Introduction
To create art, in my opinion, is by its very nature a social act. It is the action of a person who has an agenda, however ethereal it may seem to the consumer of the content. Oftentimes, in high school English classes, there is a focus on a specific type of art within literature. For example, during the past 20 years there has been a clear shift from delivering fiction to delivering non-fiction with a focus on the understanding of factual details within the text. Yes, there are clearly factual details that can be found in both broad genres just as there can be factual details drawn out of all types of art. In my estimation, the challenge lies in the delivery of the content and the choices educators make in choosing their focus on the type of art being studied in the class. There are lots of directions that one can take with a text. Each will lead to a variety of different outcomes and it is the responsibility of the educator to outline a path.
This unit will tie together all the texts covered in an Advanced Placement (AP) Literature class. It will use poetry as the method for better understanding fictional literature. The AP test covers many types of literature, and it does so in a variety of ways. The students will need a firm understanding of literary terms as well as a digested and thoughtful understanding of authorial intent when examining a text. This unit will not stand alone within a set four to six-week time frame. It will rather extend from the first week of the class through the last week of the class. We will study poetry every week as commentary, to better understand the complex themes in each novel or play. This will provide a nuanced and hopefully well-rounded understanding of the themes presented over the course of the year. It will also serve to solidify all AP requirements for the studying of both prose and poetry. Lastly, and most importantly, the point at which both the poetry and the prose meet will be an important jumping off point for studying the art and the intent of both works. These works, unquestionably, have been placed within the purview of the reader for some specific reason, and hopefully through analysis we will have an understanding of why. We will constantly be striving to understand why these singular works of art were created. We will study fiction, specifically in relation to these poems, as we constantly question why they were created and look for the intent of each work.
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