English IV & AP
December 2010
Exam prep--first draft--more to follow when I get further in the writing process
1. Lessons 1 – 12 in the vocabulary workbook. Definitely review those words and definitions for the exam. Probable format: matching. Probable length: 25 or so words with 35 or so definitions to choose from.
2. History of English, chapters 1, 2, & 3. Eras: Anglo-Saxon, Anglo-Norman, Renaissance. For each period, think about the major themes of language we have discussed. Which historical, political, or cultural factors most influenced the language at each stage of its development? What were the results of each of these historical forces? What examples from the language itself best illustrate the operation of these historical influences? Probable format: unknown
3. Beowulf
Key themes & terms: epic, hero, fate, honor, tribal values, kinship, kingship, leadership, warrior culture, wisdom, feuds, alliterative verse, kennings, role of women, political marriages, blending of pagan and Christian influences, boasting, revenge, loyalty, oral tradition, imbedded narratives (bards), historical importance, elegiac quality
4. Paradise Lost
Themes and terms: literary epic, blank verse, the fall, innocence, lust as innocence lost, temptation, rebellion and disobedience, free will, knowledge as Godliness, ambition, Satan as sympathetic antagonist?
5. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
Themes and terms: knighthood, courtly love, chivalry, alliterative revival, romance, courage, contest, Pentangle, honor and obligation, temptation and human weakness, hospitality,
6. General Prologue
Themes and terms: estates satire, iambic pentameter couplets, four humours, ideals, corruptions and abuses, uses of irony, humor, double entendre, tradition of pilgrimage, make-up of 14th century English society, social change, use of stereotypes, examples of various professions, frame narrative
7. Miller’s Tale
Themes and terms: Fabliau, narrative structure, plot and subplot, relationship between tale and teller, Miller’s personality revealed through tone and details, satire of courtly romance, idealism and justice, attitudes toward sex and gender
8. Pardoner’s Tale
Themes and terms: Exemplum, style of preaching, relationship between tale and teller, relationship of prologue to tale, relationship of Pardoner and Host, uses of irony
9. Twelfth Night
Themes and terms: Genre of comedy, relationship between serious and playful, relationship of plot and subplot, love, self-love, madness, revenge, duty, friendship, word play, gender roles, order and disorder, exaggeration, coincidence, disguise, probability of event
10. Multiple-choice reading comprehension
For AP students only. Probable format: Multiple choice (Duh!); probable length: 30 questions, 30 minutes
