1. “the raven” by edgar allan poe “the cremation of sam mcgee” by Robert w. service
Read along as we listen to the two poems, “The Raven” and “The Cremation of Sam McGee.”
Number each stanza at the top, center.
Number each line of both poems on the left side.
Note the rhyme scheme of each line of both poems on the right side.
Now tackle tone, mood, and paraphrasing; go through one stanza at a time.
Highlight words that denote tone in one highlighter color. Highlight words that denote mood in a second highlighter color. You should set up a key to differentiate.
Write down the overall tone and mood of the entire poem next to each stanza in the left margin. Look at your list of tone and mood words for help.
Summarize (paraphrase) each stanza in the right margin.
Complete a TPCASTT and DIDLS graphic organizer for each poem. You will have one TPCASTT and one DIDLS worksheet for each poem. Be sure you label each worksheet with the name of the corresponding poem on it to keep track.
You may work with your group. If I catch you off topic, group work will stop, and you will work individually instead and will not be able to help each other.
Every group should have all of the same information on their four worksheets (2 for each poem). All four worksheets should be as detailed as the model of “Dreams” we looked at in class.
DON’T FORGET TO WRITE YOUR NAME ON THE TOP OF ALL YOUR WORKSHEETS!!

2. “The Raven” BY EDGAR ALLAN POE
Hand in any work owed into your class inbox.
Get out your handouts, writing utensil, and two different- colored highlighters.

4. “the raven” by edgar alLan poe take out your stack of worksheets
Read along as we listen to the poem, “The Raven.”
Number each stanza at the top, center.
Number each line of the poem on the left side.
Note the rhyme scheme of each line of the poem on the right side.
Now tackle tone and mood one stanza at a time.
Highlight words that denote tone in one highlighter color. Highlight words that denote mood in a second highlighter color. Look at your list of tone and mood words for help. You should set up a key to differentiate.
Write down the tone and mood next to each stanza in the left margin.
Summarize (paraphrase) each stanza in the right margin.
Complete a TPCASTT and DIDLS graphic organizer. Since you will have one TPCASTT and one DIDLS worksheet for each poem, be sure you label each worksheet with the appropriate poem’s name on it.
You may work with your group. If I catch you off topic, group work will stop, and you will work individually instead and will not be able to help each other.
Every group should have all of the same information on their four worksheets (2 for each poem). All four worksheets should be as detailed as the model of “Dreams” we looked at in class.

5. In-depth analysis of an American classic
tpcastt
In-depth analysis of an American classic

6. Title
The title suggests that the subject of the poem will encounter a raven
The literal meaning is that a raven will most likely be present in the poem
I predict that the poem will be about a man’s encounter with a raven.

7. Paraphrase
Stanza 1: One night I was thinking, and I heard a tapping sound
Stanza 2: I then thought of dead Lenore and was sad
Stanza 3: I then saw the curtain moving and it scared me
Stanza 4: I then go to see if there is a visitor at my door, but there is no one there
Stanza 5: I yell out Lenore, but no one answers
Stanza 6: Once again I hear a tapping sound, but I blame it on the wind
Stanza 7: I find a raven outside my window
Stanza 8: I talked to the raven and it talked back
Stanza 9: I thought about the raven's response and decided that it did not mean much

8. Paraphrase
Stanza 10: I spoke to him again and once more he replied with “Nevermore'
Stanza 11: I decide that it must just be repeating some words that it heard.
Stanza 12: While I looked at him, he said “Nevermore”
Stanza 13: I looked at the raven and began to think of Lenore
Stanza 14: I then began to ask the raven for my lost Lenore
Stanza 15: The raven denies so I call it evil and ask him questions
Stanza 16: The raven denies me answers to these questions as well, so I call him evil again
Stanza 17: I tell the raven to leave
Stanza 18: The raven does not leave

9. Connotation
The poem is literally about a man that finds a talking raven. However, the real meaning of the poem is a man is depressed about his lost love, and finds a raven. He then asks questions to the raven, but it will not give him any answers. He wrongly believes that the raven is an evil thing.
The tapping is auditory. The symbol is the raven symbolizing death. The point of view of the poem is seen through the man's eyes so the reader gets a depressed, angry, and fearful look at the poem.

