Required Reading entails the following three works.
(Ultimately these works will be discussed in depth in class as part of preparation for the AP English exam.)
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Henrik Ibsen
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A Doll’s House – (Drama/Social Commentary)
Assessment: For this required reading, students will locate five (5) meaningful quotations from the play, explaining in a brief paragraph the dramatic significance of each. That is, identify/discuss for each quotation either the theme, character trait, irony, imagery, or tone, etc., which the passage dramatizes. The assignment should produce a two-page paper, typed and double-spaced. Be certain to give the necessary publication information for the edition used, following the MLA style. Papers will be collected the first full week of class. |
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Thomas Hardy
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The Mayor of Casterbridge – (Fiction)
(Amsco ed. is preferred, but any unabridged edition is acceptable.)
This work is Hardy’s compelling exploration of the psyche of Michael Henchard, an impulsive man of violent passions, and his attempts to atone for having sold his wife and infant daughter at a village fair.
Assessment: Students will be tested early in September on Mayor of Casterbridge. Close reading of this novel is an absolute requirement for success in analytical discussion and composition. Do NOT rely merely on study guides of any sort. |
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Sophocles
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Antigone – (Drama)
This Greek tragedy is available in the student’s Norton Anthology text.
A part of the trilogy about the downfall of the house of Atreus, this tragedy deals with Antigone, the daughter of Oedipus, king of Thebes. After having cared for her blind father in his self-imposed exile, Antigone returns to Thebes and defies her uncle Creon in a conflict of principles: that of her conscience and familial loyalty versus the law of one man. |
Additional Recommended Reading:
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Christopher Marlowe
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The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus – (Drama)
The essential plot of the story of Faustus is simple. Tired of his own limitations and the pettiness of human knowledge, Faustus turns to magic. He makes a contract with Lucifer: in exchange for 24 years of earthly pleasure, Faustus will become Lucifer’s slave for all eternity. The legend of the man who sold his soul for knowledge and power originated in Germany but has been used by composers and writers throughout the world. |
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Robert Bolt
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A Man for All Seasons - (Drama)
As a result of his controversy with Henry VIII, Sir Thomas More, a devout Catholic, goes to his death rather than violate his conscience in this play set in sixteenth century England. |
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T. S. Eliot
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Murder in the Cathedral - (Drama)
The assassination of English Archbishop Thomas Becket is re-created with depth and vitality by this great poet. This drama is beneficial in understanding the background of THE CANTERBURY TALES, an essential piece of the English literary canon. |
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Thomas Hardy
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Far from the Madding Crowd – (Novel)
This nineteenth century pastoral novel addresses the forces of fate versus the individual’s personal control over his own destiny. Three men seek the love of Bathsheba Everdene in this romantic novel of betrayal and murder in rural England. |
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Thomas Hardy
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Return of the Native – (Novel)
A dramatic story of passion and revolt, this Victorian novel tells the story of the beautiful Eustacia Vye as she struggles to break away from the solemn and brooding heath of southern England. |
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Emily Bronte
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Wuthering Heights – (Novel)
Love, hate, and revenge are themes in this haunting and poignant story of intense and frustrated lives, set in the wild moors of England. |
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Oscar Wilde
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The Picture of Dorian Gray – (Novel)
A handsome young man’s portrait becomes a mirror, increasingly grotesque, of his true inner self. |
Daphne du Maurier
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Rebecca – (Novel)
The new mistress of Manderley, despite all her good intentions and devotion to her new husband, finds she can never compete with the “presence” of Rebecca, whose haunting memory is immortalized by the unscrupulous Mrs. Danvers. |
C. Miller – AP English 12 NAME________________________
Summer Reading Paper DUE DATE: Wed., August 31, 2011
You should have completed reading Ibsen’s A Doll’s House. Your assignment is to submit a paper (probably at least two pages in length) in which you have chosen five (5) significant quotes from the play. These quotes should come from throughout the drama, not just the first few pages. (Show me you completed the reading.)
After numbering and single-space-copying each quote (listing page number), you will write a double-spaced paragraph (or two) explaining the significance of the passage. Your paragraph should focus on one of several topics: irony, character analysis, conflict, theme, or symbol. Your quotations may be in the form of dialogue or straight prose. (Do not forget to use quotation marks if you use dialogue.) You should briefly indicate the necessary conditions or plot surrounding the chosen passage, but my main concern is your insightful interpretation of the meaning behind the quote. Always proofread carefully. (Use Spell Check or Grammar Check.)
At the end of your paper, list the edition (MLA format) you used for your quoted passages.
Pledge your work and reading. Please do not disappoint either of us with trying to circumvent academic integrity. It never works.