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Edgar Allan PoeA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
1. Poe’s poem emphasizes the conflict between the central characters and angels. It is highly unusual for angels to be cast as the villains within a narrative. Create a T chart (see example below) with bullet points, with one side devoted to the speaker’s characterization of the angels in “Annabel Lee” and the other side focused on the more traditional view of angels as depicted in the Bible, films, books, and artwork. Also, read “Playmates” by Emily Dickinson (one of Poe’s contemporaries) and “The Angel” by William Blake to explore additional characteristics of angels as seen in literature.
After completing your chart, discuss with a partner why you think Poe went against traditional ideas about angels in his poem. What purpose does this serve within the poem’s narrative? Does it connect to any of the poem’s themes? How does it influence the poem’s tone and the reader’s impression of the speaker?
2. Consider the symbolic nature of the sepulcher (or tomb) and the sea. What might the tomb symbolize? What might the sea symbolize? What does Poe accomplish with his juxtaposition of the tomb and the sea? Create an essay with an introduction, conclusion, and two body paragraphs.
By Edgar Allan Poe
A Dream Within a Dream
Edgar Allan Poe
Berenice
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Hop-Frog
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Ligeia
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Tamerlane
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The Black Cat
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The Cask of Amontillado
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The Conqueror Worm
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The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar
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The Fall of the House of Usher
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The Gold Bug
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The Haunted Palace
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The Imp of the Perverse
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The Lake
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The Man of the Crowd
Edgar Allan Poe
The Masque of the Red Death
Edgar Allan Poe
The Murders in the Rue Morgue
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The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket
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The Oval Portrait
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The Philosophy of Composition
Edgar Allan Poe