AP English IV: Literature

In AP, we will work on helping you to become a stronger writer and more critical thinker. We will focus on deep criticism of literature and effective writing. In the words of the critic Northrop Frye, “The skill developed from constant practice in the direct experience of literature is a special skill, like playing the piano, not the expression of a general attitude to life, like singing in the shower.”

Our goal will be to appreciate literature on this more analytical level, as critics, not merely readers. We will write, perhaps more than you ever have, and discuss in depth issues from the classroom content and outside. If everything goes as planned, this will be a course that will provide a constant challenge as well as a frequent source of amusement.