English 12-1

The Fundamentals

Enduring Understandings

For a detailed description of the legion of standards, goals, requirements, benchmarks, rubrics, expectations, and data-driven outcomes to which this course conforms or aspires to conform, refer to the syllabi posted in another part of this wiki. For something more human friendly and useful, see below.

By the time this course is over, you should be able to...

• read closely by analyzing the words on the page ("text-rooted" analysis)
• read closely by analyzing connotations and layers of meaning
• read closely by analyzing a text's tone, structure, diction, and imagery for their metaphorical values
• analyze and explicate literary texts on several levels of interpretation
• explain how irony-- verbal, situational, and dramatic-- and paradox function in a literary text
• understand characters in terms of internal conflict
• understand poetry in terms of its tone and structure