Literary Focus: "America"

Students will learn how to properly analyze a poem through the "four pillars" of literary analysis:  diction, imagery, language, and syntax.  They will also learn how poets use various poetic devices -- such as alliteration/assonance, rhyme/rhythm/meter, and parallel structure -- to establish tone and convey theme.  If time, students will also learn how to structure an AP Poetry Analysis essay by using the rhetorical framework of Hegel’s dialectic.

I have a B.A. in English from Dartmouth College and an M.A. in Education from Stanford University.  For the past thirty years, I have taught English in a wide variety of educational settings -- from a private school on Maui, Hawaii, to a Catholic school in Portland, Oregon, to an inner-city charter school in Springfield, Massachusetts.  Most recently, I taught freshman and senior English at the Winter Sports School in Park City, Utah, where I also served as the school's Director of Curriculum and Instruction.  In 2021 I started an online academic enrichment / professional development nonprofit organization -- Literary Focus, Inc. -- and offer classes on Outschool in the winter and summer months to continue teaching on a part-time basis.

While it is not required, students are encouraged to read the poem and try to complete the study guide before attending class.  The more familiar students are with the poem, the more in-depth we can go in our analysis.

Since this is a single-day class, there are no assessments.  If students would like to learn how to write an AP Poetry Analysis essay, however, I encourage them to enroll in one of my four-week classes studying a full-length novel or play.  When introducing the major works in those classes, we start by analyzing a poem related in theme.  Students then have the option of writing an AP Poetry Analysis essay and receiving individual feedback during weekly writing conferences.

50 minutes per week in class, and an estimated 0 - 1 hours per week outside of class.