Two Stages of the Trivium
Compare, Persuade, Debate
a class on comparative literature, logic, rhetorical devices, and making arguments through appeal to authority, anecdotes, and empirical evidence
Calendar Summary, 2024–2025
From September 6 to May 23, students will be assigned homework to complete for Friday's lesson. The detailed assignment will be indicated on the weekly page, posted above right. There will be no classes on November 29 (Thanksgiving week), December 20 and 27, and April 18, and no assignments will be given for those dates. The tentative Speech Night for the upper classes is Friday, May 23 at 6:30 p.m. Friends and family members are welcome.
Materials Needed
Assignment 1
William Cowper's "The Nightingale"
Thomas Hardy's "The Darkling Thrush"
Giovanni Boccaccio's "Falcon"
Assignment 2
Assignment 3
Assignment 4
Dostoevsky's Brothers Karamazov (excerpt)
Assignments 5 and 6
Herman Melville's Bartleby the Scrivener
Assignment 7
Assignment 8
Assignments 9 and 10
Assignment 11
Assignment 12
Assignment 14
Assignments 16–19
Assignments 20
Assignments 21
Example Essays
Assignment 24
Persuasive Essay on College Education
Assignment 27
Assignment 29
Assignment 30
Assignment 31