10. Attitude
The speaker's attitude is depressed, angry and fearful. He is sad about losing Lenore, he is angry at the raven when it will not give him answers about Lenore, and he is sort of fearful of the raven.

11. Shift
A shift occurs when the man questions the raven about Lenore, but he gets no answer.
The purpose of this shift is to show the anger the man has about not getting answers to a very painful subject for him
They show how bad the man's mental state has become and emphasizes his desire for answers, and his frustration for not getting any.

12. title
Yes, the poem was about a man's encounter with a raven, but the raven could be a manifestation of the narrator’s imagination since ravens symbolize death.
The poem dealt with death and how one deals with grief.

13. Theme
One theme of this poem is that despite death being painful and sad, death is not evil and should not be questioned.
Another theme is that despite death being painful and sad, one must not dwell on the death, because if they do worse emotions will fall on them.

14. DIDLS
Another analysis tool

15. Diction
Most of the allusions in Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven" are mythological or Biblical. The "bust of Pallas" on line 11 is a reference to a statue of Athena, Greek goddess of wisdom and war. The "Night's Plutonian shore" on line 17 is speaking of the underworld, home of Hades. The narrator refers to the raven as "of the saintly days of yore," which refers to I Kings 17:1-6 where ravens feed the prophet Elijah (line 38). Nepenthe is a legendary potion that supposedly relieves pain and sorrow. The narrator asks if there are herbs that will do this in Gilead which basically restates a line from Jeremiah 8:22 about balm in Gilead.

16. Diction
As "The Raven" is Gothic, its overall tone is dark and gloomy. The narrator has hidden himself away in his room while he constantly tries to forget Lenore's death. This serves to make the poem feel sad, and the presence of the raven even makes the poem seem creepy. The poem is in a first person perspective. The narrator does not seem completely sane but also not insane either, making him a semi-reliable narrator. He tells the events as they are happening, but he is heavily affected by his mourning over Lenore. This makes it uncertain whether the raven was ever real or just in the narrator's mind. The narrator does not seem to know this either until the very end of the poem when he realizes what the raven represents.

17. Diction
"The Raven" has multiple examples of literary devices and figurative language. It especially contains an internal rhyme scheme which helps give the poem its musical beat. There are also many examples of alliteration ("nodded, nearly napping" on line 3), consonance ("silken, sad, uncertain rustling" on line 13), and assonance ("rare and radiant maiden" on line 11). The raven is also personified a lot within the poem. He not only has the ability to speak, but he also is described as wearing a "grave and stern...countenance" which would mean he has an actual facial expression (line 44). The narrator uses a simile when referring to the bird's eyes: "And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon's that is dreaming" (line 105).

18. Diction
There are a few phrases that are emphasized in "The Raven." "Nevermore" is used the most. It is repeated eleven times within the poem, every time as the last word of a stanza. Nevermore is another way of saying 'never again'. This is important because the narrator is realizing that he will never again see Lenore and that he will also never again be able to fully let her go. Another word that is emphasized is "Disaster" on line 63. It is capitalized because it is being personified along with "Hope" in line 65.

19. Diction
The use of a raven was chosen by Poe because of its connotation. It is a black bird that gives off an eerie feel with its cawing. Poe had originally considered a parrot (whose speaking would have been realistic) instead of a raven, but he decided to use the raven "because of the melancholy tone [of the poem], and the symbolism of ravens as birds of ill-omen" (Hallqvist). The name Lenore may have been chosen intentionally for its meanings. In Greek (a culture referred to within the work), it means 'pity' which is what the reader feels for her and for the narrator because of the loss of her. In Arabic (another culture that is referenced in the poem), it means "God is my light" ("Lenore"). The narrator believes Lenore to be in Heaven now. He even the angels gave her the name Lenore. Therefore, it would make sense that she have a name that relates to God.

