0140 Advanced Placement English I Course Description The College Entrance Examination Boards strongly recommends that the AP syllabus consist of works of “recognized literary merit” and that AP students “assume considerable responsibility for the amount of reading and writing” they do. A major purpose of the course is to develop perceptive readers who enjoy significant literature and articulate writers who can control and structure language in order to express critical responses to their reading. II Materials and Equipment Roberts and Jacobs An Introduction to Reading and Writing, 6th ed. - selections:

poetry, short fiction, and drama Strunk and White The Elements of Style Hamilton Mythology Heller Catch 22 Aristotle The Poetics selections Sophocles Oedipus Rex Shakespeare Othello

Hamlet Taming of the Shrew Wilson Fences Bronte Wuthering Heights Bedford edition Essays on critical theory re: Wuthering Heights Voltaire Candide

Candide (Bernstein film) Ibsen A Doll’s House Conrad Heart of Darkness Morrison Song of Solomon Ellison Invisible Man Faulkner Light in August Wright Native Son Joyce The Dubliners Williams A Streetcar Named Desire Wilde The Importance of Being Earnest Shaw Pygmalion

III. Course Goals and Objectives A. to read a variety of significant literature critically and perceptively B. to develop a sense of the conventions of literary genres, techniques, and terminology C. to appreciate the application of the above in specific works of literature. D. to apply techniques of class analysis in independent reading E. to structure thought precisely with language

C5. Teacher provides feedback on writing before and after students revise work. • effective vocabulary • sentence variety • organization, transitions,

repetition, emphasis • generalization and detail • effective use of rhetoric

(tone, voice, diction)

F. to develop a substantial idea with careful control of both language and composition techniques throughout an extended argument

G. to apply conventions of English grammar, syntax, and sentence structure in composition

H. to cultivate fluid syntax and individual style through frequent revision of written work

I. to develop and apply vocabulary skills J. to sharpen discussion skills of listening, speaking, and responding to the ideas of

others through the seminar format K. to develop research skills by using the resources of the library efficiently L. to differentiate between primary and secondary sources and to use them effectively

to support argument and critical judgment M. to document sources correctly according to the standards of the MLA * Use of the Writing Center to teach and improve writing in AP English: Radnor High School is fortunate to have a drop-in Writing Center available every period of the day and frequently after school, staffed by two professional, experienced English teachers (who happen to be AP teachers as well) whose job is to assist students with their papers at any stage of the writing process. It is expected that students visit the center to brainstorm ideas, plan organization, compose drafts, revise for content and style (sentence structure and sophistication of vocabulary), and do final editing, if necessary. This AP teacher and the Writing Center teachers work together to guide students in their writing to draw upon a work’s textual details to make and explain judgments, to develop a wide-ranging vocabulary, to develop a variety of sentence structures (including appropriate use of subordination and coordination), to develop logical organization and coherence (using repetition, transition, and emphasis), to balance general and specific detail, to control tone, establish and maintain voice, and achieve emphasis through diction and sentence structure. The Writing Center helps the AP teacher and student achieve the goals of each particular paper. Throughout the year, after papers are graded, the AP teacher shares with students samples that meet the requirements of the highest scores on the AP scoring rubric (often “7, 8, or 9”). (See the generic rubric below; this rubric is often modified to reflect the specific content and style of each assignment.) Students comment on what they appreciate in the papers in terms of literary content and writing style so that they can aim to improve in these areas on future papers. It is a common practice in this course to share excellently written papers—both timed writings and papers done at home—with students so that classmates can see practical examples of what the course goals are. Occasionally students may rewrite a paper, especially early in the course, for a new grade; generally, it is expected that rewriting takes place during the revision stage of the writing process by

conferencing with teacher in and out of class or by conferencing with one of the Writing Center professionals. My comments on papers reflect the above goals of composition.

Handout: AP English Essay Response Generic Scoring Rubric The score should reflect the quality of the essay as a whole and should reward the writers for what they do well. The score for an exceptionally well-written essay may be raised by one point from the score otherwise appropriate. In no case may a poorly written essay be scored higher than a 3. 9-8 Style: For those essays that are well-written; the writer's command of syntax, organization, and diction impresses the reader. While not without flaws, these papers will demonstrate an understanding of the text as well as consistent control over the elements of effective composition. These essays sometimes have personal or creative touches, but always in support of the essay's purpose. These writers read with perception and express their ideas with clarity and skill. Content: These essays clearly and thoroughly and precisely respond to the assigned topic. They demonstrate the writer's deep and broad understanding of the work and the ability to draw clear connections between evidence and analysis. The best of these essays acknowledge the complexities and subtleties of both the question and the work. 7-6 Style: For those solid essays that are less well-written; they may show minor lapses in syntax and organization or be less effective in their diction. These essays demonstrate the writer's ability to express ideas clearly, but they do so with less maturity and precision than the best papers. Generally, 7 papers present a more developed analysis and a more consistent command of the elements of effective college-level composition than do essays scored 6. Content: These essays touch on all the elements asked for in the assigned topic but often only adequately state the case for their significance. The writer understands the work and the topic but has not necessarily demonstrated a thorough and wide-ranging command of the scope of the material, especially at the 6 level. The essays are less incisive, developed or aptly supported than papers in the highest ranges. 5 Style: For those essays that are adequately written; they are passable but undistinguished in diction, syntax, and organization. The archetypal five-paragraph essay falls into this range. While the writing is adequate to convey the writer's thoughts, these essays are typically pedestrian or immature, not as well conceived, organized or developed as upper half papers. Good high-school (but not college) writing falls in this range. Content: These essays do not draw all the conclusions asked for in the assigned topic and often underemphasize an important facet of the question. Although the writer has a basic and valid understanding of the material, the essay may include errors of omission and may lack depth of insight and development. Often, the analysis is vague, mechanical or overly generalized, and the essays may reveal superficial or simplistic thinking.

