E. A. Poe

As we begin our study of Edgar Allen Poe,  I'd like you to familiarize yourself with "The Raven."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Raven

I'm assigning everybody one of the 18 stanzas to memorize. Scroll down below the poem to see which stanza is yours. You can earn extra credit if you're  willing to also memorize 17 & 18 in addition to your assigned stanza.

For tomorrow (Wed., 9/28):

• Please have your stanza neatly written out on an index card exactly as you see it on the page.
• Make sure to write which # your stanza is on the card.
• In order to really understand the poem, please go to this website:

http://teachersfirst.com/lessons/raven/st1.cfm

• There's one stanza on each page. Click through to find yours. Roll your mouse over words you don't understand.
• You can copy your stanza either from the link or from here.
• Scroll wayyyyyyy down to find out which stanza is yours.

Also, you can watch and hear a great version of the poem here :



or click here:

The Raven 

by Edgar Allan Poe

 1

Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,

Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore,
While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.
"'Tis some visitor," I muttered, "tapping at my chamber door -
Only this, and nothing more."
2
Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December,
And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor.
Eagerly I wished the morrow; - vainly I had sought to borrow
From my books surcease of sorrow - sorrow for the lost Lenore -
For the rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore -
Nameless here for evermore.
3
And the silken sad uncertain rustling of each purple curtain
Thrilled me - filled me with fantastic terrors never felt before;
So that now, to still the beating of my heart, I stood repeating,
"'Tis some visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door -
Some late visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door; -
This it is, and nothing more."
4
Presently my soul grew stronger; hesitating then no longer,
"Sir," said I, "or Madam, truly your forgiveness I implore;
But the fact is I was napping, and so gently you came rapping,
And so faintly you came tapping, tapping at my chamber door,
That I scarce was sure I heard you"- here I opened wide the door; -
Darkness there, and nothing more.
5
Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing,
Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortals ever dared to dream before;
But the silence was unbroken, and the stillness gave no token,
And the only word there spoken was the whispered word, "Lenore?"
This I whispered, and an echo murmured back the word, "Lenore!" -
Merely this, and nothing more.
6
Back into the chamber turning, all my soul within me burning,
Soon again I heard a tapping somewhat louder than before.
"Surely," said I, "surely that is something at my window lattice:
Let me see, then, what thereat is, and this mystery explore -
Let my heart be still a moment and this mystery explore; -
'Tis the wind and nothing more."
7
Open here I flung the shutter, when, with many a flirt and flutter,
In there stepped a stately raven of the saintly days of yore;
Not the least obeisance made he; not a minute stopped or stayed he;
But, with mien of lord or lady, perched above my chamber door -
Perched upon a bust of Pallas just above my chamber door -
Perched, and sat, and nothing more.
8
Then this ebony bird beguiling my sad fancy into smiling,
By the grave and stern decorum of the countenance it wore.
"Though thy crest be shorn and shaven, thou," I said, "art sure no craven,
Ghastly grim and ancient raven wandering from the Nightly shore -
Tell me what thy lordly name is on the Night's Plutonian shore!"
Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore."
9
Much I marvelled this ungainly fowl to hear discourse so plainly,
Though its answer little meaning- little relevancy bore;
For we cannot help agreeing that no living human being
Ever yet was blest with seeing bird above his chamber door -
Bird or beast upon the sculptured bust above his chamber door,
With such name as "Nevermore."
10
But the raven, sitting lonely on the placid bust, spoke only
That one word, as if his soul in that one word he did outpour.
Nothing further then he uttered- not a feather then he fluttered -
Till I scarcely more than muttered, "other friends have flown before -
On the morrow he will leave me, as my hopes have flown before."
Then the bird said, "Nevermore."
11
Startled at the stillness broken by reply so aptly spoken,
"Doubtless," said I, "what it utters is its only stock and store,
Caught from some unhappy master whom unmerciful Disaster
Followed fast and followed faster till his songs one burden bore -
Till the dirges of his Hope that melancholy burden bore
Of 'Never - nevermore'."
12
But the Raven still beguiling all my fancy into smiling,
Straight I wheeled a cushioned seat in front of bird, and bust and door;
Then upon the velvet sinking, I betook myself to linking
Fancy unto fancy, thinking what this ominous bird of yore -
What this grim, ungainly, ghastly, gaunt and ominous bird of yore
Meant in croaking "Nevermore."
13
This I sat engaged in guessing, but no syllable expressing
To the fowl whose fiery eyes now burned into my bosom's core;
This and more I sat divining, with my head at ease reclining
On the cushion's velvet lining that the lamplight gloated o'er,
But whose velvet violet lining with the lamplight gloating o'er,
She shall press, ah, nevermore!
14
Then methought the air grew denser, perfumed from an unseen censer
Swung by Seraphim whose footfalls tinkled on the tufted floor.
"Wretch," I cried, "thy God hath lent thee - by these angels he hath sent thee
Respite - respite and nepenthe, from thy memories of Lenore:
Quaff, oh quaff this kind nepenthe and forget this lost Lenore!"
Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore."
15
"Prophet!" said I, "thing of evil! - prophet still, if bird or devil! -
Whether Tempter sent, or whether tempest tossed thee here ashore,
Desolate yet all undaunted, on this desert land enchanted -
On this home by horror haunted- tell me truly, I implore -
Is there - is there balm in Gilead? - tell me - tell me, I implore!"
Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore."
16
"Prophet!" said I, "thing of evil - prophet still, if bird or devil!
By that Heaven that bends above us - by that God we both adore -
Tell this soul with sorrow laden if, within the distant Aidenn,
It shall clasp a sainted maiden whom the angels name Lenore -
Clasp a rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore."
Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore."
17
"Be that word our sign in parting, bird or fiend," I shrieked, upstarting -
"Get thee back into the tempest and the Night's Plutonian shore!
Leave no black plume as a token of that lie thy soul hath spoken!
Leave my loneliness unbroken!- quit the bust above my door!
Take thy beak from out my heart, and take thy form from off my door!"
Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore."
18
And the Raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting
On the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door;
And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon's that is dreaming,
And the lamplight o'er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor;
And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor
Shall be lifted - nevermore! 

