organized essay in which you show how a

specific death scene helps to illuminate the meaning of the work as a whole. Avoid mere plot summary.

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2005. In Kate Chopin’s The Awakening (1899), protagonist Edna Pontellier is said to possess ―That outward

existence which conforms, the inward life that questions.‖ In a novel or play that you have studied, identify a

character who outwardly conforms while questioning inwardly. Then write an essay in which you analyze how

this tension between outward conformity and inward questioning contributes to the meaning of the work.

Avoid mere plot summary.

2005, Form B. One of the strongest human drives seems to be a desire for power. Write an essay in which

you discuss how a character in a novel or a drama struggles to free himself or herself from the power of

others or seeks to gain power over others. Be sure to demonstrate in your essay how the author uses this

power struggle to enhance the meaning of the work.

2006. Many writers use a country setting to establish values within a work of literature. For example, the

country may be a place of virtue and peace or one of primitivism and ignorance. Choose a novel or play in

which such a setting plays a significant role. Then write an essay in which you analyze how the country setting

functions in the work as a whole.

2006, Form B. In many works of literature, a physical journey - the literal movement from one place to

another - plays a central role. Choose a novel, play, or epic poem in which a physical journey is an important

element and discuss how the journey adds to the meaning of the work as a whole. Avoid mere plot summary.

2007. In many works of literature, past events can affect, positively or negatively, the present activities,

attitudes, or values of a character. Choose a novel or play in which a character must contend with some aspect

of the past, either personal or societal. Then write an essay in which you show how the character’s

relationship to the past contributes to the meaning of the work as a whole.

2007, Form B. Works of literature often depict acts of betrayal. Friends and even family may betray a

protagonist; main characters may likewise be guilty of treachery or may betray their own values. Select a novel

or play that includes such acts of betrayal. Then, in a well-written essay, analyze the nature of the betrayal and

show how it contributes to the meaning of the work as a whole.

2008. In a literary work, a minor character, often known as a foil, possesses traits that emphasize, by contrast

or comparison, the distinctive characteristics and qualities of the main character. For example, the ideas or

behavior of a minor character might be used to highlight the weaknesses or strengths of the main character.

Choose a novel or play in which a minor character serves as a foil for the main character. Then write an essay

in which you analyze how the relation between the minor character and the major character illuminates the

meaning of the work.

2008, Form B. In some works of literature, childhood and adolescence are portrayed as times graced by

innocence and a sense of wonder; in other works, they are depicted as times of tribulation and terror.

Focusing on a single novel or play, explain how its representation of childhood or adolescence shapes the

meaning of the work as a whole.

2009. A symbol is an object, action, or event that represents something or that creates a range of associations

beyond itself. In literary works a symbol can express an idea, clarify meaning, or enlarge literal meaning.

Select a novel or play and, focusing on one symbol, write an essay analyzing how that symbol functions in the

work and what it reveals about the characters or themes of the work as a whole. Do not merely summarize

the plot.

2009, Form B. Many works of literature deal with political or social issues. Choose a novel or play that

focuses on a political or social issue. Then write an essay in which you analyze how the author uses literary

elements to explore this issue and explain how the issue contributes to the meaning of the work as a whole.

Do not merely summarize theplot.

2010. Palestinian American literary theorist and cultural critic Edward Said has written that ―Exile is strangely

compelling to think about but terrible to experience. It is the unhealable rift forced between a human being

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and a native place, between the self and its true home: its essential sadness can never be surmounted.‖ Yet

Said has also said that exile can become ―a potent, even enriching‖ experience. Select a novel, play, or epic in

which a character experiences such a rift and becomes cut off from ―home,‖ whether that home is the

character’s birthplace, family, homeland, or other special place. Then write an essay in which you analyze

how the character’s experience with exile is both alienating and enriching, and how this experience

illuminates the meaning of the work as a whole. Do not merely summarize the plot.

2010, Form B. ―You can leave home all you want but home will never leave you.‖ -- Sonsyrea Tate

Sonsyrea Tate’s statement suggests that ―home‖ may be conceived of as a dwelling, a place, or a state of mind.

It may have positive or negative associations, but in either case, it may have a considerable influence on an

individual. Choose a novel or play in which a central character leaves home, yet finds that home remains

significant. Write a well-developed essay in which you analyze the importance of ―home‖ to this character and

the reasons for its continuing influence. Explain how the character’s idea of home illuminates the larger

meaning of the work. Do not merely summarize the plot.

2011. In a novel by William Styron, a father tells his son that life ―is a search for justice.‖ Choose a character

from a novel or play who responds in some significant way to justice or injustice. Then write a well-developed

essay in which you analyze the character’s understanding of justice, the degree to which the character’s search

for justice is successful , and the significance of this search for the work as a whole.

2011, Form B. In The Writing of Fiction (1925), novelist Edith Wharton states the following: At every stage

in the progress of his tale the novelist must rely on what may be called the illuminating incident to reveal and

emphasize the inner meaning of each situation. Illuminating incidents are the magic casements of fiction, its

vistas on infinity. Choose a novel or play that you have studied and write a well-organized essay in which you

describe an ―illuminating‖ episode or moment and explain how it functions as a ―casement,‖ a window that

opens onto the meaning of the work as a whole. Avoid mere plot summary.