Edgar Allan Poe Short Stories and Poems

I have always loved Edgar Allan Poe’s work; I read quite of bit of his work in high school and college.  Poe is probably one of the most well-renowned writers and I feel is beneficial for secondary students to cover.  “The Raven,” his most famous poem can be easily used to teach elements of poetry.  I can see many teaching strategies for his short stories and poems.

My favorite Poe short story is “The Fall of the House of Usher;” I read this during my Honors 10th grade English class and fell in love with it.  I can see using the story to learn about tone and imagery; the first line of the short is packed full of tone and imagery that students can spend a good amount of time taking the first line apart for different types of imagery and all the dark and dreary imagery.  That would set up the mood for the entire story.
“During the whole of a dull, dark, and soundless day in the autumn of the year, when the clouds hung oppressively low in the heavens, had been passing alone, on horseback, through a singularly dreary tract of country; and at length found myself, as the shades of the evening drew on, within the view of the melancholy House of Usher” (171).
House of Usher, along with Black Cat, would also be interesting to use as debating points for how Poe’s works were influenced by society and fear.  A common fear during the time Poe was writing was being buried alive, which can be seen in House of Usher with Madeline; she is believed to have 
died but she was buried alive by her own brother.  Therefore, students would look at what fear Poe was writing about in specific stories and how that fear transformed in the story.    

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