*********************

Stanza #	Per. 1	Per. 2
1	Alana, Claire	Nicole, Jordan
2	Olivia, Chloe	Maya, Holden
3	Rena, Tatum	Sarah, Gabrielle
4	Maddie, Jayce	Colby, Konnor
5	Jessica, Nathan	Tori, Wendy
6	Jacob, Ally	Joseph, Chaney
7	Hudson, Landon	Finn, Emily
8	Aidan, Rebekah	Kayla, Kayleigh
9	Vinnie, Bella	Natalie, Cameron
10	Audrey, Lexi	Ryan L., Jose
11	Dylan, Cori	Taylor L., Taylor M.
12	Katie, Shelby	Ryan M., Spencer M.
13	Katherine, Bailey	Ryan P., Lindsay R.
14	Lydia, Francisco	Tyler, Jerin
15	Morgan, Odessa	Dillon S., Spencer S.
16	Meryn, Kyla, Lucia	Amber, Kasara
17	??	??
18	??	??

Email me for extra credit. Write Perry the Platypus!!! in the subject line.

Check back after 6 PM for your instructions! 

 

--Ms. Ware, 9/27

 

 

This is our blog. Check back often.

LIT TERMS REVIEW:

Jump you will to the post for 9/20/11  to  correct answers find.

Keep in mind that the test will have different examples.

1. In The Outsiders, we know a lot about Cherry Valence. We get a strong sense of who she is, and she

appears in important scenes of the novels. In contrast, S.E.  Hinton provides little information about

Cherry's friend, Marcia; her character is not well-developed enough for us to know her. She makes a

brief appearance, and then we don't hear much about her, if at all.

