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Exposition (Lines 1-2): Setting the Scene
"Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore—"

Movement: Stretching
Start with a gentle, slow stretch to represent the tired and reflective nature of the narrator. This could be a forward fold stretch or neck rolls to symbolize "weak and weary" and the pondering state of mind. The stretch warms up the body in preparation for the exercise.

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Inciting Incident (Lines 3-4): The Tap at the Door
"While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door."

Movement: High knees or tapping the floor
The "tapping" could be physically represented with high knee exercises, where you tap.

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What color is the raven in the poem?
a. Blue
b. Black
c. White
d. Brown

Answer: b. Black

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What time of year does the poem take place?
a. Spring
b. Summer
c. Fall
d. Winter

Answer: d. Winter

Bonus: Can you find a line in the poem that indicates the season?

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What is the narrator doing at the beginning of the poem?
a. Sleeping
b. Writing
c. Reading
d. Talking to friends

Answer: c. Reading

Challenge: What specific type of literature might he have been reading?

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Where does the raven perch in the narrator's chamber?
a. On the floor
b. On the windowsill
c. On a bust of Pallas
d. On the bed

Answer: c. On a bust of Pallas

Discussion: Why do you think Poe chose this specific location?

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What is the name of the narrator's lost love?
a. Lenore
b. Elizabeth
c. Annabel Lee
d. Virginia

Answer: a. Lenore

Deeper dive: Research and discuss the significance of this name in Poe's work.

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How does the narrator initially explain the tapping sound he hears?
a. A ghost
b. The wind
c. A visitor
d. His imagination

Answer: c. A visitor

Analysis: How does this initial assumption contrast with the eventual reality?

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What emotion best describes the narrator's state of mind throughout the poem?
a. Joy
b. Anger
c. Melancholy
d. Indifference

Answer: c. Melancholy

Challenge: Find three quotes from the poem that support this emotional state.

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What might the raven symbolize in the poem?
a. Death
b. Memory
c. Grief
d. All of the above

Answer: d. All of the above

Discussion: Provide textual evidence for each symbolic interpretation.

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What is the rhyme scheme of "The Raven"?
a. ABAB
b. ABCBBB
c. AABBCC
d. Free verse

Answer: b. ABCBBB

Challenge: Identify other poetic devices used in the poem.

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To which literary movement does "The Raven" belong?
a. Romanticism
b. Realism
c. Modernism
d. Postmodernism

Answer: a. Romanticism

Research: Compare "The Raven" to another poem from the same movement.

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LLCER Anglais | Site d'aide à la phonologie anglaise, grammaire, linguistique et civilisations anglophones

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Introduction to Edgar Alan Poe's Works and American Dark-Romanticism
American Literature

Edgar Allan Poe was born in 1809 in Boston and died in 1849 in Baltimore. He is credited with developing the Gothic horror story , and being a significant early forerunner of the science-fiction form. Edgar Allan Poe, as well as Herman Melville and Nathaniel Hawthorne, contributed to creating the subgenre of Dark-Romanticism.
In order to understand and appreciate Poe's work, it is necessary to understand the literary movement within which it was written (Romanticism), as well as the influence Gothic literature exerted on his fictions.

It was a movement that arose gradually, evolved in many ways, went through so many phases, and was practiced by numerous writers. Romanticism started as a reaction against the rationalism of the Age of Reason. It was characterized by its emphasis on emotions and individualism, as well as glorification of all the past and nature, preferring the medieval rather than the classical. In America, it dominated the literary scene from around 1820 to the end of the Civil War (1865) and the rise of Realism.
​The Romantic Movement is also characterized by a celebration of the sublime , and a belief in individualism.

Oxford Definition of Romanticism
A style and movement in art, music and literature in the late 18th and early 19th century, in which strong feelings, imagination and a return to nature were more important than reason, order and intellectual ideas.

The Sublime : The sublime is an emotional experience a person goes through when confronted with a situation which seeks to inspire respect and fear
(awe-inspiring). It becomes a way to also find beauty in something which may be regarded as otherwise frightening. ​

Origins :
The word Gothic originally describes a style of European architecture (primarily employed in churches) which flourished from the 12 th through the 16 th centuries. Gothic architecture used pointed arches and vaults and narrow spires, stained glass windows, intricate patterns; and varied details. Its upward movement was meant to suggest heavenward aspiration. ​

Feelings and emotions : The Gothic style expressed the essence of the Catholic faith, concerned with creating a sense of the numinous (
sacré), of the presence of God. The style, with its pointed arches and spires, was meant to inspire a feeling verticality and elevation, as if the building was reaching up towards heaven.