4-3 Style: For those essays that are less than adequately written with recurrent stylistic flaws: they contain significant or repeated errors in syntax, organization, grammar and diction. Common errors in this range include fragments, non-existent topic sentences/thesis sentences and illogical paragraphing. The essays are often brief. Content: These essays intensify the errors of the above category. They may describe or paraphrase without focusing on the issues of the question and/or the work or only parrot basic concepts without having digested them or without supporting them specifically. They may misread the question, lapse into plot summary or reflect an incomplete understanding of the material. Analysis, when present, is meager and unconvincing. 2-1 For those essays that are badly written, very brief, inaccurate, or unrelated to the question. Both Style and Content are negligible or nonexistent. Often poorly written on several counts, the essays may contain many distracting errors in grammar and mechanics. Although some attempt may have been made to answer the question, the writer's views typically are presented with little clarity, organization, coherence, or supporting evidence. Essays that are especially inexact, vacuous, and/or mechanically unsound should be scored 1.

IV. Units of Study A. Intro to AP Thinking and Writing

1. Review of Strunk and White’s Elements of Style and stylistic expectations for all process-written papers (proper usage, active voice, specific, concrete language, consistent tense, effective sentence structures, and patterns of emphasis)

2. Read Sandra Cisneros’s story “Eleven”

o work with 1995 AP prose essay question requiring analysis of how Cisneros “usesliterary techniques to characterize Rachel.”

o point out HOW literary devices affect meaning; illustrate that analysis must be more than a list of literary devices and that product must also be more than a character sketch (use chalkboard to chart devices and show their effect on meaning)

o distribute 1995 AP scoring guide for this essay question o ask students to score 4 sample essays (released by AP) according to AP

rubric o discuss merits/deficiencies of each, including level of language

(vocabulary) and sophistication of sentence structure o distribute “AP English Essay Response Generic Scoring Rubric” to guide

writing and analysis of the year’s writing activities

C4. Course requires frequent opportunities to write and rewrite formal, extended analyses and timed in-class responses. The course requires writing to understand: informal, exploratory writing activities.

C5. Teacher provides instruction/feedback on sentence structure, organization, detail, tone, voice, diction, emphasis.

B. Summer reading (3 weeks in September) 1. Heller, Catch-22

o Topics for Discussion/Journal Writing. Write a journal on one of the following areas of study: “satire and hyperbole”, “structure and style”, “characters and morality”, or “systems and communication”

o Approximately 10 brainstorming questions are provided for each topic, but they are not ready-made for division and classification

o Group class acc. to similar areas of journal writing/review; group must organize thoughts into a logical presentation for the class

o Following group discussions, each individual must hand in a logical outline of notes, using generalizations, bullet-points, formal outline, etc.

WRITING ASSIGNMENT: AP prompt applied to Catch-22 but done as process-written assignment

(as a first introduction to AP type writing assignments) 2004 Lit Question: “Critic Roland Barthes has said, “Literature is the question minus the answer.” Choose a novel or plan and, considering Barthes’ observation, write an essay in which you analyze a central question the work raises and the extent to which it offers any answers. Explain how the author’s treatment of this question affects your understanding of the work as a whole. Avoid mere plot summary.”

- each student phrases a “central question” in a way that is not oversimplified (complexity is good) and conferences with teacher

- each student submits organizational plan as to how he will articulate the way the work responds to the question

- students complete rough draft, illustrating clearly defined thesis, effective organization, argumentive - strategy, diction, and voice; final copy on their own, making use of Radnor High School’s Writing Center if necessary.

- teacher reviews qualities of excellent papers with all students

2. Mythology: Mythology allusions in poetry; follow-up to summer reading

o Materials Reference: Hamilton. Mythology - read over the summer Roberts & Jacobs Literature chap. 22 “Myth: Systems of Symbolic

Allusion in Poetry” Joseph Campbell video (RHS library)

o Hand out Sophocles. Oedipus Rex. Must be ready to discuss in two weeks.

It will be assumed that reading Oedipus is part of the homework during this poetry unit.

Note: Our schedule is modified block: M, T, F 40 minute periods; either W or Th 80 minute periods

(M/40 min) Day 1: Discuss Roberts & Jacobs pp. 969-974 background material First section: Poems Related to Myth of Odysseus Work together through “Siren Song,” Margaret Atwood – use

worksheet and text questions Homework: prepare “Penelope,” Dorothy Parker and “Odysseus,”

W.S. Merwin (T/40 min) Day 2: discussion of “Penelope” and “Odysseus” Focus: comparison/contrast same mythic material; different purposes Homework: Read (do not prepare in writing) the remaining 5 Odysseus

poems (80 min) Day 3: In groups of 4: Each prepares one poem first 25 min.

