Literature & Composition 201: Renaissance to Romanticism

In Literature 201, students don’t just read great works, they write alongside them. Literature and composition are taught together, with the texts students read directly shaping the writing they produce. From Shakespeare to Gothic fiction to the great Romantic novels, students explore how literary movements shaped the written word and find their own voice in the process.

The class opens with a unit on literary techniques where students learn to identify and use the same tools in their own writing. From there, students move through major works from the Renaissance to the Romantic period, writing in multiple styles: narrative, poetry, comparison, exposition, and research. Students choose their own Gothic novel to study in small groups (Wuthering Heights, Great Expectations, or Jane Eyre) and select an independent Romantic-era novel from an extensive list of classics including works by Austen, Shelley, Hawthorne, and many more.

Authors and traditions covered include: Shakespeare (Romeo and Juliet), Hawthorne, Poe, Stevenson, the Brontës, Dickens, Austen, Cooper, and others spanning British and American literature from the 1600s through the mid-1800s.

What’s included: Daily interaction with a writing coach who provides feedback at every step. Peer workshops on writing assignments. Ongoing literature discussions that unfold across days in discussion boards. Timed essay practice alongside fully developed, revised papers. Preparation for the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards.

Literature and writing taught together in a single, full-credit English course. Includes daily coach engagement and peer interaction. How our classes work.