20. Imagery
Visual Imagery: Perched upon a bust of Pallas just above my chamber door- Perched, and sat, and nothing more. – The use of visual imagery lets the reader imagine a raven perched upon the chamber header. The bust is depicted as Pallas, most likely referring to the Greek goddess of wisdom, Pallas Athena. Auditory Imagery: Soon again I heard a tapping somewhat louder than before. – The protagonist hears tapping in the beginning of the poem, multiple times. Before the raven entered his chambers, he would hear tapping on his chamber door and eventually tapping on his window. This appeals to the readers sense of sound and familiarizes the reader with the dreary tapping noises.

21. Imagery
Organic Imagery: Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary, – The opening line of The Raven sets the emotional feel for the entire poem. The use of organic imagery in this stanza allows the reader to understand the antagonist’s feeble state. Kinesthetic Imagery: 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; – Poe’s use of kinesthetic imagery in these two stanzas shows the aggressive movement of the Raven entering the man’s window.

22. Details
The lover, often identified as being a student, is lamenting the loss of his love, Lenore. Sitting on a bust of Pallas, the raven seems to further instigate his distress with its constant repetition of the word "Nevermore". The poem makes use of a number of folk, mythological, religious, and classical references.

23. Language
The language in the poem is antiquated, passionate in the narrator’s description of his love for Lenore, dark in tone and theme, and fearful in its depiction of death and grieving.

24. Syntax
The em-dash punctuation signals an abrupt change of thought or tone. Poe uses it frequently within this poem to build intensity and demonstrate the narrator's wavering mind. Notice how the narrator interrupts his train of thought, or attempts to stop his fantastical thinking using this punctuation. Edgar Allan Poe not only used his dark side of his imagination, but he used syntax improperly to add emphasis to his poem's stanzas. When Poe used improper syntax in his poems, he added depth and mystery to phrases that a reader cannot understand and is therefore condemned to find out the meaning. When syntax is tweaked, phrases and stanzas seem completely irregular and uncomforting; this provides an area of imagination where a reader can interpret the syntax as symbolism or other parts of figurative speech.

25. Syntax
Examples:
“That I scarce was sure I heard you' - here I opened wide the door; -“
“Not the least obeisance made he; not a minute stopped or stayed he;”
“`Though thy crest be shorn and shaven, thou,' I said, `art sure no craven.”
“That one word, as if his soul in that one word he did outpour.”
“`Doubtless,' said I, `what it utters is its only stock and store,”
“This and more I sat divining, with my head at ease reclining”
“Whether tempter sent, or whether tempest tossed thee here ashore,”
“`Get thee back into the tempest and the Night's Plutonian shore!

26. “The Cremation of Sam McGee” by Robert w. service
You will need your handouts, writing utensil, and two different-colored highlighters.

28. “the cremation of sam mcgee” by Robert w
“the cremation of sam mcgee” by Robert w. service get out your worksheets
Read along as we listen to the poem, “The Cremation of Sam McGee.”
Number each stanza at the top, center.
Number each line of the poem on the left side.
Note the rhyme scheme of each line of the poem on the right side.
Now tackle tone and mood one stanza at a time.
Highlight words that denote tone in one highlighter color. Highlight words that denote mood in a second highlighter color. Look at your list of tone and mood words for help. You should set up a key to differentiate.
Write down the tone and mood next to each stanza in the left margin.
Summarize (paraphrase) each stanza in the right margin.
Complete a TPCASTT and DIDLS graphic organizer. Since you will have one TPCASTT and one DIDLS worksheet for each poem, be sure you label each worksheet with the appropriate poem’s name on it.
You may work with your group. If I catch you off topic, group work will stop, and you will work individually instead and will not be able to help each other.
Every group should have all of the same information on their four worksheets (2 for each poem). All four worksheets should be as detailed as the model of “Dreams” we looked at in class.

29. TPCASTT
In-depth analysis of an American classic

30. TITLE
The title suggests that the poem will be about the cremation of a man named Sam McGee.
The literal meaning is that a man named Sam McGee will be cremated.
The figurative meaning is that a man named Sam McGee will be cremated, but that said cremation will be more symbolic, such as a spiritual death.
I predict that a man named Sam McGee will be cremated.