• “Circe,” Olga Broumas • “Penelope’s Song,” Louise Gluck • “The Suitor,” Linda Paston • “Ulysses,” Alfred, Lord Tennyson • “Odyssey: 20 Years Later,” Peter Ulise

Next 55 minutes small groups report out to larger class group Discussion will ensue Homework for Monday: Poems Related to Myth of Icarus Read and prepare: “Musée des Beaux Arts,” W.H. Auden; “Landscape

with Fall of Icarus,” William Carlos Williams; “Flight 063,” Brian Aldiss

Refer to color insert of Brueghel’s painting Landscape with the Fall of Icarus between pp. 712-713

(F/40 min) Day 4: Joseph Campbell video (M/40 min) Day 5: Discussion “Musée des Beaux Arts” and “Landscape” in

groups of 3 Visual: the painting to reinforce “panning” and “framing” technique of

Williams Homework: Prepare “Icarus,” Edward Field; “Waiting for Icarus,”

Muriel Rukeyser; “To a Friend Whose Work Has Come To Triumph,” Anne Sexton

(T/40 min) Day 6: Discuss as a large group three poems for homework Focus: How each brings ancient and modern circumstances to a

common level

Homework: Poems related to the myth of the Phoenix Read and prepare: “Berceuse,” Amy Clampitt; “Hunting the Phoenix,”

Denise Levertov; “The Phoenix Again,” May Sarton (80 min.) Day 7 20 minutes: In pairs compare/contrast the use of the Phoenix myth by

Clampitt, Levertov, and Sarton. Create notes – chart like form suggested

60 minutes: Preparing to write about about mythological allusions in poetry

Page 996 “Writing About Myth in Poetry” because students will write in

class tomorrow. Concepts to emphasize:

1. an essay on the mythic in poetry will connect the mythic material to some other element such as speaker, character, action, tone, setting, situation, imagery, form, or meaning;

2. two-part organization suggested: one concerned with poem’s general sense, the other with the ways in which myth shapes and controls that sense.

Refer to Questions for Discovering Ideas p. 996 Roberts & Jacobs

(It is not expected that students can independently respond in depth to every question. These are “food for thought”. Here in the beginning of the year, this type of analysis is still foreign to them and probably uncomfortable; however, exposure will set the foundation for the second semester study of poetry.) 1. To what extent does the title identify the mythic content of the poem and thus

provide a key for understanding? 2. How much of the poem’s action, setting, and situation are borrowed from

mythology? 3. What is the significance of the action in the myth? What does this action

symbolize? 4. How does the poet reshape the action and its significance? 5. To what extent does our understanding of the myth explain the poem’s speaker,

characters, situations, and ideas? What characters, including the speaker are drawn from mythology?

6. In what ways are these characters symbolic? What aspects of this symbolism are carried in the poem? How does the poem either maintain or change the symbolism?

7. How do the formal elements of the poem—diction, rhyme, meter, and form—reshape the mythic material and affect the meaning and impact of the myth?

8. How does the tone of the poem either reinforce or undercut the ideas and implications of the original myth? Look for specific words and phrases.

9. Does the rhyme (if any) lead us to consider the mythic content as serious or comic?

10. Generally, how does the mythic content help develop and clarify the poem?

(F/40 min) Day 8: In-class essay:

C4. Writing to Explain • Expository, analytical

essay; interpretation of literature

C5. Teacher provides instruction and feedback on students’ writing before and after students revise their work.

Assignment: Timed Writing On Friday (40 min.) you will write an essay on the myth and meaning of one of the poems in this unit we have read. You can prepare as much as you would like tonight; however, tomorrow, you may not refer to any notes or bring anything other than your textbook to class. Suggested structure: reiterate “Concepts to Emphasize,” above.

WRITING ASSIGNMENT: Writing about Myth in Poetry

An essay on myth in poetry will connect the mythic material in a poem to some other element(s) such as speaker, character, action, tone, setting, situation, imagery, form, or meaning. After choosing a poem to discuss, develop a focus or central idea. Remember that the focus is the poem (and the mythic material in the poem) not the myth itself. Link the mythical elements with other aspects of the poem and make assertions about the effects of this connection. Suggestions: 1. Select one of the poems with references to The Odyssey. Each poet evokes the same myth but for different reasons. Examine the author’s purpose in using the myth. What views do you find about adventure, domesticity, and sexuality? What attitudes toward figures in the myth (Odysseus, Penelope, Calypso, the Sirens, Circe) does the poet bring out? How does word choice, selection of detail, and point of view influence the poet’s conclusions? 2. The Icarus myth is used by Aldiss, Auden, Field, Rukeyser, Sexton, Spender, and Williams. Select one of these poems and examine the way the author uses the myth. How does he/she create unusual or surprising endings or comment on contemporary but also permanent attitudes about life and the sufferings of others? Again consider how the various literary elements influence or lead to the poet’s conclusions. You may use your text of the poem, or you may Xerox the poem and annotate it, but you may not have pages of notes with your or click back to prewritten ideas

o Teacher and students will discuss qualities of analysis and written exposition in the completed, graded papers.

C. Tragedy (October, November, December)

1. Roberts & Jacobs Ch. 27: “The Tragic Vision: Affirmation Through Loss”

o Examination of Tragic Hero Concept

2. Classic Greek Tragedy: Sophocles. Oedipus Rex.

C4. Course includes frequent opportunities to write and rewrite • Writing to evaluate:

analytic, argumentative essay using textual details to make judgment about a work’s artistry and social/cultural values

ACTIVITY AND WRITING ASSIGNMENT: Role of choral odes/ function Tragedy…is an imitation of an action that is serious, complete, and of a certain magnitude; in language embellished with each kind of artistic ornament…in the form of action, not of narrative; with incidents arousing pity and fear, wherewith to accomplish its catharsis of such emotions. - Poetics, Aristotle Its complex plot moves in various directions through reversal (peripateia), recognition (anagnorisis), and suffering (pathos). Concept of the “necessary and probable” Background information in Roberts 1286-1304: Tragedy, Aristotle, Sophocles N.B. the pictures, especially of the theater itself

The Choral Odes of Oedipus Rex

LIST… For each of the choral odes listed below: 1. Establish the context 2. Paraphrase the content 3. Identify the issue 4. Explain the attitude expressed towards the issue THINK… CONCLUDE… Now reach a conclusion about Sophocles’ use of choral odes and their function in this play. One fat, chunky paragraph in your best expository form will do. I 1309-1311 (page numbers refer to the text in Roberts) II 1317-1318 III 1321-1322 IV* 1326-1327 V 1334-1335 VI 1337 VII 1343

o Critical essays on Oedipus Rex – read, share in groups Knox, Bernard M.W. “Structure and Hero” Freud, Sigmund. “Oedipus Rex” Dodds, E.R. “On Misunderstanding the Oedipus Rex” Kirkwood, G.M. “Two Questions of Dramatic Form in the

Oedipus Tyrannus”

C4. Writing to Explain • Students draw on textual

details to develop an extended interpretation of text.

