The Literature Department at Father Gabriel Richard High School exists to inspire in you a love of the written word and the ability to intellectually engage in the great western literary tradition. In the intensive study of literature, you will make connections not only between texts, but between the text and the real world. Learning Homer, Dante, and Shakespeare is synonymous with learning about what it means to be human.

In addition to the study of literature, students at FGR become skilled writers of prose. You will have an opportunity to enter the Great Conversation, take ownership of your arguments, and learn to articulate your position in writing. Through the use of Socratic seminars and informal and formal writing opportunities, you will learn how to take a position and defend it.

Geoffrey Chaucer once wrote that the purpose of literature is to “delight and instruct.” All fields of study are meant to lead people to the truth and to instruct them, but only the study of literature promises to give joy!

“One of the enduring benefits of a liberal education is that it broadens us. When we absorb great literature, we come face to face with ideas, experiences, and emotions that we might never otherwise encounter in our lifetime…This may not help make a living, but it will help make a life.”