"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I - I took the one less traveled by, AND that has made all the difference" The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost

DREAMING IN ENGLISH. Are you dreaming in English yet?

WELCOME!!! This is a bit of a challenge for me!!! This blog is intended for all audiences. I hope you enjoy and get the most of it!!!

Here you might find resources to help you navigate the muddy waters of English. The humble aim of this blog is just to keep you in touch with different types of English and different aspects of the English culture , to increase your curiosity about English through many different fields.

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Are you dreaming in English yet? por BE se encuentra bajo una Licencia Creative Commons Atribución-NoComercial-SinDerivadas 3.0 Unported.

lunes, 1 de octubre de 2012

EDGAR ALLAN POE: mystery and imagination

Edgar Allan Poe wrote stories and poems of mystery , terror, insanity and death. His life was short and seemingly unhappy.  He is also remembered for the kind of literature known as detective fiction which  are stories of an investigator who has to solve murders and other crimes. In fact, he is considered the father of the modern detective novel.


He´s got lots of popular short stories. Some of my favourite ones are "The Fall of the House of Usher" and "The Murders in the Rue Morgue".
Another popular one is THE TELL-TALE HEART, which is the story we are going to work with . It is quite short but it is a very good investigation of a man´s paranoia. In this story we have a very good analysis of a "murderer" who is portrayed  in a grotesque way, like a beast. Let´s read the story ad focus on the narrator so that you can explain to  me  why I am writing this.
In these links you can have access to the story and audio. Read and listen to the story story at the same time.
http://www.loudlit.org/audio/heart/pages/01_01_heart.htm
http://www.loudlit.org/audio/heart/pages/01_02_heart.htm
http://www.loudlit.org/audio/heart/pages/01_03_heart.htm
http://www.loudlit.org/audio/heart/pages/01_04_heart.htm
http://www.loudlit.org/audio/heart/pages/01_05_heart.htm
http://www.loudlit.org/audio/heart/pages/01_06_heart.htm
http://www.loudlit.org/audio/heart/pages/01_07_heart.htm
http://www.loudlit.org/audio/heart/pages/01_08_heart.htm

Here below, there´s also an animation you can have a look at so that you can feel the uneasy situation the narrator describes.

Once you have read the story and watched the animation try to answer the following questions:
1. The narrator was annoyed by the old man's ____________
2. The killer knew the old man was dead when he could no longer hear the old man's __________ .
3. For many nights, the killer didn't harm the old man. He only _____________ .
4. From this story, we can assume that the killer is ____________  and as a reader what do you think or what does the narrator want you to think about him?
5. The murderer hid his victim's body _______________ .
6. This story is mainly about ___________________ . Try to summarize  it in 2 or 3 lines.

POE is not only famous for his short stories. His poems are brilliant too. The Raven is considered a masterpiece and we are going to try to make an approach to it so that you can understand it more easily.I In this poem we have the spooky and mysterious image that Poe loves.


Watch this video and listen to the poem.  It can be a little bit difficult because it includes many words you may not know  and some of them are not nearly used nowadays. Apart from that, the poem is very rich in literary devices:
- Alliteration - the repetition of consonant sounds, usually at the beginning of words.
- Assonance - the repetition of vowel sounds, usually within words.
- Internal rhyme - the rhyming of words within a line of poetry, not just at the end of the lines.

There´s also The Simpson´s version with subtitles in Spanish


 Answer the following questions:
1. What´s the rhyme of the poem? Rhymes are very important in this poem because with them Poe makes his poem more musical, hypnotic and captivating. If you understand the rhymes and rhythm you´ll understand the poem much better. Which words rhyme in each line?
2. What´s the atmosphere of the poem?
3. Which words reinforce the idea of fear, anxiety, darkness?
4. Could you describe the room where the action takes place? what kind of adjectives would you use?
5. Who´s is Leonor and what kind of relation did she have with the narrator?
6. What do you think the presence of the raven means?
7. Write a summary of the poem.

18 comentarios:

Adrian Barreno dijo...

1. The narrator was annoyed by the old man's eye.

2. The killer knew the old man was dead when he could no longer hear the old man's heart.

3. For many nights, the killer didn't harm the old man. He only watch how th old man sleep.

4. From this story, we can assume that the killer is mad and as a reader what do you think or what does the narrator want you to think about him?

-I think he want us to think that he isn`t mad and why he killed the man.