C5. Teacher provides instruction and feedback on students’ writing before and after they revise their work. • Organization, techniques

to increase coherence, and emphasis on balance of generalization and specific detail.

3. Shakespearean Tragedy: Othello

o Oral reading of play, specific attention to vocabulary

SHORT ESSAY – IN CLASS: Comprehension and texual analysis; cohesive argument and terseness:

Othello – Act II Paragraph Response

By very early in Act II the audience is already afraid for Othello and Desdemona, despite the fact that their marriage is based on love. What is it that makes us fearful for them? The forces that are working against them are both internal and external. Write a single paragraph in which you focus on either one or both of the forces at work which could doom their marriage. You will need a clear topic sentence setting up your argument or position (not a statement of fact), smooth integration of a couple of pertinent quotations (don’t overquote – pare down just to what supports your position; blend partial quotations with your own words), and correct sentence structure. The aim is to write tersely and cohesively. Omit needless words; be sure each sentence follows logically the one which precedes it. Work on fluency. ONE PARAGRAPH

Handout/Background: Key rhetorical terms Logos: names the appeal to reason. Aristotle wished that all communication could be transacted only through this appeal, but given the weaknesses of humanity, he laments, we must resort to the use of the other two appeals. The Greek term logos is laden with many more meanings than simply “reason,” and is, in fact, the term used for “oration.” Pathos: names the appeal to emotion. Cicero encouraged the use of pathos at the conclusion of an oration, but emotional appeals are, of course, more widely viable. Aristotle’s Rhetoric contains a great deal of discussion of affecting the emotions, categorizing the kinds of responses of different demographic groups. Thus, we see the close relations between assessment of pathos and of audience. Pathos is also the category by which we can understand the psychological aspects of rhetoric. Criticism of rhetoric tends to focus on the overemphasis of pathos, emotion, at the expense of logos, the message. Ethos: names the persuasive appeal of one’s character, especially how this character is established by means of the speech or discourse Aristotle claimed that one needs to appear both knowledgeable about one’s subject and benevolent. Cicero said that in classical oratory the initial portion of a speech (its introduction) was the place to establish one’s credibility with the audience.

ACTIVITY: Shakespeare’s language: Analysis of Rhetoric: Othello and the Power of Language

A puppeteer of the psyche, Iago pulls the strings of those who should know better with a battery of verbal weapons. In his soliloquies and dialogues he reveals himself to the audience to be a master of connotative and metaphoric language, inflammatory imagery, emotional appeals, well-placed silences, dubious hesitations, leading questions, meaningful repetition, and sly hints. Indeed, Iago is so good at lying that he

C3. Course teaches students to write an interpretation of a piece of literature that is based on a careful observation of the book’s textual details, considering the social and historical values it reflects and embodies.

is able to convince even himself that he has the soundest of reasons to destroy Othello, Desdemona, and Cassio. Iago’s convincing rhetoric clearly reveals what a powerful and dangerous tool language can be, especially when used by the eloquent, but unscrupulous, individual.

Question: How does Iago use language to deceive others?

Activity One Complete the worksheet “Chaos is Come Again”: Iago preys upon Othello. Refer to III.iii.102-318 in your books. Study what Iago says in these pages (his word choice) and how he says it (his superb acting), as well as what he refrains from saying (the silence that spurs his listeners on to imagining the worst or to realizing the worst about themselves). Review the definitions of the rhetorical terms above to help you complete the worksheet.

Activity Two Act III, scene 3, lines 378-545 (Examining Othello’s state of mind): Complete the worksheet “O blood, blood, blood.” Answer the following questions on the worksheet: 1. Which lines show that Othello is still a rational human being, but one torn by doubt? 2. Which lines show that Othello has turned into the “green-eyed monster” of which Iago told him? 3. Identify the rhetorical devices that Iago uses to make sure that Othello is ensnared in his web of deceit. 4. Identify Othello’s weaknesses that allow him to fall for Iago’s evil persuasion.

o Othello Essay (social, cultural, political context): Work in class and at home; conference with teacher and in Writing Center. Students receive packet of the following articles—Bradley’s literary criticism and a “Cultural Casebook” of documents to help students consider Othello in the context of racial prejudice, both in Shakespeare’s time and our own. Students then consider the question below.

Bradley, A.C. “Othello’s Character” (1904) Sir John Mandeville. From “Mandeville’s Travels” (1357) Richard Eden. From “Decades of the New World” (1555) Leo Africanus and John Pory. From “A Geographical Historie of

Africa” (1550, 1600) G.K. Hunter. From “Othello and Color Prejudice” Margaret Webster. “Shakespeare without Tears” (1942) Peter Marks “Review of Patrick Stewart as Othello” (1997)

ESSAY: Othello Essay

How important is Othello’s race to the play? Consider his status as a black man in a white society. Is he a victim of racial discrimination? Consider how others react to Othello’s skin color and to the fact that he is a Moor. How does he see himself? Is his race a cause of, or perhaps an aggravating factor in, the tragedy that befalls him? Or does the cause of Othello’s demise lie elsewhere? Could all references to his skin color be removed without essentially altering the play’s meaning? Why or why not?

