Texts for Literature and Composition
English II: Literature and Composition
Literature and Composition Study Guide
What does Literature and Composition cover?
Literature and Composition is a college-preparatory literature and composition course. Focus works, including novels, short stories, poems, and drama, have been selected for literary quality, and for their place in the historical development of literature. Context readings provide background information about the author, the historical period, and the literary and artistic context of the focus work.
Students will gain an understanding of the development of literature and will practice the skills of close literary analysis through essays, approach papers, and other evaluative writing. You may learn more about how I chose the literature for Excellence in Literature in How I Chose Books for Excellence in Literature .
You may view all the other books on the Everyday Education site.
Literature and Composition: English 2
This Literature and Composition study guide is available for purchase at the Everyday Education website. In addition to the study guide, you will also need the focus texts for Literature and Composition. These are the classic books your student will read.
There is also an honors track available for this course. You can view a list of the honors texts here.
Focus Texts for Literature and Composition
Unit 1: Robinson Crusoe by Daniel DeFoe
Honors: The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann David Wyss or The Further Adventures of Robinson Crusoe by Daniel DeFoe
Optional: The book of Jonah (any translation) and Grace Abounding to the Chiefest of Sinners by John BunyanUnit 2: Walden by Henry David Thoreau
Honors: “Civil Disobedience” by Henry David Thoreau and “Self-Reliance” by Ralph Waldo Emerson
The book shown above is a collection of Thoreau writings which includes the focus text, Walden, as well as the honors text, “Civil Disobedience.” We have not yet reviewed the other material in this collection.
Unit 3: The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
Honors: The Man in the Iron Mask or The Three Musketeers by DumasUnit 4: The Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
The book shown above is a collection of Conrad’s writings including the work we recommend, Heart of Darkness. We have not yet reviewed the other material included in this collection.
The complete text of Heart of Darkness is available in the Norton Anthology of English Literature (9th edition, Vol. 2) and you may also find it in earlier editions of the Norton Anthology as well.
Honors: Manalive by G.K. Chesterton
Unit 5: Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis
Honors: The Screwtape Letters by C.S. LewisUnit 6: Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather
Honors: Country of the Pointed Firs by Sarah Orne JewettUnit 7: Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare
Honors: King John by William ShakespeareUnit 8: Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott
Honors: Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare or Rob Roy by ScottUnit 9: The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde
The book shown above is a collection of Wilde plays including the one we recommend, The Importance of Being Earnest. We have not yet reviewed the other plays included in this collection.
The complete text of The Importance of Being Earnest is available in the Norton Anthology of English Literature (9th edition, Vol. 2) and you may also find it in earlier editions of the Norton Anthology as well.
Honors: Kim by Rudyard Kipling
_________________________________________________NOTE: One of our loyal curriculum users provided the following list of the units, organized by chronological order. You may opt to study them this way, as well. The original order was selected in order to alternate longer, more challenging works with shorter ones. Either way works just fine. Enjoy!
Renaissance: Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare(1564-1616)
Neo-Classical: Robinson Crusoe by Daniel DeFoe (c. 1660-1731)
English Romanticism: Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832)
Romanticism: The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas (1802-1870)
American Romanticism: Walden by Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862)
Romantic Victorian: The Importance of Being Earnest: A Trivial Comedy for Serious People by Oscar Wilde
(1854-1900)
The book shown above is a collection of Wilde plays including the one we recommend, The Importance of Being Earnest. We have not yet reviewed the other plays included in this collection.
The complete text of The Importance of Being Earnest is available in the Norton Anthology of English Literature (9th edition, Vol. 2) and you may also find it in earlier editions of the Norton Anthology as well.
Modernism: The Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad (1857-1924)
The book shown above is a collection of Conrad’s writings including the work we recommend, Heart of Darkness. We have not yet reviewed the other material included in this collection.
The complete text of Heart of Darkness is available in the Norton Anthology of English Literature (9th edition, Vol. 2) and you may also find it in earlier editions of the Norton Anthology as well.
Modernist/Regional: Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather (1873-1947)
Modern Myth: Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis (1898-1965)
Note: Books shown above are focus texts only. Context reading will be assigned on the syllabus. The honors texts are listed here.
Optional Resources
Your student will need a good writer’s handbook in order to develop the habit of looking up things when a question arrises. Every professional writer and editor I have encountered has several handbooks, as each has a different focus and use; but for your student, one or two should be adequate. Here are two options:
Excellence in Literature Handbook for Writers
This writer’s handbook has two parts. The first section provides detailed instructions on how to construct essays and arguments, and the second second is a manual of grammar, style, and usage. This is a book that will be useful from high school into college.
Writer’s Inc. is a time-tested high school handbook that is chock-full of helpful tips and advice on writing, style and usage, and more. This is especially useful as a first handbook for writing students.
Catalog – Other levels of EIL
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