1. And the Works of Edgar Allan Poe
Gothic Literature
And the Works of
Edgar Allan Poe

2. Before handing in your poem, quickly answer the following questions:
Dr. Seuss
Before handing in your poem, quickly answer the following questions:
What makes your poem a “Dr. Seuss” poem?
Did you write your poem thinking more about content or sound? In other words, were you interested in conveying a particular message, or did you not care so much about that and just wanted the sound to mimic Dr. Seuss?
What other poets do you know of that have a unique style or sound?

3. Characteristics of Gothic Fiction
Mystery
Horror
The Grotesque
Violence
The Supernatural

4. Edgar Allan Poe
Lived
He is the most important American poet before Walt Whitman
His life was filled with personal tragedy and professional failure
His greatest success was “The Raven,” which brought him fame, but earned him only $14.00
Numerous women whom he loved died (stepmother, childhood love, and wife), most from tuberculosis

5. from “The Philosophy of Composition”
“The death…of a beautiful woman is, unquestionably, the most poetical topic in the world – and equally is it beyond doubt that the lips best suited for such topic are those of a bereaved lover.”
Edgar Allan Poe
from “The Philosophy of Composition”

6. Poe
Poe can be considered the father of the modern horror story, influencing writers such as Stephen King and Anne Rice

7. Poe Poe’s characters are often tortured by guilt
Like many of his characters, Poe was caught between
-Rationality & irrationality
-Order & chaos

8. The Raven
Fun fact: "The Raven" was first attributed to Poe in print in the New York Evening Mirror on January 29, 1845.

9. “THE RAVEN”
Written while Poe’s wife, Virginia, was dying from tuberculosis The darkness of the poem– the feeling that he will be free from the pain of the memory of his “Lost Lenore” nevermore is reflective of the agony and desperation Poe felt in his own life.

10. “THE RAVEN”
The poem contains internal rhyme: “Once upon a midnight dreary while I wandered weak and weary” Poe establishes immediately, an atmosphere/tone of darkness/melancholy/ suspense/fear/anxiety

12. Read “The Raven” out loud. Answer the following questions:
What do you like about the poem? Consider content, form, and style.
This is a narrative poem, meaning it tells a story. Briefly summarize the story.
Homework: Memorize designated lines to recite on Monday as a class.

13. The Raven
Famous as it was and still is, nothing can quite beat The Simpsons’ rendition of “The Raven.”