Fulfill your High School Literature requirement at home with training from Penn Foster High School. We’ll guide you through the course with class notes, textbooks and unlimited instructor support. Each lesson has been specifically designed for independent study – you’ll learn Literature in no time. 
 
Course Description
 
This course is designed so students can experience literature actively—to become involved both intellectually and emotionally—and to learn how to enjoy reading literature . The assigned material falls into six main categories: short story, novel, poetry, essay, nonfiction, and drama. Students may also be inspired to emulate at least some of the writing and writers represented.

A seven-lesson course, Literature comes with eight books:

• Great American Short Stories
• The Call of the Wild
• Great Short Poems
• Songs for the Open Road: Poems of Travel and Adventure
• Civil Disobedience and Other Essays
• Great Speeches by Native Americans
• Narrative of Sojourner Truth
• A Midsummer Night’s Dream
  

• Read more effectively—for both knowledge and enjoyment
• Use their new vocabulary to discuss, write about, and understand literature
• Explain the characteristics of the different genres, including the short story, novel, poetry, drama, nonfiction, and essay.
• Improve their own writing skills in any of the genres
• Appreciate such writers as Shakespeare, Fitzgerald, London, Twain, and Thoreau
• Analyze novels, short stories, poems, dramas, and other types of writing
• Better understand the objectives and accomplishments of the various writers
• Seek, find, and enjoy many additional examples of fine writing
• Identify such figures as Willa Cather, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Emma Lazarus
• Progress to additional courses in literature, writing, and related subjects

Lesson 1: Introduction to Literature • The Short Story, Part 1

Why We Read; Informational Reading; Escapist Literature; Interpretative Literature; Language and Interpretative Literature; Introduction to the Short Story; Plot; Conflict; Setting; Symbolism; Background: F. Scott Fitzgerald and the Roaring Twenties; His “Bernice Bobs Her Hair”; Analysis of It; Background: Sarah Orne Jewett; Her “A White Heron”; Analysis of It; Ambiguity

Lesson 2: The Short Story, Part 2

Background: Willa Cather; Her “Paul’s Case”; Analysis of It; Background: Mark Twain; His “The Private History of a Campaign That Failed”; Analysis of It; Background: Nathaniel Hawthorne; His “Young Goodman Brown”; Analysis of It; Allegory; Background: Kate Chopin; Her “A Pair of Silk Stockings”; Analysis of It

Lesson 3: The Novel

Introduction to the Novel; Plot; Characters; Action; Setting(s); Theme; Narrative Point of View; History of the Novel; Novel Genres; Background: Jack London; His “The Call of the Wild”; Analysis of It; Historical and Philosophical Influences on Jack London; Novel and Short Story: Comparison

Lesson 4: Poetry, Part 1

What Is Poetry?; Figurative Language; Reading Tips; Brief History of Poetry; Types of Poetry; Poetic Techniques; Meter; Rhyme; “Trees” (Kilmer); “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” (Wordsworth); “Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day?” (Shakespeare); “The Long Voyage” (Cowley); Analyses of These Poems

Lesson 5: Poetry, Part 2

Review of Elements and Styles; “God’s Grandeur” (Hopkins); “There Is No Frigate Like a Book” (Dickinson); “Grass” (Sandburg); “The New Colossus” (Lazarus); “Death, Be Not Proud” (Donne); “Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night” (Thomas); “Richard Cory” (Robinson); Analyses of These Poems

Lesson 6: Nonfiction

Definition; Informational Nonfiction; Technical Nonfiction; Personal Nonfiction; Background: Henry David Thoreau; His “Life without Principle”; Analysis of It; Chief Pontiac’s Speech, “The Master of Life”; Chief Seath’tl’s Speech, “Yonder sky has wept tears of compassion on our fathers”; Chief Tecumseh’s Speeches, “Sleep not longer, O Choctaws and Chickasaws” and “Let the white race perish”; Chief Pushmataha’s Speech, “Listen to the voice of prudence, oh, my countrymen”; Analyses of These Speeches; Background: Sojourner Truth; Narrative of Sojourner Truth; Analysis of It

Lesson 7: Drama

Definition; How to Read a Play; History of Drama; The Renaissance and Renaissance Philosophy; William Shakespeare; His Dramatic Genres; His Language; Introduction to and Word Play in A Midsummer Night’s Dream; Analysis of It

There are seven exams that need to be passed to complete your course in Literature and you’ll have up to 15 weeks to complete the course.
 
Support
If you should ever need help with your studies, you can e-mail or call our instructors who will gladly help you with any questions that you might have.

Study Time
Since there is no set class schedule, you study when and where it’s convenient for you. You can complete your course as quickly as you’d like.

Completion
When you have successfully completed your course, you will receive a letter of completion along with an official transcript listing your completed course(s) and grades. You can apply your course towards our Diploma Program or a diploma from your local High School (be sure to check with your school authorities regarding mandatory attendance policies and whether they agree that the Penn Foster High School Program is acceptable toward the completion of your high school education). 
 
Accreditation
Penn Foster High School is accredited by The Middle States Commission on Secondary Schools; has met the high standards of integrity and performance set by the Accrediting Commission of the Distance Education and Training Council (DETC), Washington D.C., and is licensed by the Pennsylvania State Board of Private Licensed Schools.

Whether you’re looking for accelerated studies or credit recovery, regionally and nationally accredited Penn Foster High School provides the courses you need to complete your High School Diploma.