Lesson Plan 1
“Quoth the Raven Evermore”
Rent either “The Fall of the House of Usher” or “The Pit and the Pendulum” movies. Show the movie first. Then sit around informally as you read out loud either story. To have your students on the edge of their seats darken the classroom and create sound effects. In a paper bag put the following items: wet grapes, ham, wet spaghetti, boneless chicken breast. Pass the bag around in the dark room as you read and describe in great detail, “The Black Cat’s” eye, or the beating heart, or nerves, or the tongue.
Include the oral reading of my favorite “The Raven.” This poem has the tone of sadness. This poem like his others are famous for the sound of the words he used. Have the students read it silently first and then out loud. Is it better when you hear it, or when you just read it? Several kinds of birds can be trained to mimic human speech. Why do you think Poe chose to use a raven instead of a parrot? Would the tone of sadness remain if you used a parrot instead of a raven in the poem?
The sad atmosphere of the poem derives from what Poe’s theory considers to be the most poetic of subjects—the death of a beautiful woman. Poe, who is fond of repeating female names gives to this dead woman the name Lenore. The poem turns on the questioning of the raven by the bereaved lover, and the answer to every question is “Nevermore.” The climax of the poem comes when the question of a future reunion between these two lovers comes up? This is one meaning of the poem. Another is interpreted through symbols. The raven is the main symbol. With its jet black feathers and harsh croak, represents fate. It is, as Poe says, a “bird of ill omen.” The symbolism reveals itself in the last stanza, which Poe wrote first since it is the culmination of the effect he wants to achieve:
“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-evermore!”
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The bust of Pallas is a symbol representing the Greek goddess of wisdom. It also represents the life of learning into which the narrator of the poem has plunged in order to drown his sorrow. The sculpture meanwhile contrasts white against the black raven. The raven symbolizes crushing fate and the status serene wisdom. The word nevermore is a symbol because as the poem progresses, the word sounds more like the booming of a gong; reminding us that death awaits all of us. On a lighter note some lines of the poem are often musical:
“And the silken, sad, uncertain rustling of each purple curtain.
But the silence was unbroken, and the stillness gave no token,
And the only word there spoken was the whispered word “Lenore:”
Then, methought, the air grew denser, perfumed from an unseen censer,
Swung by seraphim whose foot-falls tinkled on the tufted Moor.”
This is not the end but only the beginning:
“Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,
Over mary 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.”
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Lesson Plan 2
“The Tell Tale Heart”
The following are sample questions which can be applied to all of Poe’s stories.
Word Huntlocate these eight words in the story. Guess at the meaning from context clues and then double check your answers with this list B
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A
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B
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1. dissimilation
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1. pretend
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2. sagacity
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2. hiding under false appearance
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3. suavity
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3. passionately
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4. audacity
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match
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4. scorn
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5. vehemently
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5. wisdom
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6. gesticulations
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6. body movements
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7. derision
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7. polish
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8. dissemble
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8. boldness
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tatoo—as in the “tatoo of the heart increased” is borrowed from the Dutch, taptoe. Literally, it means “taps shut:” It means a rhythmic beating and usually refers to a drum beat.
waned—as in “The night waned, and I worked hastily” . . . Waned is an Old English word meaning ebbed. The antonym met elsewhere is waxed. Waxed and waned usually apply to the phases of the moon.
hypocritical—comes from the Greek word meaning an actor, or one who plays a part on the stage. Review some of the “ph” spellings of the “f” sound in recognizing Greek words: philosophy, phobia, phrase, phenomena, Philadelphia
Thought Questions:
1. Explain the evil eye. Why did the speaker call it the eye of the vulture? Do you think the old man was evil?
2. What does the first paragraph tell you? Why is this important?
3. What kind of mood does the first paragraph create?
4. You will notice that the story is written in the first person. Is the speaker the author?
5. Why did the story end so abruptly? Do you think it would have been better if you had been told more about what happened later?
6. Poe uses foreshadowing as a device. Can you identify clues which he has planted early in the story that point out later developments?
Lesson Plan 3
“The Cask of Amontillado”
Locate column A in the story and then double check your answers after you match the words in column B.
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A
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B
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1. precluded
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a. prevented
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2. impunity
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b. skilled technique
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3. unredressed
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c. expertness
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4. retribution
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d. destruction
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5. immolation
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e. punishment
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6. connoisseur
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f. not set right
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7. virtuoso
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g. consequence free
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Careful reading of Poe will help the student figure out new vocabulary from context clues. What is said before and after the new word often times helps you unlock the meaning.
“Poetic Relief”
Introduce your students to humor. Everyone needs a good laugh. Poe is known for his irony and puns. The kind of humor that derives from a double meaning of the same word is called a pun. A p. u. is not as funny as it is two thirds of a p.u.n. In this story Fortunate referred to the secret society of Masons. Montresor, had his own secret at this point in the story. Later we see when the wall is being built that we fully appreciate this grim joke.
Riddles and jokes are good warm up activities for the students: If April showers bring May flowers what do Mayflowers bring? pilgrims How many letters in the alphabet? 23 E. T. went home
The tortoise taught us or the porpoise’s purpose
What is black and white and red all over? newspaper or Poe symbolism
Review prefixes
sur- as in surmounted
ab- as in absconded (
separate prefixes and then define)
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1. surface
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6. surtax
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11. surpass
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16. abrogate
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2. surfeit
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7. surname
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12. surrealism
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17. abdicate
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4. surplus
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8. surprise
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13. survey
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18. abject
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4. surrender
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9. surveillance
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14. abnormal
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19. absorb
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5. survive
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10. surcharge
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15. abstract
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20. absent
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Have students select words from the story to identify mood.
What is the moral of the story?
How does Montresor keep Fortunate in the catacombs?
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1. From what point of view is the story told?
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2. Discuss journey narrative first and have students compare the walk down to the catacombs and the depths of Montresor’s hatred.
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3. How does Poe’s use of the carnival setting create a certain atmosphere? Students should note that through contrast Poe heightens the atmosphere of horror because the carnival setting is not what we might expect for a murder tale.
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4. Note the irony between Fortunate and Montresor in their conversation after the coughing spell. How is the last sentence ironic? “For half of a century no mortal has disturbed them. In pace requiescat:” (May he rest in peace!)
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5. vocabulary investigation-connotation expand literal meanings greatly. For example, the word dark means without light. Yet most of us associate with this word fear, evil, unknown, terror, lack of understanding, even cruelty. What associations do these words conjure up: dusk, filmy, catacombs, damp?
Creative Writing
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1. Describe a haunted house. Be very detailed as if it were the main attraction in your chilling story. Paint pictures of it verbally and then with pen and ink. Can you make your classmates draw the house from your vivid descriptions?
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2. Have you ever been afraid? Recount an incident that made you afraid. and try to make the reader feel your terror by the details you tell and the tone of the words you choose to describe the situation.
