Name:
Date:
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The Raven
By: Edgar Allan Poe
Previewing Texts
1. Preview the poem by looking at the pictures and title. What do you predict this poem
will be about?
2. Fill out the first two boxes of the K-W-L Chart below. Write down what you know about
the topic in Box #1. Write down what you want to find out in Box #2. When you finish
reading the story, write what you learned or discovered in Box#3.
What I KNOW now
Box #1
What I WANT to find out
Box #2
What I LEARNED
Box #3
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Author’s Profile
Name: Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849)
Birthplace: Boston, Massachusetts
Famous Works: The Raven, Annabel Lee, The Bells, Lenore.
Writing Style: Edgar Allan Poe is known for his chilling poems and short stories. He is
widely considered one of the best horror writers of all time, a talent that is perhaps due to
his own tormented life. Many of his poems carry a musical rhythm, as Poe believed that
music was a powerful form of expression.
Famous Quote: “I became insane, with long intervals of horrible sanity.”
Questions For Thought
Directions: Answer the following questions in complete sentences. Be sure to proofread
your answers and be prepared to share.
1. Stanza 1: The speaker is up at midnight even though he admits to being tired and
weak. What is he doing? What is the mood that is being established?
2. Stanza 2: What diction does the speaker use in the 2nd stanza in order to help set the
tone and mood?
3. Stanza 4: What does the speaker find when he initially opens the door?
4. Stanza 5: What sound device is repeatedly used in the opening lines of the 5th stanza?
How does this begin to change the mood of the poem?
5. Stanza 7: How is the raven described in the 7th stanza? Where does it go to perch?
Pallas refers to Pallas Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom. Why do you suppose this
is significant?
6. Stanza 11: Why is the speaker startled at the beginning of the 11th stanza? What is his
reasoning for why the raven only knows how to respond with “nevermore”?
7. Stanza 12 and 13: How is the raven described at the end of the 12th stanza? What
does the speaker mean when he says that the fowl’s fiery eyes burn into his bosom?
8. Stanza 14: What causes the speaker to cry out in the 14th stanza? What does he want
respite from? How does the raven respond?
9. Stanza 17: Why is the speaker pleading with the raven to leave?
10. Stanza 18: How does the speaker imply that he is permanently connected to the raven
in the final stanza?
11. Consider the speaker’s discourse with the raven throughout the poem. The Raven
consistently responds with only a single word. What does this emphasize about the
speaker?
Term Review
Directions: Answer the questions about the following terms.
1. What is imagery? How can you determine when imagery is being used?
2. What is diction? How can diction affect the tone of a text?
3. What is persona? What are some ways that persona can be determined?
4. What is alliteration? Provide an example from the text.
5. What is internal rhyme? Provide an example from the text.
6. What is allusion? Provide an example from the text.
Critical Thinking
Prompt: Who do you feel is primarily responsible for tormenting the speaker in Edgar
Allan Poe’s The Raven? Is it the raven? Is it the speaker’s lost love Lenore? Is the speaker
responsible for his own self-torture? Provide concrete reasons for supporting your answer.