Read the Bradley article and selected parts of the Othello/race casebook of articles. Consider that you are reading both historical documents as well as literary critiques as you begin to formulate your opinions.

C5. Teacher provides instruction and feedback on students’ writing before and after students revise their work. • Organization, balance of

generalization/detail, use of rhetoric.

C3. Course teaches students to write an interpretation of a piece of literature that is based on a careful observation of the book’s textual details, considering structure, social and historical values and imagery, and symbolism

C5. Teacher provides instruction and feedback on students’ writing before and after students revise their work. • Logical organization,

transition, emphasis, effective use of rhetoric

C3. Course teaches students to write an interpretation of a piece of literature that is based on a careful observation of the book’s textual details, considering structure, style, themes, social and historical values, use of figurative language, imagery, and symbolism.

Compose an essay on this topic taking any slant you wish to support. Be sure to document properly (MLA format) any references (either directly quoted or indirectly referred to) you include from the outside sources. As always, what you say and how you say it both matter. No doubt the depth and breadth (including the careful selection of details) of your support influences the quality of your argument. Two pages!!!!!

o View Othello film (1995 Kenneth Branagh, Laurence Fishburne) o View clips from other adaptations (i.e., O [2001])

4. Modern Tragedy: August Wilson. Fences

o read play, compare to Death of a Salesman (all students read in grade 11) o Miller’s article “Tragedy and the Common Man” o James A. Walton’s article “Death of a Salesman’s Willy Loman and

Fences’s Troy Maxson: Pursuers of The Elusive American Dream”

TIMED WRITING ASSIGNMENT (40 minutes): Fences Essay

August Wilson’s Fences falls mid-way in his ten-play cycle that depicts the condition of the African American in the twentieth century. Clearly this play captures qualities of African-American life in the late fifties, but it also conveys many universal themes within this restricted, specific milieu. Select one of the quotations on the attached page and write an essay discussing how the quotation addresses an idea or motif in Fences. Your response may refer to the universality of the play and/or focus on the African-American condition. You need to determine the point you wish to argue and organize your discussion accordingly. Of course you need ample, textual support from the play.

5. Modern Tragedy: Tennessee Williams. A Streetcar Named Desire

o Reading and discussion o Film clips from Elia Kazan’s A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)

WRITING ASSIGNMENT: A Streetcar Named Desire Essay

You might find this play very useful in constructing your essay later this spring on the AP Exam’s free response question. Of the many motifs and issues the play addresses, select one from the list below and write a two-page paper in which you make an assertion about the topic. Most offer some variation on gender and class. Do more than merely describe the motif and point out its presence. Make a point about the issue that you prove, and draw a conclusion. USE TEXT to substantiate your views. 1. Loneliness and Dependence on Men: Stella and Blanche’s dependence on men? Financial? Stand alone without men? Stella needs Stanley? Blanche – moves through multiple men? Searching for fulfillment from someone outside instead of from within?

Does society rate the value of someone based on whether or not she/he has a significant other? Is it “hip” to be alone? 2. Desire: Stella and Stanley? Sexual desires? Blanche has desires? Alcohol? Men? Attractiveness? Does Blanche recognize her “baser” desires? That would put her on the same level as Stanley. Do we criticize Stella, Stanley and Blanche for never repressing their desires? Does their society promote following one’s desires or denying them? Are there different standards for men and women? Is the situation during the play’s setting different from that of today? 3. Sexuality and aging/death: Blanche – affirmation of her looks? Escape from aging? Identification of an aging, older woman with death of sexuality and vitality? What does society say about age and sex appeal? Evidence of women trying to look younger? 4. Illusion vs. Reality: Blanche (illusion) in conflict with Stanley (reality). What is Blanche’s alternate world? (alcohol? What else?) What realities does the alternate world block? (losing Belle Reve? What else?) When do the two worlds collide? After Blanche meets harsh reality, how does she cope? To what point is it dangerous to have a fantasy world? 5. Indictment of “Southern Puritanism”: Are characters “victims” of the “propriety” and “constrictions” of the traditional manners, mores, social and religious outlooks, and expectations of “Southern Puritanism” that prevailed, particularly in the Bible Belt of the New South, in the early decades of the 20th Century? Female characters frustrated and neurotic? 6. Modern Man / Savage imagery: Under stress, is modern man evolving backwards into savagery? Stanley? “New Man” of the Modern World? References to beasts and “ape-like” characters. Stanley an animal? Poker Night: the “party of apes”? Drive of the male to get revenge on female who insulted him? Nature of female who initiated the insult – does she exhibit “trappings” of civilization? Material wealth and breeding? Perception of “superiority” over “savage male”? What has modern life done to Blanche? 7. One more time: Blanche as a tragic hero.

6. Modern Short Story: Laurence Sargent Hall. “The Ledge”: examine classic Greek components

D. Prose passages: selected short stories in Roberts & Jacobs – practice analysis; generate theme statements (December)

E. Comedy (January/February)

1. History of Comedy o Student research (library); oral presentations with examples (written or

visual): Ancient Greek, Roman, Medieval, Renaissance, Elizabethan (not Shakespeare), Restoration, Enlightenment, Romantic Victorian, 20th and 21st Century

2. Shakespeare. The Taming of the Shrew

o Handout on Conventions of Shakespearean Comedy and Taming of the Shrew

o Handout: “Discussion/Issues in Taming of the Shrew”

C5. Teacher provides instruction and feedback on students’ writing before and after students revise their work. • Logical organization,

detail, sentence structure, tone, diction

C4. Writing to evaluate a work’s artistry.

