50p
AP English Lit - Hyperbole and High Tea
Given that an AP is the equivalent of a first year university course, most students take APs with the end goal of being better prepared for their chosen major or obtaining college credits so that they can skip over some courses at university. For example, someone planning to major in Political Sciences would (likely) not take AP Physics.
However, AP English Literature and Composition is unique in that it can benefit any student, and many have claimed it was the best class they took in high school to prepare themselves for university. Maxine P, Alexandra ‘23, commended the course, stating, “AP Lit has encouraged me to delve into older works of literature and gain an appreciation for nuanced literary techniques”.
AP English Lit is a highly interdisciplinary class, as it covers relevant historical events and cultural norms in order to give students context for the variety of literary works they read. The College Board claims that by taking this course, pupils will gain “a set of analytical skills they will use throughout their lives”.
“AP Literature challenges me in all sorts of ways”, said Nick C, Rogers ‘23, “I’ve never had to critically think of poems, plays and novels like I do in that class”.
Ms Edna Widenmaier, who has taught the course for many years and also has experience in marking the exams, claims that no matter what field students are planning on going into, they can still benefit from the class because it is so interdisciplinary and all-encompassing. “There is a past that has created you — a genetic imprint — and part of that past is what people have written about their culture”, she claims.
Additionally, Ms Widenmaier hopes that by teaching the course she can help cultivate a generation of young people who have an appreciation for literature and consider themselves to be readers for life, since it has had such a profound impact on her own life. Reminiscing about her past, she said, “I fell in love with literature at the age of four. My Papa — who was my Nanny’s husband — used to take me to Kew Gardens, and we would walk among the flowers and eat watercress sandwiches. He would read me Great Expectations, and eventually the words started making sense to me”.
At the end of our discussion, Ms Widenmaier showed me this quote, which I think perfectly encapsulates the enduring quality of literature:
“Time that is intolerant
Of the brave and innocent,
And indifferent in a week
To a beautiful physique
Worships language and forgives
Everyone by whom it lives”
— W.H. Auden’s 1940 memorial to William Butler Yeat Now that the AP exam is a thing of the past, the two AP Lit classes are preparing for their annual Jane Austen Tea Party hosted by the Wilson family on Whiskey Point. Costumes have been fitted by Ms Sally Smith and Ms Amy Staples will lead us in dance lessons tomorrow and Saturday.
High Tea is served!
Emma W, Alexandra ‘23
However, AP English Literature and Composition is unique in that it can benefit any student, and many have claimed it was the best class they took in high school to prepare themselves for university. Maxine P, Alexandra ‘23, commended the course, stating, “AP Lit has encouraged me to delve into older works of literature and gain an appreciation for nuanced literary techniques”.
AP English Lit is a highly interdisciplinary class, as it covers relevant historical events and cultural norms in order to give students context for the variety of literary works they read. The College Board claims that by taking this course, pupils will gain “a set of analytical skills they will use throughout their lives”.
“AP Literature challenges me in all sorts of ways”, said Nick C, Rogers ‘23, “I’ve never had to critically think of poems, plays and novels like I do in that class”.
Ms Edna Widenmaier, who has taught the course for many years and also has experience in marking the exams, claims that no matter what field students are planning on going into, they can still benefit from the class because it is so interdisciplinary and all-encompassing. “There is a past that has created you — a genetic imprint — and part of that past is what people have written about their culture”, she claims.
Additionally, Ms Widenmaier hopes that by teaching the course she can help cultivate a generation of young people who have an appreciation for literature and consider themselves to be readers for life, since it has had such a profound impact on her own life. Reminiscing about her past, she said, “I fell in love with literature at the age of four. My Papa — who was my Nanny’s husband — used to take me to Kew Gardens, and we would walk among the flowers and eat watercress sandwiches. He would read me Great Expectations, and eventually the words started making sense to me”.
At the end of our discussion, Ms Widenmaier showed me this quote, which I think perfectly encapsulates the enduring quality of literature:
“Time that is intolerant
Of the brave and innocent,
And indifferent in a week
To a beautiful physique
Worships language and forgives
Everyone by whom it lives”
— W.H. Auden’s 1940 memorial to William Butler Yeat Now that the AP exam is a thing of the past, the two AP Lit classes are preparing for their annual Jane Austen Tea Party hosted by the Wilson family on Whiskey Point. Costumes have been fitted by Ms Sally Smith and Ms Amy Staples will lead us in dance lessons tomorrow and Saturday.
High Tea is served!
Emma W, Alexandra ‘23