The Raven

1. The Raven Edgar Allan Poe

2. Edgar Allan Poe（1809-1849） • an American poet, short-story writer, editor and literary critic, and is considered part of the American Romantic Movement. Best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre, Poe was one of the earliest American practitioners of the short story and is considered the inventor of the detective-fiction genre. He is further credited with contributing to the emerging genre of science fiction. He was the first well-known American writer to try to earn a living through writing alone, resulting in a financially difficult life and career.

3. Life He lived a short and tragic life. • (1) His childhood was a miserable one. He lost both of his parents when he was very young and then he was adopted by a wealthy merchant, John Allan. Poe’s relation with the Allans was unhappy. • (2) He entered University of Virginia and then West Point but did not finish. • (3) He worked as editor and writer most of his life and he was always poor. • (4) At 27 he married his thirteen-year-old cousin, whose death in 1847 left him inconsolable.

4. Significance • father of modern short story • father of detective story • father of psychoanalytic criticism

5. Achievements He wrote all kinds of literary productions. Among all his works, his poems and short stories are more famous. • (1) Poems • A. Theory • Poems should be short, concise and readable at one sitting; • The aim of poem writing is beauty; the most beautiful thing described by a poem is the death of a beautiful woman; the desirable tone of a poem is melancholy; • He opposed didactic poems; • He stressed the form of poem, especially the beautiful and neat rhyme. His poetry theory is not fair at all time. For example, according to him, Paradise Lost is not a good poem. • B. Famous poems: “The Raven”, “Annabel Lee”, “To Helen” etc. • C. All his poems were written according to his poetry theory and his poems have strong dreamy color.

6. Achievements • (2) Short Story • A. Theory • B. Sample: “The Fall of the House of Usher” (P143.)

7. Features of his works • a. Gothic elements • b. deep analysis of human psychology (He noticed subconscious of human mind nearly one hundred year before Freud. ) (He was also the first American author who took neurotic characters as main characters in his stories.) • c. precursor of detective stories (e.g. “The Murders in the Rue Morgue”) and science stories

8. Evaluation • Poe remained the most controversial and most misunderstood literary figure in the history of American literature. • Emerson dismissed him in three words “the jingle man”，Mark Twain declared his prose to be unreadable. And Whitman was the only famous literary figure present at the Poe Memorial Ceremony in 1875. • Today, Poe’s particular power has ensured his position among the greatest writers of the world.

9. Conclusion • style: ordinary, traditional • language: mannerism • a controversial figure in American literary history (Poe was criticized by several famous American writers, such as Emerson, Henry James and Mark Twain. However, his works was welcomed in Europe, especially in France.) • great influence on aesthetism, William Faulkner, Baudelaire

10. Academic Vocabulary • Alliteration - the use of words that begin with the same sound near one another (as in wild and woolly or a babbling brook ).

11. Academic Vocabulary • Internal Rhyme - rhyme between a word within a line and another word either at the end of the same line or within another line.

12. Academic Vocabulary • End Rhyme - in poetry, a rhyme that occurs in the last syllables of verses.

13. Academic Vocabulary • Rhyme Scheme - A rhyme scheme is the pattern of rhyming lines in a poem. It is usually referred to by using letters to indicate which lines rhyme.

14. The Raven: Web quest (individual or in groups) • Use the following websites to complete the guide: • http://www.teachersfirst.com/lessons/raven/start-fl.html • http://www.cummingsstudyguides.net/Guides2/Raven.html#The%20Raven • http://teachersfirst.com/lessons/raven/st1.cfm

15. What to focus on… • What are your impressions of the poem's speaker and atmosphere? • What emotions/feelings might the speaker be experiencing? • How can a reader tell the mood and tone of the poem, after hearing only the opening stanzas? • What words, images, and details does Poe provide to create this effect?

16. Poe’s Mysterious Death (as a class) • Visit "Knowing Poe" and click to launch the interactive quest entitled, "It'll Be the Death of Me..." • Find the "file cabinet" in the library basement--you'll know it when you see it. • Read the clues located in each folder in the file, and jot your notes down on your worksheet. • When you reach the end of the interactive journey, you will need to select what you feel is the most likely cause of Poe's death. • Upon completion of the tutorial, briefly summarize the reason for your choice on your worksheet. This "diagnosis" and your explanation will serve as your "exit card" for today. • http://knowingpoe.thinkport.org/person/death.asp

17. “The Raven” - Poetic Parody • A parody is an imitation (usually intended to be humorous) of a literary or artistic work. • Assignment: • Write three or more stanzas of a parody of "The Raven." You might use another bird or animal in place of the raven, change the reason for the speaker's sorrow, or invent a new message for the intruder to utter. Whatever you change, try to follow Poe's meter and rhyme schemes so that your parody will be recognizable. Create your parody to have a theme. • Additional Notes: • Assignment must include a title • Assignment must be typed • Assignment must include a graphic (extra credit) • Patterned rhyme scheme ABCBBB • Three stanzas, six lines each • You may work in PARTNERS!

18. The Raven Parody Examples • The Raven Parody Once upon a class so boring I was sleeping and loudly snoring, Dreaming of my home and forgotten chores-- While I slumbered, nearly drooling, suddenly I met the flooring, I got up quickly to escape detection, detection by Mrs. Moore-- "Oh my gosh" I muttered "I just fell onto the floor-- only that and nothing more" Ah, distinctly I recall there was laughing all down the hall And each step she'd taken toward me made me ponder even more. Eagerly I wished to die;--vainly I had to lie. From my mind came a sigh, sigh for the knock on the door-- for the quick and annoying rap which continued on the door-- Sleepless here for evermore And the loud, annoying laughter of each and every child embarrassed me Filled me with frantic thoughts never thought before; So that now, to stop the questioning of my teacher, I stood repeating " It was not me that fell to the floor-- some other classmate of mine fell to the floor-- That's the truth and nothing more."

19. Continuing with Poe • We’re going to select groups (or, if we can’t handle that, I can pick them). • Then, we’re going to select different works from Poe to read in our groups.