WRITING ASSIGNMENT – IN-CLASS ESSAY (80 minute period): Textual analysis of comedy: The Taming of the Shrew

Choose one of the following scenes to re-examine: Act II, scene i Act III, scene ii Act IV, scene i Discuss the purpose of the comedy in this particular scene. First you will have to determine what is funny, why it is funny, and what kinds of humor Shakespeare has used. Examples: disguises (literal or figurative),verbal humor (plays on words, puns, double entendres); wit (humorous comments, repartee, banter); action (physical gestures or movement, slapstick); situational (plot developments, i.e., Sly begins to believe he is a lord); and character (foolish or repeated characteristics). Obviously, your essay needs to be more than an enumeration of comic techniques. What effect do the comic techniques have in communicating/developing the point of the play or one of the themes? Consider this scene as a “part to the whole” when you discuss it. Determine the connections with what comes both before and after it and how the comic elements advance a greater purpose.

o Film: Franco Zefferelli’s The Taming of the Shrew (1967) o Film clips: Cole Porter’s Kiss Me Kate

CREATIVE PROJECT: Culminate unit with creative adaptation of a scene from Taming of the Shrew

Write an adaptation of a scene, complete director’s notebook, perform live or on film. Employ techniques of comedy. Restage a scene from Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew. You many change the setting, time period, and/or modernize the language. Of course, in your restaging, you may need to modify behavior to reflect the time period in which you write. For example, if your scene takes place in contemporary America, be sure your modern version reflects today’s customs for courtship and marriage. Analyze well the scene you will adapt. Break it down for content and meaning. Discuss relationships between characters and basic plot elements. Decide what must remain intact in order to remain true to the story. All scenes must be appropriately rated PG-13 for a school setting! Shakespeare is a master at innuendo instead of explicitness. If possible, let’s try to avoid duplicating the same scene among groups within the class. Products: The Director’s Book: • A clean, typed copy of the adapted scene • A fully annotated copy of the scene as you worked through it, learned it, and rehearsed it including • Blocking notes, costume plots, set design, prop notes, and sound notes • Section detailing character analysis Ideas/Tips: • In the manner of Saturday Night Live, a parody of a scene

• Create a musical version of a scene, writing your own words and music OR find popular songs to fit events in your scene and use or rewrite lyrics • Depending on your setting (time and place), you may need to research arranged marriages and the importance of a dowry in other societies • Bantering couples were staple of Hollywood in the 30s and 40s – Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn or John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara films • Disguise and deception in modern films: Mrs.Doubtfire, Some Like It Hot • Sisters in film/literature Little Women, Pride and Prejudice • Women’s magazines: advice today on “How to get a man”

EVALUATION OF CREATIVE PROJECT: Scene adaptations of The Taming of the Shrew

I. Script • Closeness to Shakespeare’s original in terms of character relationships and plot (be sure to either name your scene or identify how it parallels the original – i.e. Act III, scene ii) • Inclusion of comedy techniques (i.e., disguise, verbal banter, puns, physical humor, slapstick, dramatic irony, comedy of manners, wit, gesture, facial expression) II. Director’s Notebook • Clean, completely typed script, including character names and their roles • Annotated script, including blocking notes, rehearsal comments, added instructions • Costume plot (description of costumes) • Prop list • Set design (sketch and/or description; you may include lighting suggestions) • Sound notes (musical cues, songs, sound effects where applicable) • Character analysis section III. Presentation • Completely memorized • At least one costume piece, small suggestion of a set, a simple prop or two, or a sound cue • Preparedness, readiness (we have no time to wait for an elaborate set-up in between scenes; prepare in advance) • Volume (please do not whisper) • Enthusiasm, effort (NOT acting ability)

F. Mid Term Exam (3rd week of January)

o AP question (sample “open question”) – students use works read first semester to answer essay

o Sample poetry/prose passages with multiple choice questions from AP released tests

G. Satire (February)

1. Voltaire. Candide o Examination in context of Voltaire’s time

guest lecture by AP European History teacher o Activity: “The World According to Voltaire” Students identify satirique

techniques and examples of the picaresque

o Film Clips: Bernstein’s Candide

WRITING ASSIGNMENT (outside of class): Invent new episode of Candide

Voltaire just did not write it all! Your purpose is to write a satiric episode of about two pages for insertion in the novel. Show your complete understanding and enjoyment of what Voltaire does in his novel. Consider carefully your purpose as a satirist, your view of the world and of human nature. Pay particular attention to how Voltaire employs some of the following: - the train of events - characters - diction and tone - wit - irony - understatement / hyperbole - paradox, incongruity Indicate briefly where you would insert this in the narrative and your reasons for doing so. Above all, capture the spirit and purpose of the original. H. Tragi-Comedy (3 weeks – March)

1. Emily Bronte. Wuthering Heights

o Bronte background research – library, small groups, report out

RESEARCH PROJECT: Bronte Background Research

I. Regional Context: Haworth, Yorkshire, and the Moors – What is the difference between a moor and a heath? The author and family – Sisters, father Branwell, their writings, and home – Pen names II. Political Context Marriage and Divorce Laws English Inheritance Laws III. Gypsies (i.e., models for Heathcliff ) IV. Social Classes – 19th Century Victorian England (a typical village) Status of women What is the social rank of the Earnshaw family of Wuthering Heights? What is the social rank of the Linton family of Thrushcross Grange? V. Nineteenth Century Novel, particularly English novel: Characteristics of this evolving genre, authors, titles – Begin with Austen (end of Romantic period) through Victorian VI. Education – problem of illiteracy VII. Medical reality of stress and physical disorders (relative to the situations in the novel)

o Discussion of novel 3 sections: chap 1-9, 10-17, and 18-34

o Film clips: Kosminsky (with Ralph Fiennes) Wuthering Heights (1992)

C4. Writing to Understand • Students engage in

exploratory, informal writing to discover what they think about their reading.

