Language Arts 11
This course surveys major literary works from the Western Canon, beginning with literature from Greco-Roman antiquity through the medieval period. We will examine the major questions that have informed the Western literary tradition: man’s understanding of his own experience in the world, and how that understanding is influenced by and in turn influences his relationship to God. In the pre-Christian tradition, we consider the ways in which the individual confronts the conditions of his own knowledge, morality, and place in society.
At every stage, the historical context of the literature — the relevant historical, social and philosophical concerns – will be integral to our understanding of the questions and concerns represented by the various authors.
This course will largely follow a chronological sequence; we will read one or two novels and one or two of Shakespeare’s plays with attention to thematic content, and we will likewise examine poetry from various periods that is thematically relevant, where it may not be chronologically contiguous. There will be careful attention paid to the historical conventions of poetry and its forms, and the analysis and understanding thereof.
Writing for the course focuses on both the traditional skills of literary analysis, but also thoughtful synthesis and reflection, and students can expect both analytical and creative writing assignments.
Readings include literature from the following authors (or works): Homer, Aeschylus, Sophocles, Virgil, Dante, Dostoevsky, two plays of Shakespeare, and many sonnets by various poets from the 16th century through 20th.
AP® English Language and Composition
(requires enrollment in Literature from the Western Canon for AP credit)
The course focuses on expository, analytical, personal, and argumentative texts and compositions, and the students focus on key skills for synthesis in reading and writing. By itself, it provides more in-depth practice in the analytical study of all modes of writing: students build close reading/analytical skills, practice written rhetorical analysis, study literary terms and rhetorical figures and strategies to build their understanding of writing and rhetoric. This course is intended to prepare students to successfully complete the AP exam in English Language and Composition.