Poe's Poetry Lesson Plan

How does Poe set the gothic mood of this poem? What words and images does he use to create the feelings of gloom and foreboding?

Students may correctly answer this question with many possible responses. For example, citing words and phrases such as “midnight dreary,” “weak and weary,” “bleak December,” and the repetition of “sorrow,” among many others. Students may also refer to the dark and gloomy setting of the poem: late at night in an grieving man’s lonely apartment, as he ponders his recently dead lover. Some students may also mention the alliteration and repetition of similar-sounding words that are particularly striking or draw attention to specific words or...