ENGLISH

TOPIC 1: Invictus by William Ernest Henley

Out of the night that covers me,

Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance

I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears

Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,

How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate,
I am the captain of my soul.

EXPLANATION:
This poem is about courage in the face of death and holding on
to one's own dignity despite the indignities life places before us.

TOPIC 2: The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

EXPLANATION:
This poem is about the importance of our choices, both
big and small, since they shape our journey through life.

TOPIC 3: The Miller’s Tale and The Pardoner’s Tale

THE MILLER:
Stout and brawny, the Miller has a wart on his nose and a big mouth, both literally and
figuratively. He threatens the Host’s notion of propriety when he drunkenly insists on telling
the second tale. Indeed, the Miller seems to enjoy overturning all conventions: he ruins the
Host’s carefully planned storytelling order; he rips doors off hinges; and he tells a tale that is
somewhat blasphemous, ridiculing religious clerks, scholarly clerks, carpenters, and women.

THE PARDONER:
Pardoners granted papal indulgences—reprieves from penance in exchange for charitable
donations to the Church. Many pardoners, including this one, collected profits for themselves. In
fact, Chaucer’s Pardoner excels in fraud, carrying a bag full of fake relics—for example, he
claims to have the veil of the Virgin Mary. The Pardoner has long, greasy, yellow hair and is
beardless. These characteristics were associated with shiftiness and gender ambiguity in
Chaucer’s time. The Pardoner also has a gift for singing and preaching whenever he finds
himself inside a church.

TOPIC 4: Verbals (pg. 253-256, 306-308, 327-329)

TOPIC 5: Genres of Prose Fiction

PROSE is written in sentences and paragraphs.

A. FICTION
1. Short Story — relatively short, organized into a plot
Elements:
a. Characters:
b. Setting — time and place
c. Plot:
d. Point of View:
 FIRST PERSON — I, We
THIRD PERSON — He/She, They
LIMITED — Recounts story through the eyes of a single character
OMNISCIENT — All-knowing narrator
e. Theme — central or dominating idea
f. Tone — author’s response
g. Mood — the general atmosphere of the short story
h. Symbolism — objects or symbols representing a wider range of idea
2. Novel — extended work, has sub-plots
Elements:
a. Epistolary — conveyed through an exchange of letters.
b. Picaresque — light-hearted adventures, focuses on one character who needs to
deal with tyrannical masters and unlucky fates
c. Historical — its elements are developed using known historical facts and events
d. Gothic — aims to evoke chilling terror by exploiting mystery and horror
e. Social/Industrial — gives a portrait of the society especially the condition of the
lower parts of the society
3. Drama — composed in verse or prose usually for theatrical performance
4. Fable — uses animals as characters to demonstrate a useful truth
5. Legend — based on facts but it includes imaginative material, usually about national or
folk heroes
6. Fairy Tale — about fairies and other mythical creatures, usually for children
7. Folklore — story handed down by word of mouth
8. Myth — reveals the reasons for human behavior and natural phenomena, usually related
to gods and goddesses
9. Tall Tale — a humorous story with blatant exaggerations

B. NONFICTION
1. Essay — a short literary composition that reflects the point of view of the writer
2. Biography — a written account of a person’s life written by another person
3. Autobiography — a written account of a person’s life written by that person himself/herself
4. Speech — usually delivered in front of an audience