C4. Writing to Understand; Writing to Explain

C5. Teacher provides instruction and feedback on students’ writing before and after students revise their work. • Balance of generalization

and specific detail, and effective use of rhetoric, including tone and diction

o Introduction to literary theory (Bedford edition includes complete text of novel in cultural context and a case study in contemporary criticism)

“What is Psychoanalytic Criticism?” • Philip. Wion. “The Absent Mother in Wuthering Heights”

“What is Marxist Criticism?” • Terry Eagleton. “Myths of Power: A Marxist Study on

Wuthering Heights” “What is Cultural Criticism?”

• Nancy Armstrong. “Imperialist Nostalgia and Wuthering Heights”

“What is Feminist Criticism?” • Lyn Pykett. “Changing the Names: The Two Catherines”

ASSIGNMENT: Critical Theory and Questioning the Text

Read your assigned theory unit (the theory intro and the Bronte-specific critical essay) 1. Summarize the theoretical approach in list or bullet form. List approx. 6-10 (more than 5) beliefs, goals, or methods. • Use a combination of direct quotations and paraphrases. You can use information from the critical article, but the basics should come from the intro to the theory. 2. Outline the article - any style (formal outline or bullet points; just be sure connections are clear) • Use quotations and be sure to make many specific references to the novel. 3. Write a précis of the article (the piece of literary criticism). Follow the directions for précis writing (handout provided)

Handout: Writing a Précis

A précis is NOT a personal interpretation of a work or an expression of your opinion of the idea; it is, rather, an exact replica in miniature of the work, often reduced to one-quarter to one-fifth of its size, in which you express the complete argument. What actually happens when you write a précis? First you must understand the complete work so that you can abstract the central argument and express it cogently and completely. Next, you must develop the argument exactly as the writer has presented it AND reduce the work by 75-80% of its size. Of course, this is possible when you consider exactly how you “learn” to read the work. The key word here is assimilation. When you read the material, you will probably understand only those parts which have associations within your own experience. How you actually go about writing a précis depends largely on your ability to restate the writer’s central ideas after you have assimilated them in your own mind.

C4. Writing to Understand • Students engage in

exploratory, informal writing to discover what they think in the process of writing about their reading.

Facts: 1. A précis is a short summary. It is not a paraphrase, which merely says in different and simpler words exactly what the passage being paraphrased has to say. 2. A précis gives only the “heart” of a passage. It omits repetition and such details as examples, illustrations, and adjectives unless they are of unusual importance. 3. A précis is written entirely in the words of the person writing it, not in the words of the original selection. Avoid the temptation to lift long phrases and whole sentences from the original. 4. A précis is written from the point of view of the author whose work is being summarized. Do not begin with expressions as “This author says” or “The Paragraph means.” Begin as though you were summarizing your own writing.

Suggested Process: 1. Read the article many times most carefully. 2. Write a précis of the article in which you state the entire argument and present the logical progression (the development) of the argument. 3. Reduce the article to one-fifth or one-quarter of its original length and omit nothing from the essential argument. This is, in reality, the key to the whole enterprise! DO NOT COPY A SINGLE SENTENCE FROM THE ARTICLE! You may use key words and phrases only when you are expressing ideas which are technically precise or when you feel comfortable using the writer’s own words (i.e. you understand exactly he or she means, and there is really no better way to express the concept.). In order to complete this assignment, you will have to read the work most carefully, ask questions about the work repeatedly, and reach into your own experiences so that you can shape most cogently the writer’s concepts. I would expect several revisions!

ADDITIONAL BRIEF, IN-CLASS, IMPROMPTU WRITING RESPONSES

1. Write a solid paragraph in which you address the following. Use specific details to support your claims. Catherine Earnshaw Linton and her daughter are very different, but they do share some similarities. Write a paragraph in which you compare/contrast the two Catherines. 2. Write a solid paragraph in which you address the following. Use specific details to support your claims. Evaluate the relationship between the young Catherine and Hareton. In what ways is it similar to the relationship between Catherine Earnshaw Linton and Heathcliff? In what ways is it different?

C3. Course teaches students to write an interpretation of a piece of literature considering structure, style, theme, figurative language, imagery, and symbolism.

I. Poetry – simultaneously with independent work on research project (end March and April; concurrent with independent project) 1. Units from Perrine’s Sound and Sense (Reading the poem; denotation/connotation

imagery; figurative language 1,2,3; allusion; sound and meaning) o Students read each chapter, read select poems, and answer questions for

homework. o Students practice using “AP Poetry Interpretation Process” template

distributed by teacher; detailed discussion used with select, additional poems, for example:

“Aubade,” “Nikki-Rosa”, “On Reading Poems to a Senior Class at South High,” “The Red Hat,” “Ode on a Grecian Urn”, “Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day?”

o Practice preparation for poetry essay: from “The Groundhog” (AP 1982): Read the following poem carefully. Then write an essay in which

you analyze how the language of the poem reflects the changing perception 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 Give chart to help teach “on the spot” analysis

PRE-WRITING ACTIVITY BASED ON AP PROMPT: “The Groundhog”, by Richard Eberhart

Identify the stages in the “metamorphosis” of the groundhog, and for each stage chart the following: Time of visit: Perceptions: Lines and/or words and/or devices (use poetry vocab terms) as support: Emotions: Lines and/or words and/or devices (use poetry vocab terms) as support: Then write a final, insightful, theme/summary statement that demonstrates the depth of your understanding of the poem and of the AP prompt.

o Distribute two student essays on “The Groundhog” student essays, one which received a score of 8 and one a score of 6; students discuss merits/deficiencies of each

o Examination of the dramatic monologue as a form. Read Frost’s “Death of the Hired Man”

C3. Course teaches students to write an interpretation of a piece of literature considering structure, style, theme, figurative language, imagery.