5. The murderer hid his victim's body under the wooden planks of the room.

6. This story is mainly about madness and murders. Try to summarize it in 2 or 3 lines.

-the narrator workes in the house of an old man, the narrator tells that the old man`s eye was like a vulture`s one and make him to be mad. Every midnight the narrator enters in the bedroom of the man and try to kiil him, one day the old man wakes up when the narrator was in his room and he killed the man. He hid the corpse under some planks, hte police come and the heart beats of the corpse make him mad and to admit he was the murder.

Sara Benítez dijo...
Este comentario ha sido eliminado por el autor.
Sara Benítez dijo...
Este comentario ha sido eliminado por el autor.
Sara Benítez dijo...
Este comentario ha sido eliminado por el autor.
Unknown dijo...


1. The narrator was annoyed by the old man's eye.
2. The killer knew the old man was dead when he could no longer hear the old man's heart's beat.
3. For many nights, the killer didn't harm the old man. He only looked at him.
4. From this story, we can assume that the killer is mad and as a reader what do you think or what does the narrator want you to think about him?
I think he wants us to think that if you murder someone it won't get out of your head and you'll become mad.
5. The murderer hid his victim's body under the floor of the chamber.
6. This story is mainly about a murder. Try to summarize it in 2 or 3 lines.
There was a man who murdered another. He him him in a room of his house and visited him and comproved he was dead every night. One night, when he visited him he noticed he was alive and he dragged him to the floor and pulled the bed over him. Then he dismembered his body and hid him under the floor of the chamber. Three policemen visited his house because of a shriek (of the murdered man). This person invited him to enter the house and when they were together he heard the heart's beat of the murdered man. It didn't get out of his head and he told them where the man was.

Fantasy dijo...

1. The narrator was annoyed by the old man's eye.

2. The killer knew the old man was dead when he could no longer hear the old man's heart.

3. For many nights, the killer didn't harm the old man. He only entered in his house wisely and saw him slept, his eye was always closed and the old man did not.

4. From this story, we can assume that the killer is mad and as a reader what do you think or what does the narrator want you to think about him?

I think that was crazy, he needed professional help and was a killer.

5. The murderer hid his victim's body on three planks from the flooring of the chamber.

6. This story is mainly about the mad man. Try to summarize it in 2 or 3 lines.
Basically this story is about a man that was obssesed with the eye of an old man and later he killed he.
Nicole.2 A

Alejandra dijo...

1. The narrator was annoyed by the old's man vulture eye.
2. The killer know the old man was dead when he could no longer hear thr old's man heartbeats.
3. For many nights the killer didn't harm the old man he only observed him.
4. From this story, we can asume that the killer is mad and as a reader, what do you think or what does the narrator want you to think about him?
The narrator want us to think that he is not mad and what he does is normal. I think is completely mad because people don't have to kill and the reason of killing is only and eye that he doesn't like.
5. The murderer hid his victim's body between three planks of the chamber flooring and the scantlings
6. This story is mainly about mystery and madness.
SUMMARY:
A mad man who thinks he isn't it wants to kill an old man because of his vulture eye. He waits all nights in the man's room producing him terror. One night he kills the old man and hides him between the panks of the floor. Three police officers come to the house and ask the mad man about the old one. He finally says he was the one who killed the old man because he was still hearing the old's man heartbeats.
ALEJANDRA FERNANDEZ 2 ESO A

Alejandra dijo...

1. The narrator was annoyed by the old's man vulture eye.
2. The killer know the old man was dead when he could no longer hear thr old's man heartbeats.
3. For many nights the killer didn't harm the old man he only observed him.
4. From this story, we can asume that the killer is mad and as a reader, what do you think or what does the narrator want you to think about him?
The narrator want us to think that he is not mad and what he does is normal. I think is completely mad because people don't have to kill and the reason of killing is only and eye that he doesn't like.
5. The murderer hid his victim's body between three planks of the chamber flooring and the scantlings
6. This story is mainly about mystery and madness.
SUMMARY:
A mad man who thinks he isn't it wants to kill an old man because of his vulture eye. He waits all nights in the man's room producing him terror. One night he kills the old man and hides him between the panks of the floor. Three police officers come to the house and ask the mad man about the old one. He finally says he was the one who killed the old man because he was still hearing the old's man heartbeats.
ALEJANDRA FERNANDEZ 2 ESO A

Alejandra dijo...

