It is a tradition for students in language arts classes to study "The Raven" by Edgar Allan Poe around Halloween. Lucky classes often get to watch the segment of The Simpson's that is based on "The Raven," and many students probably agree with Bart Simpson's analysis, "Lisa, that isn't scary, even for a poem." To differentiate a study of "The Raven" for gifted and talented students, teachers can offer more information about the melancholy poem for students to explore in centers.
The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe by John Henry Ingram
To create new opportunities for students to interact with "The Raven," the only book teachers need is a one that is available as a free download from Google Books. The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe by John Henry Ingram is an 1885 study of Poe's poem, and it includes the history of the poem as well as several translations of the poem. The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe is one of several free Edgar Allan Poe poetry ebooks from Google Books.
Because Ingram's book is in the public domain, there are no copyright restrictions on downloading and printing copies for students. The entire book can be broken down and adapted as center activities for students who are ready to move away from the commercialized view of "The Raven" as a horror poem and explore the poem as one of the most widely published works in the world.
Alternate Lines That Poe Considered for "The Raven"
The poem that students read annually is not the only version of "The Raven" that Poe wrote. Ingram has a quick list of line variations. Teachers can download and print the " Variations of 'The Raven '" section as a pdf file, and students can read the poem to each other and listen to the differences in the language.
It is important that this center is structured so that students can read the variations aloud, because the meaning of the poem, which Poe wrote in 1845, does not change with the alternate lines. The lines were Poe's experiments in how the "The Raven" would sound to the reader.
Compare "The Raven" by Edgar Allan Poe to "The Widowed Heart" by Albert Pike
Ingram outlines the basis of his theory that "The Raven" was based on "The Widowed Heart" by Albert Pike. Pike's poem was published in a magazine that Poe edited, and the two poems share structural similarities as well as a mirrored sense of melancholy. A center can be created to allow students to compare "The Raven" and "The Widowed Heart."
In The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe, "The Widowed Heart" is titled "Isadore," which was the title of the poem when Poe might have read it. A few lines of "Isadore" will be of particular interest to students:
The mocking-bird still sits and sings a melancholy strain/ For my heart is like a heavy cloud that overflows with rain./Thou art lost to me forever, Isadore.
In reading the whole poem, students will recognize the structural pattern similarity, they will notice that "Isadore" rhymes with "Lenore," and no one can miss that the mocking bird that sits still is a close cousin to the most famous bird in poetry.
Translations of "The Raven" in French, German, and Latin
Several learning centers could be created by using the different translations Ingram offers of "The Raven." Although translations do not follow the poem word for word, there is one word in "The Raven" that students will immediately seek because of Poe's poetic structure: "nevermore." Students may never have studied a foreign language, but the familiarity of "The Raven" will mean that they immediately recognize these phrases:
- Le Corbeau dit: "Jamais plus!" (French)
- Sprach der Rabe : " Nimmermehr." (German)
- Corvus rettulit, " Non amplius." (Latin)
Looking at different translations and puzzling out the meanings in comparison to the original is also a fun way to encourage students to use English to French and English to German dictionaries. With the Latin translations, students will probably see familiar word roots that they see in modern English.
All of these activities depend on students having prior knowledge and understanding of "The Raven." Students who are gifted and talented in language arts will benefit from the challenges presented by looking at Edgar Allan Poe's "Raven" in different ways: by looking at text variations that Poe considered, by comparing Poe's poem to Pike's poem, and by reading French, German, and Latin translations of "The Raven."
Sources
All Google Books were accessed on September 26, 2010. The books are in the public domain and copyright free, but they are too old to have ISBN or ASIN numbers assigned to them.
The Simpson's Tree House of Horror was episode 16 of The Simpsons. It was broadcast on Fox on October 25th, 1990. The Edgar Allan Poe segment was written by Sam Simon.
Alex Sharp - Alex Sharp is a teacher who has been keeping Suite101 readers up to date with the latest in audio- and e-book gadgetry since 2008.
