Novel/Play Review Assignment April 22

Post date: Apr 22, 2019 12:1:52 AM

Looking ahead to the A.P. exam and/or our final exam, you want to have 8-10 novels and plays in your “toolkit” to possibly write about. The activity you are starting today will help with that. You may work collaboratively on books/plays you have in common with others. This will probably lead to some fluidity in groups, which is fine. But each individual should complete and turn in this activity.

1) Decide on 8-10 novel-length (or at least novella-length) works and plays that you have read or studied. You may want to revisit the list we compiled, which is available here on our blog in an earlier post.

Choose at least one work that fits each of these categories:

· A pre-20^th century novel

· A 20^th century novel

· A Shakespearean play

· A non-Shakespearean play

· A book in which war and/or its effects play a major role

· A satirical work

· A work that focuses on the experiences of a marginalized group (women, ethnic/racial groups, etc.)

2) For each work you choose, you should review and compile the following:

· A list of major characters with descriptions of key traits

· A description of the setting, again with key details

· A summary of major plot points

· A description of major conflicts/tensions within the work

· A list of themes and recurring ideas present in the work

· A description of the author’s general style (consider level of diction and general syntactical style, as well as other stylistic features that seem to matter). Look for PDFs of books if needed.

· Applicable schools of literary criticism AND how they would apply. Use the handout we got earlier this semester that focuses on types of literary criticism and their characteristics.

***Please use a separate sheet of paper for each of these, and write as neatly as you can. We want these to be “shareable” with others.

AND REMEMBER: These should be works of fiction.