31. paraphrase
Stanza 1: A lot of strange these happen up here in the Yukon along the Arctic circle, but the weirdest thing I ever say was on the night that Sam McGee was cremated.
Stanza 2: Sam McGee was from Tennessee, and I have no idea why he moved to the Yukon because he always complained about it being so cold.
Stanza 3: One year on Christmas Day, we were mushing over the Dawson Trail; it was so cold that it felt like you were being stabbed by icicles, but the only one complaining was Sam McGee.
Stanza 4: That night Sam, believing he was going to die from the cold, asked of me one last request.
Stanza 5: I felt bad so I promised that if he died on this trip that I would cremate his body.
Stanza 6: I gave Sam my word that I would see that his body was cremated and before the end of the next day, Sam was dead.
Stanza 7: I made the promise and since I gave my word, I continued on my way with Sam’s corpse strapped to the sled.

32. PARAPHRASE
Stanza 8: I gave my word, but I was not happy that I made the promise to Sam.
Stanza 9: As the day wore on, the lode grew heavier and heavier, but I did not give up and continued on the trail.
Stanza 10: Finally, I came to Lake Lebarge and saw an old ship named “Alice May” that was wrecked on the shore.
Stanza 11: I tore up some of the ship’s planks and threw them into a boiler in order make a large fire, into which I placed the body of Sam McGee.
Stanza 12: I grew uncomfortable in the boiler room, so I went outside to wait.
Stanza 13: Even though I was filled with dread, I went back inside the ship to check on Sam’s fire.
Stanza 14: When I opened the door to the boiler, there sat Sam smiling and looking cool and calm. He asked me to close the furnace door so that I would not let in the cold air.
Stanza 15: A lot of strange these happen up here in the Yukon along the Arctic circle, but the weirdest thing I ever say was on the night that Sam McGee was cremated.

33. CONNOTATION
Service’s verse is in the style and tradition of oral folk lore. In this tradition, the poet tells the story using simple language in catchy meter and rhyme scheme. Despite the use of plain language, his characters and their stories mythologize the adventure and masculine vigor of life during the Klondike gold rush. The narrator has given his word to Sam and then endures severe hardships in order to keep his word. The characters achieve, in the hands of Service, a stature that belies their humble origins and surroundings. They become icons of the north woodsman who lived by a special code of honor and duty to keep one’s word.

34. CONNOTATION
Service’s verses are marked by their playful rhythms and unusual rhyme schemes. The rhyme pattern of the present verse is abcb defe and the meter is a lilting iambic pattern, with four and three beats in alternating lines. An iamb is a two-syllable foot, with an accent on the second syllable; a foot is a metrical unit consisting of two or three syllables. The interesting aspect here is the occasional inclusion of an anapest foot or two where the story line needed the extra syllables. An anapest foot is a three-syllable foot with two unaccented and one accented syllables. The first line is a good example of this. “There are strange” (the anapest foot) “things done” (the iambic foot) “in the midnight sun” (a second set of an anapest foot followed by an iambic foot).

35. ATTITUDE
“The Cremation of Sam McGee” opens with a stanza that establishes the tone of the work, giving it a mysterious air that the following tale will then unravel. The stanza is repeated at the close of the ballad, and thereby frames it. The final stanza is printed in italics for added emphasis. In this way, it functions like the choruses of ancient Greek dramas. This helps to set the tone and establish the mood of the verse they bracket.

36. SHIFT
There is a shift in the tone between Stanzas 11 and 12. Before the poem’s climax, there is a brief pause, a two-stanza caesura. The activities of Stanza 12 echo the despair of Stanzas 6,7 and 8, with scowling heavens, howling winds, and icy cold. The dancing stars, however, replace the death images with one of delight and amusement, cleverly anticipating the poem’s unforgettable ending. The unexpected sight of Sam McGee sitting in the middle of the fire presents a far more comic image. The tone changes from mysterious and morose to comical and ironic.

37. TITLE (AGAIN)
During the poem, the eponymous character is, indeed, cremated; however, some readers may feel that the ballad is open-ended. Was Sam McGee merely frozen and then thawed in the crematorium, or is that a ghostly apparition that the narrator sees in the stove? Knowing that this is a ballad, the reader can assume that it is the unfrozen Sam sitting in the middle of the fire.