C4. Writing to Explain • Expository, analytical

essay using textual details to develop and extended interpretation

C5. Teacher provides instruction and feedback on students’ writing before and after students revise their work. • Balance of generalization

and specific detail, and effective use of rhetoric, including tone and diction

C4. Writing to Understand • Informal, exploratory

writing activities to discover in writing what they think in the process of writing.

TIMED WRITING ASSIGNMENT: Writing on dramatic monologue “My Last Duchess”, by Robert Browning

“My Last Duchess” is an example of a dramatic monologue – a kind of narrative poem in which one character speaks to one listener or more whose replies are not given in the poem. The occasion is usually a crucial one in the speaker’s life, and the dramatic monologue reveals the speaker’s personality as well as the incident that is the subject of the poem. Read “My Last Duchess” carefully. In a well-written essay characterize the Duke and Duchess as fully as you can. Hint: Your characterization of the Duke may differ entirely from his own opinion of himself. (This is a form of dramatic irony.) Likewise, your perception of the Duchess may be different from the way the Duke paints her. Refer to specific lines/quotations in your discussion. Examine the template below before you consider the characterization: Speaker: Duke of Ferrara Time: Renaissance, probably the sixteenth century Place: Ferrara is in Italy Audience: an envoy from the Count whose daughter the Duke plans to marry Occasion: The Duke and the Count’s emissary have just concluded negotiations over the terms of the marriage and the dowry that the Duke expects to receive with his bride. (The Duke of Ferrara should be considered a supremely powerful figure, equal in status to a king.) Vocabulary in Context: munificence – riches ample warrant – proves just pretense – my demand disallowed – refused Fra Pandolf – an eminent painter Claus of Innsbruck – an eminent sculptor

o Practice poetry multiple choice from AP J. Reading/Research project (April, May - due end of May) Major critical paper of evaluation. Serves as final exam for the

course. Students select a novel – in a Norton Critical Edition. As they read the novel the first time (over their spring vacation), they make annotations of interest and queries for further investigation. Ultimately they will also read the contextual and critical material in the Norton edition and compose an approx. 5-6 page paper determining the literary merit of the work.

o Reference article: Roberts, Edgar V. Thinking and Writing about

Literature. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: 1984. (We used "Chapter 16: Evaluation.")

C4. Writing to Understand • Analytic, argumentative

essay in which students draw upon textual details to make and explain judgments about a work’s artistry and quality and its social and cultural values

C5. Teacher provides instruction and feedback on students’ writing before and after students revise their work.

Handout: Roberts on Evaluation

I. Truth

• generalities and universalities • permanence of the human problem • how do I cope?

II. Affirmativeness • human beings are worth caring about • human beings are worth writing about • how debased humans live and how they abuse their state are not important

III. Whole • the artistic form • impressions • emotions • the total effect of the work

IV. Vitality • has a life of its own • “food for future years”

V. Beauty • unity and proportion • symmetry • harmony • style • structure • point of view • tone • imagery and motif

READING, RESEARCHING, AND WRITING ASSIGNMENT: Norton Critical Edition

This major works study assignment will have evaluation as its thematic idea. The preparatory and written requirements are these: you will use notecards upon which you will record your observations, evidences, thoughts, quotations, examples, definitions, supports, and views as you read the text and the criticism in the text, and ultimately begin to develop your personal thesis that answers these questions: Is this work good? Why or why not? How or how not? Introduction to the Process:

• After reading article, students work in 5 groups- one for each criterion • Students brainstorm a book and a movie they know that exemplifies the criterion • Students confer with teacher for each step of the reading/notetaking/writing process • Presentation of sample essay (with central, controlling idea and thesis statement) from Edgar Roberts’s text • All thesis statements typed and shared with students in all of the teacher’s AP classes

PROCESS ASSESSMENT: AP English Research Process Gradesheet

(Credit awarded for completion of assignment on date due. All steps of the research process must be completed before final paper will be accepted. Penalty will be assessed for late assignments.)

Assignment

Description

Date Due Date Submitted Grade/Comments

Primary Source Card

Primary Notecards

Secondary Source

Cards

Secondary Notecards

Works Consulted page

Preliminary Thesis

Revised Thesis

Preliminary Outline

Revised Outline

Rough Draft with In-

text Documentation

Works Cited page

Peer Critique

Writing Center

Critique

Final Draft

--MLA Format

--Title

--Introduction/Thesis

--Body/In-text

documentation

--Conclusion

--Works Cited

--Works Consulted

C4. Writing to Understand C4. Writing to Evaluate

C5. Teacher provides instruction and feedback on students’ writing before and after students revise their work. • Vocab, sentence

structure, organization, detail, voice, tone, emphasis

K. Review of literary terms and AP sample questions – all types – just prior to exam

(early May – in class practice; students are simultaneously working on independent project)

L. Additional Drama (end May, beginning June) – once independent paper is complete

1. Wilde. The Importance of Being Earnest Or Shaw. Pygmalion

M. Other options to teach during year

1. Faulkner. Light in August 2. Conrad. Heart of Darkness 3. Morrison. Song of Solomon 4. Wright. Native Son 5. Ellison. Invisible Man 6. Shakespeare. Hamlet

V. Assignments and Grading

o Prepared and in-class essays and journal on the reading o Individual and group presentations o Major critical paper on a literary topic independently selected and

precisely defined o Quizzes and tests (teacher discretion) o Preparation for College Board AP Exam