Q1 & Q2 Prompts
In George Moses Horton’s poem “On Summer,” published in 1829, the author describes multiple aspects of summer in a rural area. Read the poem carefully. Then, in a well-written essay, analyze how Horton uses literary elements and techniques to develop a complex portrayal of the setting.
What is the complex portrayal of the setting?
For a Q1 and Q2, it's helpful to do this first when you are trying to figure out what the prompt is asking.
What is identify the primary and secondary question?
"Her hair like somethin tail"
What is a simile?
“Learn this now and learn it well. Like a compass facing north, a man’s accusing finger always finds a woman. Always. You remember that...”
Who is Nana?
Many works of literature feature a character who may be reluctant to make a decision, unable to make a decision, or is resistant to doing so. This indecision can have broader implications for that character or other characters. Such implications may include changes to a character’s relationships, social and/or financial stability, well-being, or any other aspects of the character’s existence. Either from your own reading or from the list below, choose a work of fiction in which a character delays or avoids making a decision. Then, in a well-written essay, analyze how the impact of this indecision contributes to an interpretation of the work as a whole. Do not merely summarize the plot.
Who is a character that delays or avoids making a decision?
The following excerpt is from Nisi Shawl’s novel Everfair, published in 2016. In this passage, the narrator describes the experience of a young woman, Lisette, as she rides her bicycle through the French countryside in July 1889. Read the passage carefully. Then, in a well-written essay, analyze how Shawl uses literary elements and techniques to portray Lisette’s complex response to her experience of riding her bicycle.
What is Lisette's complex response to her experience of riding her bicycle?
For a Q3, it's helpful to do this first when you are trying to figure out what the prompt wants you to do.
What is identifying the tasks in the question?
"the marvelous air smelling of crushed stems"
What is imagery?
“You always have a green light that burns all night at the end of your dock.”
Who is Gatsby?
Many works of literature feature a rebel character who changes or disrupts the existing state of societal, familial, or political affairs in the text. They may break social norms, challenge long-held values, subvert expectations, or participate in other forms of resistance. The character’s motivation for this rebellious behavior is often complex. Either from your own reading or from the list below, choose a work of fiction in which a character changes or disrupts the existing state of societal, familial, or political affairs. Then, in a well-written essay, analyze how the complex motivation of the rebel contributes to an interpretation of the work as a whole
Who is a character that changes or disrupts the existing state of societal, familial, or political affairs?
In John Rollin Ridge’s poem “To a Star Seen at Twilight,” published in 1868, the speaker admires a solitary star shining at twilight and considers its significance. Read the poem carefully. Then, in a well-written essay, analyze how Ridge uses literary elements and techniques to convey the speaker’s complex reflection on the star.
What is the speaker's complex reflection on the star?
You can leave this out of your thesis, if you can't think of one right away.
What is a thematic idea?
"The business of her life was to get her daughters married; its solace was visiting and news."
What is a metaphor?
“...have you ever found God in church? I never did. I just found a bunch of folks hoping for him to show. Any God I ever felt in church I brought in with me. And I think all the other folks did too. They come to church to share God, not find God.”
Who is Shug Avery?
In literary works, cruelty often functions as a crucial motivation or a major social or political factor. Select a novel, play, or epic poem in which acts of cruelty are important to the theme. Then write a well-developed essay analyzing how cruelty functions in the work as a whole and what the cruelty reveals about the perpetrator and/or victim.
What is a story where cruelty is important to the theme?
The following excerpt is from Jane Urquhart’s novel The Night Stages, published in 2015. In this passage, an artist named Kenneth is finishing a mural for a new airline terminal using the long-established medium of egg tempera, a paint made of egg yolk, pigment, and water. He thinks about the influences on his work and how his mural may be received. Read the passage carefully. Then, in a well-written essay, analyze how Urquhart uses literary elements and techniques to convey Kenneth’s complex perspective as he completes his mural.
What is Kenneth's complex perspective as he completes his mural?
Utilizing this strategy is helpful when writing your commentary.
What is the What-How-Why strategy?
“One could not count the moons that shimmer on her roofs, Or the thousand splendid suns that hide behind her walls.”
What is a symbol?
“I hope she'll be a fool -- that's the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool.”
Who is Daisy Buchanan?
Some works of literature focus on the conflict that can arise when characters of different generations respond to the same situation. Select a novel or play in which such contrasting perspectives play a pivotal role. Then write a well-organized essay in which you analyze how the opposing viewpoints and values of older and younger characters contribute to the meaning of the work as a whole.
What is a novel or play where opposing viewpoints and values of older and younger characters contribute to the meaning of the work as a whole?
In Ai’s poem “The Man with the Saxophone,” published in 1985, the speaker encounters a man playing a saxophone. Read the poem carefully. Then, in a well-written essay, analyze how Ai uses literary elements and techniques to convey the complexity of the speaker’s encounter with the saxophone player at that particular time and place.
What is the complexity of the speaker’s encounter with the saxophone player at that particular time and place?
This is the quickest way to annotate in AP Lit.
What is the BME strategy?
Celie's character vs. Sofia's character.
What is juxtaposition?
“...I could easily forgive his pride, if he had not mortified mine.”
Who is Elizabeth Bennet?
A symbol is an object, action, or event that represents something or that creates a range of associations beyond itself. In literary works a symbol can express an idea, clarify meaning, or enlarge literal meaning. Select a novel or play and, focusing on one symbol, write an essay analyzing how that symbol functions in the work and what it reveals about the characters or themes of the work as a whole. Do not merely summarize the plot
How does a symbol function in the work, and what does it reveal about the theme?