To:       Rising  12 AP English Literature and Composition Seniors

From:   The CCHS English Department

Date:   2008-2009

 

The CCHS English Department  believes summer reading complements our curriculum and benefits our students by providing challenging, interesting literature that stimulates the intellect and the imagination.  Like athletes training in the off-season, students continue reading to exercise the skills required for doing their best.  Further, these selections provide common bases for diagnostic assessments of student performance, from basic reading comprehension to the identification and application of literary terms to the more formal analysis of imagery, themes, and genres.  Engaging, provocative stories set the academic tone and expectations for the upcoming school year. 

 

The 12AP English Literature and Composition class is structured according to the system of study presented in Northrup Frye’s archetypal mythoi.  To demonstrate your understanding of the summer texts as examples of these mythoi, complete the following:

 

1.      Download and read the definitions of Frye’s mythoi found at www.gocougars.org

 

  1. Read the books listed below in the order they appear, marking significant passages and making notes in the margins as you read:

ü      Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Trans. Burton Raffel (ISBN 0-451-62823-3)

ü      Sophocles. Oedipus the King  (ISBN 0-486-26877-2)

ü      Voltaire. Candide. (ISBN 0-486-26689-3)

ü      Oscar Wilde.  The Importance of Being Earnest (ISBN 0-486-26478-5)

 

3.      From each text – Gawain for Romance, Oedipus for Tragedy, Candide for Satire, and Earnest for Comedy, compile a list of images and quotations that demonstrate an extensive number and variety of the characteristics of its particular archetypal genre. This compilation should comprise a minimum of ten passages from each work. Upon return to school you should be prepared to explain how the images or quotes you select from each text illustrate the features of its genre.

 

Completed assignments will be due soon after your return to classes and particularly effective ones will help you prepare for the objective and subjective assessments on the readings.

 

We look forward to a challenging but rewarding year ahead.  Enjoy the readings and have a restful summer!