Enroll in American Literature with Dolphin STEM Academy

Course Overview

American Literature is the study of the creation and analysis of literature written in the English
language. In American Literature A you will study a variety of techniques to improve your reading
comprehension and writing skills. The instruction covers many types of writing: creative,
descriptive, expository, narrative, and persuasive. In American Literature A, you will read and
analyze different genres in literature with an emphasis on American literary movements
over time. You will also complete writing activities to evaluate literary works with regard
to literary techniques, form, and theme.

Course Goals

By the end of this course, you will be able to do the following:
Recognize different perspectives of the American identity in literature.
Analyze the historical and cultural significance of literature from the Revolutionary period.
Analyze seminal American texts from the Revolutionary period.
Identify and examine literary techniques used in romantic literature.
Identify and examine characteristics of theme and form in early American poetry.
Analyze the emergence and thematic elements of gothic literature.
Examine the historical and cultural significance of transcendentalist literature.
Evaluate the characteristics and common themes of slave narratives.
Evaluate the emergence of the realist period and its literature.
Analyze how authors use complex characters and other literary elements for effect in realist literature.
Analyze elements of form and theme in nineteenth-century poetry.
Evaluate naturalist literature and analyze elements of structure and purpose in writing.