Marcia is what type of character?

a) flat

b) dynamic

c) static

d) round

2) If you're asked to write an essay on "The History of Breakfast Cereal," chances are you're

going to use which type of writing?

a) narrative

b) persuasive

c) descriptive

d) expository

.

3) “…And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side

Of my darling- my darling- my life and my bride…”

This is an example of ___ from Edgar Allan Poe's poem "Annabel Lee."

a) alliteration

b) consonance

c) assonance

d) anaphora

.

4) "Hey, y'all. Hows about comin' over fer a visit?" is an example of

a) satire

b) analogy

c) diction

d) dialect

.

5) Which one most likely an example of foreshadowing?

a) Zelda asks Egore on a date.

b) Zelda hides a $20.00 bill under a pillow.

c) Zelda cries.
d) Zelda snores.

6) My grandmother used to tell these little stories, or ____, to teach us lessons about life.

a) fairy tales

b) allegories

c) dialects

d) anecdotes

7) On Valentine's Day, we use the ___ of a heart to represent love.

a) denotation

b) connotation

c) symbol

d) description

.

8) A snake, on one level, is a scaly reptile. A snake can also be an evil, malicious person. In these

examples, you can see that "snake" has more than one ____.

a) motif

b) denotation

c) connotation

d) analogy

.

9) “Named must your fear be before banish it you can.” This is a quote by Yoda, the wise Star

Wars character. His ___ is different from that of traditional English.

a) symbolism

b) characterization

c) syntax

d) allusion

10) In the Harry Potter books, the three-headed dog's name is Fluffy, but it's a definite

reference, or _____, to Cerberus--the guard dog of Hades in Greek Mythology.

a) antagonist

b) allusion

c) motif

d) symbol

.

11) My great-grandma is 109 years old. When someone makes the observation that she’s lived a

long time, she says, “Yes, I’m a little on the old side.” This is an example of ___.

a) hyperbole

b) satire

c) understatement

d) symbolism

12) In Robert Frost's poem "Nothing Gold Can Stay," the ideas of nature and

the changing seasons are ____ upon which the poem is based.

a) symbols

b) tones

c) allegories

d) motifs

13) Sit is to sat as bring is to brought is an example of a (an) ___.

a) alliteration

b) analogy

c) anaphora

d) metaphor

14) If a story takes place at midnight during a lightning storm at a haunted house, and wolves are

howling in the distance, the author is creating a particular ____ for the reader.

a) imagery

b) atmosphere (or mood)

c) satire

d) tone

.

15) "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age

of foolishness..." is the first sentence from Charles Dickens's novel, A Tale of Two Cities.

This is an example of ___.

a) situational irony

b) anaphora

c) assonance

d) verbal irony

.

16) The ____ in a story is the main character--often seen as “the good guy.”

a) antagonist

b) allusion

c) analogy

d) protagonist

.

17) A firehouse burns down. This is an ___ event.

a) dramatic

b) ironic

.c) descriptive

d) situational

18) If you're asked to write an essay on this topic: "Convince your principal to put a swimming

pool on campus," the type of writing you'll be doing is

a) expository

b) objective

c) persuasive

d) situational

.

19) "She didn’t comprehend the gravity of the situation" is an example of a (an) ______.

a) analogy

b) understatement
c) hyperbole

d) metaphor

.

20) The ___ of the word "akimbo"  is standing with hands on hips.

a) denotation

b) symbol

c) connotation

d) alliteration

Now, scroll wayyyyyyyyyyyy down.











No, wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy down.

Check your answers:

1. a
2. d
3. c
4. d
5. b
6. d
7. c
8. c

9. c

10. b

11. c

12. d

13. b

14. b

15. b

16. d

17. b

18. c

19. d

20. a

Earn extra credit. Email Ms. Ware
at cware@ojai.k12.ca.us
to let her know
you've
reviewed for the test.
Make sure to put 
Perry the Platypus
 in the subject line.