Pentucket Regional High School

Teacher __Mr. Voltero___________________ Subject__A.P. English_______________

Time Frame	Essential Questions	Content/Concepts	Skills/Thinking Processes	Assessment
September	What is an epic poem? What are the characteristics of Anglo-Saxon epic poetry? What are the thematic concerns in Beowulf? What is a “chivalric romance”? What are the characteristics of a chivalric romance? What are the thematic concerns in Morte D’Arthur? What are the basic tenets of American Transcendentalism? Why is Hawthorne considered to be an “anti-Transcendentalist” writer? What does it mean to cite a literary character who is an “outsider”? Why are the elements of irony, symbolism and characterization so important in The Scarlet Letter? Why is Benjamin Franklin considered to be “the first American, the ‘prototype’ American”? What is “Autobiography”? How does Franklin’s life and workreflect the philosophy of the Neoclassical Age? What is the philosophy of “Romanticism”? How does Wordsworth reflect the Romantic philosophy in his poetry? In what sense is Emerson’s Nature the so-called “Bible” of American Trancendentalism? In what ways is Romantic philosophy reflected in Emerson’s work? Why is Henry David Thoreau considered to be a kind of “hands-on” or “pragmatic” Transcendental writer? How is Thoreau’s philosophy reflected in Walden? In what sense is does Robert Frost use nature as an emblem to promote his thematic concerns? What are the characteristics of Robert Frost’s poetry? In what sense does Melville portray the problems inherent in the lives of modern day men and women in “Bartleby the Scrivener?” What is the literary philosophy of “Realism”? In what sense does Twain reflect the philosophy of Realism in “The Chronicle of Young Satan”? In what sense can “The Chronicle” be considered to be the first realistic American novel? What is the philosophy of “Existentialism”? How does Kafka reflect the philosophy of Existentialism in “The Metamorhosis”?	Review and analyze summer reading: Beowulf Malory - Morte D’Arthur Hawthorne Scarlet Letter - excerpts Franklin – Autobiograpy - excerpts Wordsworth selected poems Emerson – Nature, “Self-Reliance,” “Fate Thoreau – Walden selections Frost – selected poems Melville -“Bartleby” Twain - “The Chronicle of Young Satan” Kafka - The Metamorphosis Scholes – “Elements of Fiction” Roberts – “The Theme of Character Analysis Roberts – “Something About Language” Roberts – “Writing Themes About Literature” Papers
October November December	What is the difference between a “tale” and a “short story”? Which of Boccaccio’s narratives are tales”? Which are short stories? What are the elements that distinguish the tale from the short story? How does Boccaccio help to usher in the writing of short stories and novels? In what sense is The Decameron unlike the mystical and religious literature typical of the Middle Ages? In what sense does Sir Gawain and the Green Knight reflect the genre of the chivalric romance? What are the writing techniques employed by the Pearl Poet? In what ways does Sir Gawain reflect the literature and philosophy of the Middle Ages? What are the writing techniques employed by Katherine Mansfield in the short story entitled “Miss Brill”? Why is characterization, setting and irony particularly important in the story? Is Elizabeth Bowen’s “Miss Brill” a “horror story,” or are there more realistic and serious literary implications that should be dealt with in the story? What are the writing techniques employed by Bowen in the story? In what sense is The Secret Sharer a “coming of age” novel? In what sense are setting, characterization, and symbol pivotal in relation to understanding of the novel? What are Conrad’s specific thematic concerns? What do author’s mean when they cite the phrase “man’s condition”? In what sense does Conrad explore the idea of man’s condition in Heart of Darkness? What is allegory? In what sense does Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales reflect the allegorical approach? What is satire? What are the writing techniques employed by Chaucer in he writing of The Canterbury Tales? Chaucer continued What is a “literary ballad”? What are the typical thematic concerns voiced in the ballad” What are the poetic techniques employed by the ballad writer? How are such devices as assonance, apostrophe, blank verse, the caesura, canto, conceit, denotation, connotation, ellipsis, metaphor, simile and the many other poetic writing techiques employed the poets dealt with in this poetry unit?	Boccaccio – The Decameron Pearl Poet – Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Mansfield – “Miss Brill” Bowen – “The Demon Lover” Papers Conrad – The Secret Sharer Heart of Darkness Chaucer – The Canterbury Tales G.K. Chesterton – “Chaucer” Roberts – “The Theme Discussing Ideas” Roberts – “The Theme on a Specific Problem” Papers Introduction to Poetry Ballads “Sir Patrick Spens” “The Wife of Usher’s Well” “The Three Ravens” “The Twa Corbies” “The Demon Lover” “Go, Lovely Rose” “To His Coy Mistress” Donne - “A Valediction Forbidding Mourning” Papers
January	What are the poetic techniques employed the poets in this unit? (see above) What is a sonnet? What are the thematic concerns in the poems cited?	Hughes – “Hawk Rooting” Waller – “Blame Not My Cheeks” “Follow thy Fair Sun” Herrick – “To Finde God” Johnson – “On My First Son” “To Heaven” Marvell – “To His Coy Mistress” Shakespeare – sonnets “Lord Randall” Herrick - “His Prayer to Ben Johnson “An Ode for Ben Johnson” Ben Johnson – “To Heaven” “On My First Son” “To John Donne” Barron’s Ed. Series “The Elements of Poetry” Modern English Handbook “Usage and Economy in Words Roberts – “The Theme Analyzing Structure” “The Theme About Point of View “The Theme Analyzing Tone” Perrine – “Figurative Language” “Imagery” Brooks and Warren – “Imagery” Roberts – “The Theme on Imagery” Brooks and Warren – “Theme:Statement and Idea” Perrine – “Meaning and Idea” “Sound and Meaning” Papers <