Literature of Virtue and the Virtue of Literature is the subtitle of this course, which thoroughly prepares students for the challenging AP® Literature and Composition exam by studying the ethical, moral, spiritual, and intellectual themes of great works in the western literary canon from an AP-preparatory approach and a biblical worldview. Great literature reflects a great truth: we are all made of dust and story and the breath of God. Every life lived this side of heaven tells its own tale, caught as we are between sin on one side and redemption on the other. The characters in these great works are like us, or at least aspects of us. Virtue and vice, truth and lie, entangle them in the battle for heart and soul that beings everyone before God before the real story ends. In this course we will consider great literature and literary characters in light of twelve major virtues that define a life set apart in Christian faith. We will see these characters move toward virtue and away from virtue, and learn about our own character through all of them. Major works include: Antigone, Macbeth, Hamlet, Lord of the Flies, Of Mice and Men, The Metamorphosis, The Great Gatsby, as well as short stories and poetry, and more. In addition to the required works, this course is customizable in that students have several opportunities to choose their own reading from a list of major works. Students should expect mature college-level pacing, analysis, discussion and writing with a focus on addressing fiction, drama, and poetry in deep and sophisticated ways. Students should expect to be challenged and matured, academically and personally.