Comparing 'The Raven' and 'The Haunted Palace'
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can compare ‘The Raven’ and ‘The Haunted Palace and give a personal response.
Key learning points
- 'The Raven' and 'The Haunted Palace' are both examples of the Gothic genre.
- 'The Raven' and 'The Haunted Palace' both feature speakers who are grieving, one for a woman, the other for a house.
- Both 'The Raven' and 'The Haunted Palace' use figurative language such as symbolism to convey emotions.
- Comparing the two poems involves looking at similarities and differences in meaning and linguistic techniques.
Keywords
Bereaved - someone who is bereaved has experienced the death of a loved one
Isolated - to be isolated is to be alone
Nostalgic - to be nostalgic is to think about the past with fondness
Gothic - the Gothic genre is characterised by gloomy settings and unhappy heroes
Symbol - a symbol is an image or a word that represents an idea or feeling
Common misconception
Students thinking they need to find big differences in the poems.
It's often better to choose similarities and then explain and explore the subtle differences.
Teacher tip
In practice task B, encourage students to think of echoes as figurative.
Equipment
You will need access to copies of Edgar Allan Poe's 'The Raven' and 'The Haunted Palace'. These are available in the additional materials.
Content guidance
Depiction or discussion of sensitive content
Supervision
Adult supervision recommended
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.'The Raven' features a speaker who is...
Q2.In 'The Haunted Palace'. what has happened to the building?
Q3.What is the term used to describe a group of words all on one topic or related by meaning?
Q4.What word describes the representation of ideas or feelings by a noun?
Q5.'The Haunted Palace' is about the decline of glory and the loss of power. Which quotation best supports that interpretation?
Q6.In 'The Raven', the raven is presented as both wise and wicked. Which quotations would you use to support that interpretation?
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.What is the best definition of nostalgic?
Q2.What is the best definition of the word "isolated"
Q3.How are the speakers of 'The Haunted Palace' and 'The Raven' similar?
Q4.Choose the connectives you would use to explore differences between two poems.
Q5.In regards to 'The Haunted Palace', what word would fill best completes the following sentence? The palace might the speaker's personality.
Q6.In 'The Raven', how is the writer establishing tone in the following quotation: "Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered weak and weary."
To help you plan your 8 English lesson on: Comparing 'The Raven' and 'The Haunted Palace', download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 8 English lesson on: Comparing 'The Raven' and 'The Haunted Palace', download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 3 English lessons from the Gothic poetry unit, dive into the full secondary English curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.