AP English is a full year, college-level literature course, which is offered to VIth form students who have been recommended by their Vth form English teachers. While the course does prepare students for taking the skills-oriented Advanced Placement Examination in English Literature and Composition, its fundamental goal is to help students develop the capacity for independent and original thought by means of comprehensive reading, active discussion, and polished forms of expression. The first semester is devoted to a systematic study of British literature from the Elizabethan era to the Romantic era. Among the major works covered are Hamlet, The Merchant of Venice, The Tempest, Wuthering Heights, Pride and Prejudice, The Importance of Being Earnest, and Tom Stoppard’s Arcadia. We also read shorter pieces – both prose and poetry – by Shakespeare, Donne, Swift, Pope, Blake, Wordsworth, and Keats. As the year progresses, students focus on modern world literature, examining such works as Crime and Punishment, The Metamorphosis, and The Stranger, in addition to poems by T.S. Eliot and short stories by James Joyce.

An introductory fiction writing course, this class invites those new to short fiction writing to explore and experiment across genres and more experienced creative writers to further develop their skills and voices. Students will read and study various modes and approaches to composing short fiction while practicing their own craft. The primary focus of this course will be to develop a well-rounded portfolio of original work, a prerequisite for the Advanced Fiction Workshop. Class work will alternate weekly between reading, critical discussion, and analytical writing on published authors and a studio-based class where students will generate, share, and critique their own work. Students will culminate their work in the class with either the production of the Unessay (fall) or English Culminating Essay (spring) depending on the semester the class is offered. 

An introductory poetry writing course, this class invites those new to poetry writing to explore and experiment across forms and more experienced creative writers to further develop their skills and voices. Students will read and study various modes and approaches to composing poetry while practicing their own craft. The primary focus of this course will be to develop a well-rounded portfolio of original work, a prerequisite for the Advanced Poetry Workshop. Class work will alternate weekly between reading, critical discussion, and analytical writing on published poets and a studio-based class where students will generate, share, and critique their own work. Students will culminate their work in the class with either the production of the Unessay (fall) or English Culminating Essay (spring) depending on the semester the class is offered.

Sir Thomas More first used the term “utopia” in 1516, combining Greek words meaning “no” and “place”, implying that such places cannot exist. Yet the idea of a Utopia as a place of societal perfection is found in literature around the world. This course will explore utopian novels from around the world, including works from China, Japan, and Russia. 

 In his Maximus Poems Charles Olson writes “To the left the land fell to the city, / to the right, it fell to the sea.” What is the importance of this space between city and sea? Why have Olson and many other poets and writers located their work in this liminal environment—a site of both disambiguation and constant change? Students will read novels, short fiction, and poetry that explore these questions, while developing and posing others. Potential authors, in addition to Charles Olson, will include Jesmyn Ward, Virginia Woolf, Derek Walcott, Italo Calvino, and Jorie Graham among others.

From Circe in The Odyssey and the three weird sisters in Macbeth to the Wicked Witch of the West in The Wizard of Oz and Hermione in the Harry Potter series, witches and witchcraft have been source of fascination in literature. This course will explore witchcraft’s role in society in William Shakespeare’s The Tempest, Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, and a selection of short stories from around the world. 

English III at Millbrook refreshes students’ skills in reading, writing, vocabulary, and grammar and prepares them for the rigors of the English curriculum. Students begin the year writing reflective and creative pieces and, as the year unfolds, begin to hone their analytical abilities through close textual readings and evidence-based writing. In the classroom, the emphasis is on developing the IIIrd form English student’s role as participant, resource, and self-advocate. Recent texts include The Catcher in the Rye, The Glass Castle, Antigone, Oedipus Rex, Macbeth, and The Things They Carried. The class is supplemented with in-house grammar and vocabulary that is derived from texts.

English IV introduces students to the major genres in literature: the novel, short story, poetry, and drama. Students also develop the vocabulary and the capacity for critical thinking and expression necessary to study each genre effectively. Central to both enterprises is an exploration of global literature, which includes a wide variety of classic and contemporary works. Students engage the literature actively through both analytical and creative writing. The course includes major works from authors Frank Kafka, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Roberto Bolaño, Isabel Allende, Edwidge Danticat, William Shakespeare, and others. In addition, the class is supplemented with in-house grammar and vocabulary that is derived from texts.

Like English IV, English IVH introduces students to the major genres in literature, but at a more ambitious pace. We cover short stories, the novel, poetry, and drama. Students also develop the vocabulary and the capacity for critical thinking and expression necessary to study each genre effectively. Central to both enterprises is the use of X.J. Kennedy’s Literature, which offers a wide variety of classic and contemporary works.  Major works include The Importance of Being Earnest, Othello, Frankenstein, and John Irving’s A Prayer for Owen Meany.  Students are expected to engage the literature actively through analytical and creative writing, and classmates study the creative work of their peers along with that of published writers. In addition, the class uses Vocabulary Energizers, Book II throughout the year, which we supplement with an in-house grammar program based on this vocabulary text.

English VH is a full-year course focusing on the theme of the “American Dream” in literature. The course starts with readings and literature from the 17th century and moves up to American drama from the 20th century. There is a heavy emphasis on close reading and analytical writing. English VH asks students to support their arguments—both in their writing and in class discussion—with quotations from the reading. Recent texts include Scarlet Letter, Ragtime, The Great Gatsby, A Streetcar Named Desire, Death of a Salesman, A Raisin in the Sun, Fun Home, and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and The Heidi Chronicles and a selection of American poetry. Some students in English VH may elect to take the AP Examination in English Language.

From Circe in The Odyssey and the three weird sisters in Macbeth to the Wicked Witch of the West in The Wizard of Oz and Hermione in the Harry Potter series, witches and witchcraft have been source of fascination in literature. This course will explore witchcraft’s role in society in William Shakespeare’s The Tempest, Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, and a selection of short stories from around the world.