1. The narrator was annoyed by the old's man vulture eye.
2. The killer know the old man was dead when he could no longer hear thr old's man heartbeats.
3. For many nights the killer didn't harm the old man he only observed him.
4. From this story, we can asume that the killer is mad and as a reader, what do you think or what does the narrator want you to think about him?
The narrator want us to think that he is not mad and what he does is normal. I think is completely mad because people don't have to kill and the reason of killing is only and eye that he doesn't like.
5. The murderer hid his victim's body between three planks of the chamber flooring and the scantlings
6. This story is mainly about mystery and madness.
SUMMARY:
A mad man who thinks he isn't it wants to kill an old man because of his vulture eye. He waits all nights in the man's room producing him terror. One night he kills the old man and hides him between the panks of the floor. Three police officers come to the house and ask the mad man about the old one. He finally says he was the one who killed the old man because he was still hearing the old's man heartbeats.
ALEJANDRA FERNANDEZ 2 ESO A

Alejandra dijo...

1. The narrator was annoyed by the old's man vulture eye.
2. The killer know the old man was dead when he could no longer hear thr old's man heartbeats.
3. For many nights the killer didn't harm the old man he only observed him.
4. From this story, we can asume that the killer is mad and as a reader, what do you think or what does the narrator want you to think about him?
The narrator want us to think that he is not mad and what he does is normal. I think is completely mad because people don't have to kill and the reason of killing is only and eye that he doesn't like.
5. The murderer hid his victim's body between three planks of the chamber flooring and the scantlings
6. This story is mainly about mystery and madness.
SUMMARY:
A mad man who thinks he isn't it wants to kill an old man because of his vulture eye. He waits all nights in the man's room producing him terror. One night he kills the old man and hides him between the panks of the floor. Three police officers come to the house and ask the mad man about the old one. He finally says he was the one who killed the old man because he was still hearing the old's man heartbeats.
ALEJANDRA FERNANDEZ 2 ESO A

Alejandra dijo...

1. The narrator was annoyed by the old's man vulture eye.
2. The killer know the old man was dead when he could no longer hear thr old's man heartbeats.
3. For many nights the killer didn't harm the old man he only observed him.
4. From this story, we can asume that the killer is mad and as a reader, what do you think or what does the narrator want you to think about him?
The narrator want us to think that he is not mad and what he does is normal. I think is completely mad because people don't have to kill and the reason of killing is only and eye that he doesn't like.
5. The murderer hid his victim's body between three planks of the chamber flooring and the scantlings
6. This story is mainly about mystery and madness.
SUMMARY:
A mad man who thinks he isn't it wants to kill an old man because of his vulture eye. He waits all nights in the man's room producing him terror. One night he kills the old man and hides him between the panks of the floor. Three police officers come to the house and ask the mad man about the old one. He finally says he was the one who killed the old man because he was still hearing the old's man heartbeats.
ALEJANDRA FERNANDEZ 2 ESO A

MARIA BLANCO dijo...

1. The narrator was annoyed by the old man's eye because it was like a vulture's one.
2. The killer knew the old man was dead when he could no longer hear the old man's heart beats.
3. For many nights, the killer didn't harm the old man. He only watched him sleep.
4. From this story, we can assume that the killer is mad and as a reader what do you think or what does the narrator want you to think about him?
- I think that the narrator tries to make us to think that he is not mad and that he had good reasons to kill the old man.
5. The murderer hid his victim's body under the planks of the room's floor.
6. This story is mainly about a murder. Try to summarize it in 2 or 3 lines.
- The narrator is working for an old man that has an eye like a vulture's one and this detail make the murder to kill him. During a week, he watches his sleeping victim. In the eighth night he kill him and hids the corpse under the planks of the room's floor. When the policemen appers, the killer starts to hear a heart beat and he admits that he killed the old man.

Daniel Díez :) dijo...

1. The narrator was annoyed by the old man's eye.
2. The killer knew the old man was dead when he could no longer hear the old man's heart, the beat of it.
3. For many nights, the killer didn't harm the old man. He only looked at him while he was sleeping.
4. From this story, we can assume that the killer is mad and as a reader what do you think or what does the narrator want you to think about him?
I think that the narrator wants to make us think that the murder that he did is not anything bad at all, that he is not mad, that he killed the old man because he thought that the man's eye was diabolical.
5. The murderer hid his victim's body under the planks of his old floor.
6. This story is mainly about mad boy and his reasons to kill someone innocent . Try to summarize it in 2 or 3 lines.
A mad men kept in a room an old man with a vulture's eye. He always looked at him sleping until one day the mad killed him. He hids the body of the old man under the floor of his house. But when the policemen appeared, the mad men started to hear the beats of the old man's heart. Finally, the mad men admits that he killed him.

