Name: __________________________________ Date: ______________

The Raven ASSIGNMENT ( Answer Key)

A. Define the underlined word in each sentence below: “'Tis some visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door...” to ask earnestly for something

“with mien of lord or lady, perched above my chamber door...” someone or somethings appearance

“oh quaff this kind nepenthe, and forget this lost Lenore!” to drink heartily

“Leave no black plume as a token of that lie thy soul hath spoken!” a single feather of a bird

“From my books surcease of sorrow - sorrow for the lost Lenore...” to stop or cease

B. Poetic Elements Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered weak and weary, While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,

In line (a) find the two words that are an example of internal rhyme and record them:

Weary & Dreary

In line (b) find the three words that are an example of alliteration and record them:

Nodded, nearly, napping

“And the silken sad uncertain rustling of each purple curtain...” In this line find two words that are an example of assonance and record them:

purple & curtain (vowel sounds that create the same rhyme or sounds)

C. Read the excerpt of The Raven that was provided and respond to and answer the following statements and questions.

Label each stanza of the plot events (exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, or resolution).

What is the setting of “The Raven”? Include month and weather. Month: December Weather: a cold and bleak night

Explain the conflict in “The Raven.”

The conflict in the “The Raven” is a bird annoying the narrator. The bird is driving the narrator crazy! In The Raven the major conflict is in narrator's mind. He's distraught by loss of love that it leads him to the brink of insanity.

1

In what ways does the author create “mood” in the opening stanza? The narrator sets the scene in a “bleak November.” It is pitch black outside so it is a

little spooky and creepy.

Is there any indication that the narrator may have dreamt the entire episode? Yes, there is indication that the narrator might have dreamed the whole thing because at the beginning of the poem, in the first STANZA he is about to fall asleep. In the fifth stanza he also says, doubting, dreaming dreams no mortals ever dared to dream before.

What is he hoping the Raven can tell him? He is hoping the Raven can tell him something of his lost Lenore. Copy and identify one form of figurative language used in the poem:

One form of figurative language used in the poem is a metaphor. He says that the Raven has “demon eyes.”

Throughout the poem, many words are repeated (ex: chamber, sorrow, Nevermore, Lenore). Why does Poe do this? What type of effect does it have on the reader?

Poe does this to give a musical quality to the poem for rhyme and repetition.

D. Put the events in “The Raven” in order by writing the numbers 1-6 on the lines provided.

The raven comes in and perches above the narrator’s door. ______4_______

The narrator yells at the raven to leave. ______6_________

The narrator whispers “Lenore” into the hallway. _______2________

The narrator questions whether the bird is natural or supernatural. _______5________

The narrator reads by the fire. ________1_______

The narrator hears something at the window and opens it. ________3__________

2

E. Textual Analysis 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 an instant 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.

Explain what happens in the stanza above: A bird(raven) flew into his room. The raven is sitting and not moving.• Here it comes! You knew from the title that there was a raven in here somewhere. Now, in the first two lines of

this stanza, it shows up. And not just any raven, but a really impressive, capital-R kind of Raven. A "stately" (that just means royal-looking) raven, one that makes the speaker think of older, nobler times, "the saintly days of yore" (38).

• This important-looking raven just prances in through the window. He doesn't even stop to say hi or to make a gesture of greeting (that's an "obeisance") to our speaker (39).

• He acts like an aristocrat ("with the mien of lord or lady") and doesn't waste any time making himself right at home. (40). In fact, he heads straight for that chamber door we've heard so much about and sits above it, on a statue.

• That statue is actually pretty important, and Poe definitely wants us to notice it, so let's take a moment to check it out.

• He describes it as a "bust" which is a statue that goes from the head to the middle of the torso. It's a statue of Pallas, another name for the ancient Greek goddess Athena. She is known primarily as a goddess of Wisdom.

When a major symbol like this shows up, we know to be on our guard. It's a lot different from the speaker saying, "the raven perched upon my crappy old lamp," or something like that. Poe might be trying to get us to think about whether this bird is wise or not, whether it's a thinking thing or just a mimic.

What word does the raven always use to answer the narrator’s questions? Nevermore!

Questions I have now that we’ve finished “The Raven.” ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3