From Ibstudy

English A is one of the Group 1 subjects for the IB Diploma.

Contents 1 Handling Different Works of Literature 1.1 Poetry 1.2 Prose Fiction 1.3 Drama 1.4 Nonfiction 2 English-Language Literature 2.1 British and Irish Literature 2.1.1 William Shakespeare 2.2 North American Literature 2.3 Other English-Language Literature 3 Works in Translation 3.1 Americas 3.2 Europe 3.3 Middle East and North Africa 3.4 Sub-Saharan Africa 3.5 Central and South Asia 3.6 East Asia 3.7 Oceania and Polynesia

Handling Different Works of Literature

Poetry

Poetry is best dealt with the way one would deal with a prose passage analysis. Typically one reads through the poem once or twice, and then looks for specific themes and literary devices.

With a poem, the best is to look for literary devices such as repetition, assonance and consonance, and plays on words. Depending on the poem, you also might want to look for the meter. Oftentimes, looking for overarching themes or motifs is more difficult because, since poems tend to run short (unless you are dealing with an epic), you will probably find only a handful of examples of a specific theme.

Prose Fiction

Drama

Nonfiction

English-Language Literature

British and Irish Literature

• Dubliners by James Joyce (Ireland)

William Shakespeare

• Hamlet

• Much Ado About Nothing

North American Literature

• The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (United States)

• Grendel by John Gardner (United States)

• Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison (United States)

• Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck (United States)

Other English-Language Literature

• Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe (Nigeria)

Works in Translation

Americas

• Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (Colombia, original language Spanish)

Europe

• The Stranger by Albert Camus (France, original language French)

• Night by Elie Wiesel (Hungary/France, original language Yiddish)

Middle East and North Africa

• Midaq Alley by Naguib Mahfouz (Egypt, original language Arabic)

Sub-Saharan Africa

Central and South Asia

East Asia

• The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea by Yukio Mishima (Japan, original language Japanese)

Oceania and Polynesia