Unknown dijo...

1º. The narrator was annoyed by the old man's eye.
2º.The killer knew the old man was dead when he could no longer hear the old man's heart beats.
3º.For too many nights,the killer didn't harm the old man. He only looked at him when he was sleeping.
4ºFrom this story, we can assume that the killer is mad and as a reader what do you think or what does the narrator want you to think about him?
I think that the narrator wants to make us to think that he is not mad and that he had good reasons to kill the old man.
5º.The murderer hid his victim's body under the planks of the old room's floor.
6º.There is a mad men that kept in the room of an old man with a vulture's eye. He always looked at him when the old man sleeping but one day the mad man killed him. He decided hids the body of the old man under the floor of his house.But when the police come to the house the mad man started to hear the beats of the old man's heart. Finally the mad man admit that he killed the old man .

Sandra Acosta 2ºeso A

Unknown dijo...
Este comentario ha sido eliminado por el autor.
Unknown dijo...

THE RAVEN QUESTIONS
1. The rhyme of the poem is abcbbb.
In the second, forth, fifth and sixth lines the rhyme is between long o sounds. The first and third lines have more variated rhymes.
2.It's a bleak atmosphere. This story happens in winter.
3.Bleak, ghastly, gaunt ...
4.I think it is a small room. It has windows because the author mentions them and the curtains and shutters too. I think it might be a sofa or chair as the person has to be sitting somewhere.
5.Lenor is the man's wife that died when she was young.In the poem there is a constant reference to Lenore.
6.I think that the raven is used as a sign of bad luck as the author of the poem was very superstitious. I think that the man thought that he had very bad luck because his wife died.
7. A man was alone in his living room and then he heard some noises coming from out of his house, someone was knocking the window. He openned it and a raven got into the room and perched upon a bust of Pallas. It always said "Nevermore". The man after a time wanted him to go out but the raven stayed there.

MARIA BLANCO dijo...

1. What´s the rhyme of the poem? Rhymes are very important in this poem because with them Poe makes his poem more musical, hypnotic and captivating. If you understand the rhymes and rhythm you´ll understand the poem much better. Which words rhyme in each line?
-The rhyme in this poem has this order: -b-bbb. That means that in the second, forth,fifth and sixth verses rhyme between them with the same sound that is a long o sound. In the first and in the third lines Poe uses differnet and diverse sounds.
2. What´s the atmosphere of the poem?
-The atmosphere has a lot of mistery and is dark.
3. Which words reinforce the idea of fear, anxiety, darkness?
-Bleak, thrilled,ungainly, dirges, ghastly, wretch, Tempter, fiend,...
4. Could you describe the room where the action takes place? what kind of adjectives would you use?
-I think that the room couldn't be too big, but not too small. I belive that it had windows, three would be nice but in proportion of the room in size. As furniture, I think that it would be a chair, an armchair, a divan aor a sofa. And of course above the door, that is shouldn't be too big, it would be the bust of Pallas.
5. Who´s is Lenore and what kind of relation did she have with the narrator?
-Lenore is the woman of the poem. She's dead, but we don't know why, and she was the wife of the narrator. Her name an references about her appear all the time during the poem. I think that she has died very young and that's why it's a coonstant reference to her.
6. What do you think the presence of the raven means?
-I think that the presence of the raven means that something diabolic is going to happen. As the ravens are black, for the author it could mean a sing of bad luck it's only presence, because in his time, and specially him, the people were very supersticiuos.
7. Write a summary of the poem.
- The poem starts in a room where a man that has lost his wife is reading. His wife was called Lenore. Suddenly, he hears someone knocking at the window. When he opens it, a raven enters in the room. When he asks to the raven a question or he only talks to it, the raven answers allays with the same word: Nevermore. Then, the man tries to make it to go out, but the raven stays when it was. The man little by little becomes crazy.

BE dijo...

Hi guys!
i´ve seen some of your comments. I will make some comments about your answers when i come back.
I have also checked the ones i have in my mail.
I´ve seen that many people haven´t done the review of the poem!!!