38. THEME
Nature, and survival in the wilderness: The first nine stanzas of “The Cremation of Sam McGee” discuss at length the problem of survival in the Arctic wilderness. The deathly cold is but one element. Long distances between pockets of civilization and extreme loneliness also factor into how one survives in this environment. 
Death: The ballad is filled with images of death. The frozen corpse of Sam McGee being the most obvious. Stanza 6 mentions the deaths of other “sourdoughs” who have been claimed by the Yukon cold.
Loyalty: Sam cannot defeat death by himself. Without Cap’s help, Sam will die. Sam has to depend on Cap’s loyalty to follow through on his last request. It is clear from Cap’s thoughts that loyalty is what compels him to honor Sam’s wish to be cremated. 

39. DIDLS
Another analysis tool

40. DICTION
The narrator speaks in the colloquial and is quite informal. The poem is a ballad, which is a poetic form that is very homely and familiar to the reader. A ballad’s song-like structure makes its auditorily appealing to a reader as it is easy on the ears.

41. IMAGERY
Stanza 1: “Northern lights” (L 5) appeals to the reader’s sight. You can visual the beautiful lights in the night skies.
Stanza 3: “..stabbed like a driven nail” (L14). The air is so cold that it feels as painful as being stabbed by a nail.
Stanza 4: “…stars o’erhead were dancing heel to toe” (L 17). You can visualize the stars twinkling so much that they look like they are dancing in the sky.
Stanza 6: “God! He looked ghastly pale” (L 26). Sam McGee is so white that he is as pale and white as a ghost.
Stanza 8: “…the huskies, round in a ring, / Howled out their woes…” (L 35 – 36). The reader can hear the huskies howling into the night.
Stanza 10: “The flames just soared, and the furnace roared” (L 47). You can hear the roar of the flames as the fire gets bigger and bigger.
Stanza 11: “…the greasy smoke in an inky cloak went streaking down the sky.” (L 52). The smoke was so black, blacker than the night sky, that you can see it dancing in the air.

42. DETAILS
The narrator does not discuss why the men were there in the Arctic. One must infer that they were there, risking their lives, in order to make money during the gold rush in Alaska. Many people went to Alaska to claim their fortune in gold; some were successful, but most were not. A man from the South, like Sam McGee, would be especially unfamiliar and unaccustomed to such cold weather.

43. LANGUAGE
The narrator’s sentimentality, metronomic rhythms, simplicity, and limited range allows the ballad to be memorable, recitable, and sympathetic to ordinary people. The ballad is not full of pretention and the sly humor and metrical regularity make it readily adaptable to parlor performance.

44. SYNTAX
“The Cremation of Sam McGee” is written in the form of a ballad. Ignoring the eight-line opening, the poem follows a regular pattern of four-line stanzas composed of two rhyming couplets. The regular, metronome-like rhythms make this poem (and others from by Robert Service) easy to memorize and recite, reminiscent of Edgar Allan Poe’s, “The Raven.” The reliance on internal rhyme drives the action of the ballad and enhances the performance aspect. The opening and closing lines follow the same metrical and rhyming patterns of the narrative stanzas, but Service reconfigures them into eight-line stanzas and puts them in italics to create a mood of mystery and suspense at the beginning, and comic irony at the end.

45. PRE-READING
NOTES
ALL FOUR OF YOUR WORKSHEETS SHOULD BE AS DETAILED AS THE “DREAMS” MODEL.
ALL MEMBERS OF YOUR GROUP SHOULD HAVE THE SAME ANNOTATIONS ON BOTH POEMS AND THE SAME INFORMATION ON ALL FOUR WORKSHEETS.
THE MORE DETAILED YOUR PRE-READING NOTES, THE BETTER YOUR ESSAY WILL BE.
WORKS CITED
Poe, Edgar Allan. "The Raven." Poetry Foundation. Harriett Monroe Poetry Institute, n.d. Web. 16 Jan.
2017. <
Service, Robert W. “The Cremation of Sam McGee." Poetry Foundation. Harriett Monroe Poetry
Institute, n.d. Web. 16 Jan <
IN-TEXT CITATIONS
(Poe line _____) or (Poe lines ___ - ___)
(Service line ___) or (Service lines ___ - ___)