Why is it called "Gothic" architecture?

​The term was first used during the later Renaissance as a pejorative term. Italians of the time were interested in characterizing this style as non-classical, which they identified with the Goths (i.e. Germans - but also the peoples who conquered the Romans, destroying Classical civilization.) However, it is worth underlying the fact that the style originated in France, and during the Middle Ages, well after the Goths.

Why is it called Gothic Literature?
​The term Gothic came to be applied to the literary genre precisely because the genre commonly used such natural settings as castles, mansions, monasteries, medieval ruins or other buildings in this style.

Gothic Novels are English novels dealing with frightening or magic subjects. Most Gothic novels are set in ruined castles or large old houses with ghosts, and were written in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The style was made popular by Horace Walpole's The Castle of Otranto (1764), and influenced writers such as Mary Shelley and Edgar Allan Poe, as well as 20th-century horror stories and horror films.

For Romantic poets and painters of the 19th century, Gothic architecture created strong sensations of terror, that provoked a feeling of "awe" (mix of fear and fascination). The European Romantic movement reached America in the early 19th century, and American Romantic Gothic literature made an early appearance with Washington Irving's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (1820) .

Dark Romanticism is a literary subgenre of Romanticism. Dark Romanticism evolved from the combination of Romantic and Gothic elements in stories. In other words, Dark Romanticism is a gloomier form of Romanticism because it includes several Gothic elements. While Romanticism glorifies the inherent sublimity of human intentions, Dark Romanticism is characterized by a preoccupation with emotions like apprehension, fear, and the grotesque aspect of imagination.

The most famous Dark-Romantic authors in American Literature are Edgar Alan Poe, Herman Melville. They each left a significant impact on American literature. By mixing Romanticism and the Gothic, each popular literary movement in their day, they created the new subgenre of Dark Romanticism. ​ Nathaniel Hawthorne and

Conclusion

Edgar Allan Poe (1809-49) is perhaps the best-known American Dark-Romantic author - a Romantic who worked in the so-called Gothic mode. His poems and stories explore the darker side of the Romantic imagination, dealing with the mysterious, the supernatural, and the horrifying. Poe writes using a different type of Romanticism, one that combines the well-known aspects of traditional Romanticism with the darker themes of Gothic fiction.

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Edgar Allan Poe was born in 1809 in Boston and died in 1849 in Baltimore. He is credited with developing the Gothic horror story , and being a significant early forerunner of the science-fiction form. Edgar Allan Poe, as well as Herman Melville and Nathaniel Hawthorne, contributed to creating the subgenre of Dark-Romanticism.

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Based on your reading of "The Raven," create your own Jeopardy-style question. Include four answer choices and mark the correct one. The best questions will be featured in our next class discussion!

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Record yourself reciting the first stanza of "The Raven." Pay attention to rhythm and mood. Share your recording in the comments for peer feedback!

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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."

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.

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."

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.

Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing,

Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal 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.

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!"

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.

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."

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 blessed with seeing bird above his chamber door-

Bird or beast upon the sculptured bust above his chamber door,

With such name as "Nevermore."

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 farther 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."

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

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."

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 lamp-light gloated o'er,

But whose velvet-violet lining with the lamp-light gloating o'er,

She shall press, ah, nevermore!

Then, methought, the air grew denser, perfumed from an unseen censer

Swung by Seraphim whose foot-falls 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."

"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."

"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."

"Be that word our sign of 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."

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 lamp-light 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!

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The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe | Poetry Foundation

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

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Create a visual representation of a scene or theme from "The Raven." This could be a drawing, digital art, or even a short video. Share your creation in the comments and explain your artistic choices!

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Identify the rhyme scheme used in the second stanza of the poem and provide an example. a. AABBb. ABCBBBc. ABABd. ABBAAnswer: b. ABCBBB

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Which word best describes the mood of the second stanza of the poem?a. Joyfulb. Mysteriousc. Hopefuld. AngryAnswer: b. MysteriousAdjustment: Suggest another word that captures the mood in your opinion.

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Interpret this quote from the poem: "And the silken, sad, uncertain rustling of each purple curtain" a. Fearb. Serenityc. Anticipationd. CalmnessInterpretation: Share your thoughts on how this line sets the tone for the scene.

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Consider: How would the poem differ if told from a third-person perspective?

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Challenge: Provide examples from stanzas 11 through 15.

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Thought: How do these questions reflect human nature?

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Question: How does Poe enforce this theme through his writing style?

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Discussion: Comment on how your depiction might differ from Poe's vision.