Edgar Allan Poe, Ambrose Bierce, and the Unreliable Narrator

Stage a mini debate about Edgar Allan Poe's story "Ligeia." After picking a few interpretations, split your class into groups and allow some time for preparation. Pupils must use textual evidence to support their arguments. Close the...

Allusion can be a difficult concept for pupils to grasp. Home in on two brief poems by Edgar Allan Poe, "To Helen" and "Sonnet–To Science," with allusion in mind. Class members discuss the relationship of classical Greece and Rome to the...

Make a study of the Gothic style by taking an in-depth look at Edgar Allan Poe's story "The Fall of the House of Usher." Lead a discussion about the Gothic elements in the story and the effect the story has on readers. Next, ask students...

How was Edgar Allan Poe able to create "intriguing, memorable, and lasting literature"? To answer this question, learners analyze the syntax, diction, and characterizations in Poe's poems and short stories and compare the impact of these...

Use "The Tell-Tale Heart" to approach point of view and the impact of a narrator. Pupils find specific textual examples of the narrator's derangement and form a personality before discussing a passage to determine some plot points. Class...

Bring together concepts covered in earlier lessons in the ten-part lesson series to analyze one of Poe's most famous poems, "The Raven." Class members discuss many different aspects of the poem and take turns reading lines and sections....

Author's are often influenced by events in their own lives as they write. Use Edgar Allan Poe's poems "Ulalume" and "Annabel Lee" to take a look at how the death of Poe's wife affected his poetry. Ask young scholars to discuss and...

One of the most famous short stories, Edgar Allan Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart," is the focus of this resource. Learners read the story, respond to several text-based questions, and brainstorm ideas about a question relating to the text as...

Investigate the beginnings of the detective fiction genre through a discussion and writing assignment related to Edgar Allan Poe's "The Purloined Letter." Class members converse about the elements of the story and then compose brief...

Students study Poe's work and take a stand on whether materials outside of the texts, such as biographies and letters, should influence the way readers explain Poe's texts (and, by implication, any artist's).