McGuffey's Sixth Eclectic Reader, Revised Edition · Lesson CIX · Part 11: Franklin, the sea, India and The Raven

115. The Raven (Edgar Allan Poe)

Goal: Your student can follow the story of the poem, hear its rhythm and rhymes, and explain what the raven comes to mean.

⏱ About 45 minutes · 7 steps

Open it at the Internet Archive ↗

You'll need

  • The book, open to this lesson
  • A notebook and pen
  • A dictionary

What's in the book

Poe's poem The Raven, with a long author note. The heading is near the bottom of the page; the poem runs over several pages. Notes explain Pallas, Plutonian, Gilead and Aidenn.

The lesson, step by step

  1. Words and meanings

    Read the notes printed at the end of the lesson together before reading. The book explains, among others:

    Pallas: or Minerva, in ancient mythology the goddess of wisdom

    Gilead: a mountain group of Palestine, famous for its balm, here used figuratively

    Aidenn: a disguised spelling of the Arabic form of Eden, here used to mean heaven

    Ask your student to find two other hard words in the lesson, guess their meaning from the sentence, then check a dictionary.

  2. About the author

    The book says Poe (1811–1849) was orphaned young and raised by John Allan of Richmond. He did well at the University of Virginia but left because of irregularities, and also did not graduate from West Point. He quarreled with his benefactor and earned a precarious living writing for magazines. The Raven appeared in 1845 and made him famous.

  3. Read aloud

    Read it aloud, taking turns by stanza. Let your student read every 'Nevermore' in a low, flat voice.

    Listen for these lines:

    Shall be lifted — nevermore!

  4. Talk about it

    SayWhat is the speaker doing when the tapping begins? Why is he sad?

    SayWhat does the raven answer to every question? Why does the speaker keep asking?

    SayHow does the speaker's mood change from the start to the end?

    SayWhich sounds and rhymes do you notice? Find rhymes inside the lines, not just at the ends.

  5. Narration

    Your student tells the story of the poem in prose, from the first tapping to the last line.

  6. Memorize or copy

    Learn the first stanza of the poem from the book.

  7. Writing (optional)

    Write a paragraph: What do you think the raven stands for?

Afterwards

The Raven is a wonderful poem to perform. Spend a second day reading it aloud with expression.

@teddyrookbook GitHub