Poe Stories and Literary Criticism

1. Poe Stories and Literary Criticism English 11 Honors Kelli Loucks

2. Introduction In this webquest, you will play the roles of analyst and critic as you explore some of Poe’s most famous short stories—“The Black Cat,” “The Cask of Amontillado,” “The Masque of the Red Death,” and “The Fall of the House of Usher”—and critical essays (literary criticism) written about these stories. You will then synthesize your findings into an analytical essay.

3. There are four products that you will submit throughout this webquest: Discussion questions for each of the four short stories. Annotated Poe short story of choice. (paper focus) Two annotated pieces of literary criticism about your selected story. A two-page, analytical essay in which you synthesize your findings from both your reading of the story and the criticism; a Works Cited page will also be included in this paper.

4. Process – Part 1: • Read all of the stories listed below: • "The Fall of the House of Usher" (1839) • "The Black Cat" (1845) • "The Cask of Amontillado" (1846) • "The Masque of the Red Death" (1850) • Complete the discussion questions for each story. Submit each as you go. • Choose your favorite story and print it out.

5. Process – Part 1 Continued: • Re-read the story. • Annotate/highlight important literary devices, evidence of theme, short story structure, and anything else that strikes you. • Reading/annotations will be collected on 5/23 and count toward your final grade.

6. Process – Part 2 • Find two works of literary criticism on your story. • Print out sources with citation information. “Black Cat” “Cask” “Usher” “Masque”

7. “The Black Cat” • Go to the Library’s database page • Password is: mendon • Choose Student Resources in Context, run an advanced search for “Edgar Allan Poe,” “The Black Cat,” and/or “Poe and The Black Cat,” with a limit by document type. • Click critical essays and then run the search.

8. “The Fall of the House of Usher” • Go to the Library’s database page • Password is: mendon • Choose Student Resources in Context, run an advanced search for “Edgar Allan Poe” and/or “Poe and The Fall of the House of Usher,” with a limit by document type. • Click critical essays and then run the search. • Or, choose the Salem Literature database, search for “Edgar Allan Poe,” “The Fall of the House of Usher,” and/or “Poe and The Fall of the House of Usher.” • Click the criticism tab, and then search the essays.

9. “Fall of the House of Usher” continued… You may also check out the links provided under the “Literary Criticism, ‘The Fall of the House of Usher’” heading on this website.

10. “The Cask of Amontillado” • Go to the Library’s database page • Password is: mendon • You can choose Student Resources in Context, run an advanced search for “Edgar Allan Poe,” “The Cask of Amontillado,” and/or “Poe and The Cask of Amontillado,” with a limit by document type. • Click critical essays and then run the search.

11. “The Masque of the Red Death” • . Go to the Library’s database page Password is: mendon Choose the Salem Literature database, search for “Edgar Allan Poe,” “The Masque of the Red Death,” and/or “Poe and The Masque of the Red Death,” Click the criticism tab, and then search the essays. Examine the links to critical essays provided under the “Literary Criticism, ‘The Masque of the Red Death’” heading on this website, or check out the tab “Essays and Criticism” on this site.

12. Process - Part 3 • After reading/annotating your pieces of criticism, you will write an essay of two pages in which you assess one of the critical essays as a useful supplement to your reading of Poe’s short story. • Identify the author’s central arguments and try to explain what makes them strong or weak. • Persuade your audience to share your conclusions. • Cite material from the critical essay within your paper. • Use proper MLA citations. • Create a Works Cited page for the essay you critiqued and your short story. • The Works Cited page goes after your essay—on the next clean page. • Submit your work to the assignment slot on www.turnitin.combefore midnight on 5/22 and in hard copy form 5/22 at the beginning of class.

13. Resources: • If you’ve forgotten the types of literary criticism and/or how to identify them, please check out my webpage calendar on 5/9. I have posted the “Intro to Literary Criticism” PowerPoint and “The Oval Portrait” examples.

14. Evaluation – Important Dates • Wednesday 5/7– All four stories must be read and questions submitted no later than today’s class! • Tuesday 5/13– Laptops; work day • Wednesday 5/14– Laptops; work day • Thursday 5/15– Laptops; work day • Tuesday 5/20– In class Peer Review; bring in a hard copyand the essay that you critiqued. • Thursday 5/22– Essay due on turnitin.com before midnight tonight! • Thursday 5/22– Submit your final draft, highlighted/annotated story, and two annotated critical essays in class. • Tuesday 5/27– Reflection submitted to turnitin.com (see following pages)

15. Evaluation – Grading Rubric • As always, you will be assessed based upon the NYS ELA Regents Rubric (MDOLC) • However, in addition to the 100 point essay, your annotated story and two pieces of criticism will be up to 10 points a piece, depending on thoroughness. • Total points = 130.

16. Conclusion Please reflect on the following prompts and submit them to the assignment slot on www.turnitin.com by Tuesday 5/27: • Did you enjoy reading Poe’s short stories? Discuss in detail. • After reading your pieces of criticism, were you able to analyze your story from these perspectives? • Were you able to asses and articulate the strengths and weaknesses of the critics' arguments?