Please sit in your same groups from last week. No journal today.

1. Please sit in your same groups from last week. • No journal today. • Open your notebooks to the Literary Concepts section. • Reminder: Tomorrow you will receive a take-home assignment related to your independent reading. It will be due Monday, January 25.

2. “Back in eighteen forty-five, long before we were alive,Edgar Allan penned a poem renowned in literary lore.Poe, the early gothic maven, writes about an errant ravenWho can drive a man stark ravin', just by croaking ‘Nevermore.’Still today that raven's nestlings may be found the whole world o'er--                                   Namely, parodies galore.” From http://www.angelfire.com/al/10avs/ravenlike.html

3. Literary Concept: PARODY • A composition (story, poem, piece of art, film, song, etc.) imitating another, usually serious, piece. • Parody works by exaggerating certain aspects of the original’s content, structure, or style. • Parody: writing :: caricature: drawing

4. caricature

5. Here is a video parody of “The Raven” in a Halloween episode of The Simpsons. • http://vodpod.com/watch/1304748-the-raven-on-the-simpsons

6. The End of the RavenBy Edgar Allen Poe's CatCopied 2/6/09 from http://www.angelfire.com/al/10avs/poecat.html) On a night quite unenchanting, when the rain was downward slanting,I awakened to the ranting of the man I catch mice for.Tipsy and a bit unshaven, in a tone I found quite craven,Poe was talking to a Raven perched above the chamber door.“Raven's very tasty,” thought I, as I tiptoed o'er the floor,                                                            “There is nothing I like more.” Soft upon the rug I treaded, calm and careful as I headedTowards his roost atop that dreaded bust of Pallas I deplore.While the bard and birdie chattered, I made sure that nothing clattered,For his house is crammed with trinkets, curios and weird decor--                                                            Bric-a-brac and junk galore.

7. The End of the RavenBy Edgar Allen Poe's Cat Still the Raven never fluttered, standing stock-still as he uttered,In a voice that shrieked and sputtered, his two-cents' worth--“Nevermore.”While this dirge the birdbrain kept up, oh, so silently I crept up,Then I crouched and quickly leapt up, pouncing on the feathered bore.Soon he was a heap of plumage, and a little blood and gore--                 Only this and not much more. “Oooo!” my pickled poet cried out, “Pussycat, it's time I dried out!Never sat I in my hideout talking to a bird before;How I've wallowed in self-pity, while my gallant, valiant kittyPut an end to that damned ditty”--then I heard him start to snore.Back atop the door I clambered, eyed that statue I abhor,                          Jumped--and smashed it on the floor.

8. The Query - Adapted by Rob Collins(This one has been floating around a long time. Copied 2/6/09 from http://www.angelfire.com/al/10avs/pquery.html) Once upon a midnight dreary, fingers cramped and vision bleary,Program manuals piled high, and wasted paper on the floor,Longing for the warmth of bedsheets, still I sat there, doing spreadsheetsFor the high and mighty deadbeats whom I do computing for --For the overpaid executives who left at half past four --                                                            Too important to ignore. Under orders from the boss to make our profit beat our loss,I drew old data out of DOS, lured it into Lotus 4--Skipping sleep and suppertime, working well past eight and nine,Though I earned no overtime, still I wrestled with the chore.My career was on the line and a deadline loomed before,                                                            Too important to ignore.

9. The Query - Adapted by Rob Collins Ah, I know I did not smile as I struggled with the fileTill the data was compiled. Then I latched the A drive's door.With a weary, quaking hand I invoked the Save command,When there came a reprimand, implying damage was in store--A cryptic reprimand with but three options to explore:     Abort, Retry, Ignore?Much I marvelled: the repeating cursor like a heartbeat beatingGlowed beneath the cheating message that the monitor now wore.Now I glowered, nearly raving, for the PC wasn't savingThe result of all my slaving, for the spreadsheet wouldn't store.All my work would be for nothing if it came to nothing more        Than Abort, Retry, Ignore? ….

10. Reading Pointers for Sharper Insights (from www.enotes.com) As you read Edgar Allan Poe’s stories and poems, pay attention to Poe's ability to instill fear in the reader, primarily in the short stories: • Poe builds suspense throughout the stories, revealing some facts while withholding others. • Because the element of danger is usually present, the reader can feel the intensity of the emotions. • Poe's descriptions are usually minutely detailed to give a sense of verisimilitude (the appearance of truth) to the stories, despite their supernatural atmosphere. • Words are frequently used for the way they sound, as well as for their meanings. Every important word is intended to evoke a mood or atmosphere in the reader. • Gothic elements are prominent in his writing: the supernatural, evil animals, and dark, gloomy settings • Poe's depictions of how the human mind works heighten a reader's connection to the story. • The surprise endings provide a reason to go back through the work to look for clues missed on the first reading.

11. Identify and mark on your copy of “The Tell-Tale Heart” three examples of each element to instill fear Poe uses: • Suspense (suspense 1, suspense 2, suspense 3) • Elements of danger (danger 1, danger 2, danger 3) • Minute details of description (details 1, details 2, details 3) • Words that evoke the mood or atmosphere (words 1, words 2, words 3) • Gothic elements—the supernatural, evil animals, and dark, gloomy settings (gothic 1, gothic 2, gothic 3) • Depictions of how the human mind works (human mind 1, human mind 2, human mind 3) • Clues to the surprise ending that might have been missed on the first reading (clues 1, clues 2, clues 3)