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APLiteratureSummerReading
Gothicism, Poe, POEms, and Other Scary Things that Go Bump in the Summer!
Required Texts
“The Philosophy of Composition”
[Lexile Level 1600]
“The Fall of the House of Usher”
[Lexile Level 1700]
“The Raven”
[Lexile Level 1530]
(*Lexile levels refer to the text complexity. These selections have relatively high lexile levels and should be read carefully
and thoroughly. Reading takes time. Savor it!)
Summer Assignment:
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Read the short biography of E. A. Poe at the Poe Museum’s Website: a. http://www.poemuseum.org/life.php Read and annotate the three texts above. You should annotate with three separate foci: vocabulary (highlight in yellow), literary/ poetic techniques (highlight in blue), and similarities to the author’s life (highlight in green). a. Annotate‐ Remember that there is no annotation fairy who will magically answer any questions that you scrawl in the margins. Questions are great, but you are responsible for making an attempt to answer them. b. Define vocabulary words that you do not know. Any vocabulary that you have encountered in any of your readings is fair game on tests and quizzes. It is your responsibility as an AP level reader to look up new words. c. Highlighting is not annotating. The highlighting will give me an idea as to what you are working on, but your notes in the margins are important. d. Note: “The Philosophy of Composition” is a non‐fiction essay. There may be very few things highlighted in green in that one. That is OK. Complete the graphic organizer below. You will need to do some external research to answer some of the questions. The more complete your assignment is, the better you will do on the tests and quizzes when you come back. Organize your annotated texts and competed graphic organizer in a 1” three ring binder. There should be five sections separated by tabs. a. Section one: Completed assignment b. Annotated “The Philosophy of Composition” c. Annotated “The Fall of the House of Usher” d. Annotated “The Raven” e. A blank copy of the rubric Note: Your summer reading assignment can be typed or handwritten. Illegible handwritten assignments will be returned for re‐write and considered late. Poorly formatted typed assignments will be returned for re‐type and considered late. Gothicism, Poe, POEms, and Other Scary Things that Go Bump in the Summer! Name: Class: Before returning to school, you will need to read the assigned stories, poems and essays to complete this assignment. This organizer will guide your reading and prepare you for the quiz, discussions and related assignments. You may use this packet for the quiz. This packet is due on the first day of school. SECTION 1 History Details: In what time period were these stories Discuss the genre of Romanticism. How does that written? What was going on in the world? How did the influence Poe and the Gothic writers? historical context influence the texts? MLA Citation/s of Other Sources of Information: In your own words, summarize biographical How might the author’s background (biographical information about the author: information) have influenced his or decision to write these stories and/or influenced the writer’s message? MLA Citation/s of Website/s Used: 1
SECTION 2 Key Characters from “The Fall of the House of Usher”: Authors create character in four ways: (1.)what the character does, (2.) what they say, (3.) how others relate to them and (4.) how they look. Find one each of these concrete details for the characters below which reveal important traits. Provide commentary to support your choices. Commentary should not be summary but analysis. Explore the difference between summary and analysis before you begin this section. Name Roderick Usher Character Details with page numbers 1. 2. 3. 4. 2
Commentary 1. 2. 3. 4. The Narrator 1. 2. 3. 4. 1. 2. 3. 4. 3
Key Characters from “The Raven”: Authors create character in four ways: (1.)what the character does, (2.) what they say, (3.) how others relate to them and (4.) how they look. Find one each of these concrete details for the characters below which reveal important traits. Provide commentary to support your choices. Commentary should not be summary but analysis. Explore the difference between summary and analysis before you begin this section. Name The Narrator Character Details with page numbers 1. 2. 3. 4. 4
Commentary 1. 2. 3. 4. The Raven 1. 2. 3. 4. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5
SECTION 3 Characterization: In 10‐12 sentence paragraph, explore how Poe characterizes Roderick’s relationship with his sister. Provide concrete details to support your explanation, embedding those concrete details in your response. Notice how the below quote is a fluent part of the sentence as a whole; it is not merely placed in the sentence awkwardly. Example: By the end of the novel, Huck declares that he “can’t stand” the idea of being adopted by Aunt Sally (Twain 324). 6
Section 4‐ Making Inferences Using Rhetoric In a 10‐12 sentence paragraph, identify one central argument that the narrator makes about the origins and/ or motivations of the bird. Include textual support in the form of direct quotations and at least one example of a specific rhetorical strategy (e.g. Irony, Aphorism, Rhyme, Allusion) that Poe uses to advance this argument. Notice how the below quote is a fluent part of the sentence as a whole; it is not merely placed in the sentence awkwardly. Example: By the end of the novel, Huck declares that he “can’t stand” the idea of being adopted by Aunt Sally (Twain 324). 7
SECTION 5 Theme: Theme is an author’s implied message to the reader about a specific topic. A theme will not be stated directly; instead, a reader must infer the theme through literary elements in the novel. A theme is not the same as a topic, which can usually be expressed in a word or two such as “love,” “childhood,” or “death.” The theme is an opinion the writer wishes to express about that topic. It can be expressed in at least one complete sentence that contains both the topic and the opinion about that topic. For example, the topic of a novel might be love, but the theme might be stated as “Love is more powerful than family loyalty.” In order to identify a theme in a novel, the reader has to think about all the elements of the work and use them to make an inference ‐ or educated guess ‐ based on details from the novel, concerning what the author is suggesting through the text about the topic. Theme Topics Commitment Friendship Loyalty Compassion Guilt Prejudice Courage/cowardice Heart vs. Reason Respect Cruelty/violence Hope Responsibility Disillusionment Integrity Dreams Loneliness Identifying a Theme: Select a significant topic that is addressed in “The Raven” and one in “The Fall of the House of Usher”. Provide 3 quotations that address your topic and explain what each quotation suggests about your topic. “The Raven” Topic: Quotations that address topic Commentary to explain what your quote reveals about the topic 1. 1. 2. Page Number: ____ 8
Quotations that address topic 2. Page Number: ____ 3. Page Number: ____ Commentary to explain what your quote reveals about the topic 1. 2. 1. 2. 9
“The Fall of the House of Usher” Topic: Quotations that address topic Commentary to explain what your quote reveals about the topic 1. Page Number: ____ Quotations that address topic 1. 2. 2. Page Number: ____ 1. 2. Commentary to explain what your quote reveals about the topic 10
3. 1. 2. Page Number: ____ Thesis Statement: In a complete sentence, explain what the author is saying about the theme topic you selected for each selection. Remember that the thesis must contain both the topic and the author’s opinion about that topic. (So, you should have two thesis statements below.) Example: In his novel 1984, Orwell suggests that personal freedom is incompatible with a totalitarian government. In the above example of a thesis statement, the subject is underlined and the opinion is bolded for the purpose of illustration. “The Raven” “The Fall of the House of Usher” 11