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“The Raven” by Edgar Allan Poe is a great text to use in the classroom. My high school freshman just completed their poetry unit and they actually used Edgar Allan Poe in a worksheet. The worksheet asked students to annotate the poem “The Raven” and answer a few critical thinking questions on it. Then, students were expected to write their own 2 stanza poem mimicking Edgar Allan Poe’s style in “The Raven.” My mentor teacher told me her philosophy was that if students mimicked the hardstyle Poe had written in “The Raven” they would appreciate poetry a lot more. Also, it showed them how poets incorporate the various vocabulary and structures they have been studying over the unit into their works.
“The Raven” by Edgar Allan Poe is a beautiful work that deserves its spot in the classroom. The complicated structure shows just how beautiful poetry can be. Writing stanzas mimicking the style of the poem can show how hard it is to write a piece of this poem. Also, students find the rhyming fun and often engaging. Students could also research Edgar Allan Poe for a research paper or project. Having a very mysterious life fuels students interest when looking at the background of the poet. I could also see “The Raven” being compared to other poetry works done by Poe. Students could compare this poem to his other works to grasp how author’s style can change. This piece has hundreds of ways to be taught in the classroom today.

Additionally, this poem can be used with a wide spectrum of learners. Like my freshman classes at high school, students could annotate and answer questions on the poem, or even mimic it. In an advanced high school English classroom, or college level classrooms, this text could be used to fuel discussion. In my previous classes, we have talked about the importance of structure in poetry. Also, the discussion could be on the meaning of the overall poem and what Edgar Allan Poe meant when writing this piece. Teaching Edgar Allan Poe is extremely important in high school classrooms today. With his complicated structure and many famous pieces, he marks a huge time for literature in America. 

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