Breathe in: experience. Breathe out: poetry

Activities

What drives people crazy?

Have students recall media examples of the use of people ‘going psycho,’ or ‘losing their mind.’ Common Themes: the supernatural, isolation, grief, paranoia

Examples:

The Shining

Fight Club

Misery

Psycho

Cast Away

Secret Window

Questions:

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  What do these common themes suggest about human behaviour?
  
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  What are little kids scared of? How does this suggest that fear and anxiety are innate?
  
• 
  Recall media examples of monsters, aliens, zombies, vampires, ghosts, wizards, mutants or any other supernatural being. How do people in films react to encountering these beings? Why do they react this way? What do they fear will happen? What usually happens next?
  

Tip #1: As the language is highly stylized, it will help teachers to study the poem beforehand to get an idea of the purpose of each stanza and the meaning behind various words and phrases (e.g. Pallas, obeisance, Gilead, quaff, nepenthe, Night’s Plutonian shore)
Tip #2: Use audio recordings of famous people reading The Raven (try James Earl Jones, Christopher Walken, Vincent Price). Students might enjoy the performative aspect of the reading, as opposed to the normal ‘teacher reading voice’ they’re used to.
Mark it up

As the students read along, encourage them to identify themes by marking words or phrases with L (love), M (madness), S (supernatural) or D (death). Underline, highlight or circle uses of alliteration, internal or external rhyme.

Modern Drama

In pairs, translate to modern English. Then act out—one student acting, the other narrating the events.

Gothic Elements concept map

In groups, students develop concept maps of the Elements of Horror used in The Raven. Compare the traditional and modern representations of these elements.

Diagrammatic Representations

• 
  Draw the setting
  
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  Produce a timeline of the poem (divided into eighteen sections—one for each stanza) outlining the state of mind and consciousness of the narrator
  

Mad Magazine Parody

The Raven has been parodied for years in print, TV, song and film. In this activity, students will create their own print parody. Show them a segment of Mad Magazine’s 1954 comic strip parody of The Raven (see Appendix 2.2), which used the original text with absurd illustrations.

In this activity, students will create their own comic strip parody using absurd or unrelated illustrations. How does this change the meaning of the text?

Extension: Nevermore re-write: In 1959, Mad Magazine released another parody of The Raven. Rather than “Nevermore,” the narrator is bombarded with commercial taglines. In one of the Scary Movie films, the line turns into “Quoth Wes Craven: Let’s Make More!” (a commentary on the production line-quality of the famous horror director’s filmography).

Have students re-write the poem, changing the famous line. Encourage them to change the setting, characters and theme. How does this change the meaning of the poem?

Modern Media Comparison: The Simpsons’ Treehouse of Horror (see Appendix 2.3)

In 1990, The Simpsons ran its first episode of Treehouse of Horror, originally titled The Simpsons’ Halloween Special. Consisting of three unrelated Halloween-themed segments, the finale was an adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe’s The Raven. Narrated by James Earl Jones and starring Homer, Marge and Bart as the narrator, Lenore and the raven, respectively, creator Matt Groening was originally worried it would come off as pretentious. It has since become a classic re-telling of the old tale, and for many young people, their first exposure to Edgar Allan Poe.

The narrator (Homer) orders the Raven (Bart) to leave him in peace.

Students should watch this segment noting both similarities and differences between the clip and the original text.

Questions:

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  Why were these characters chosen to play the Poe characters?
  
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  Examples of humour used. Does it work? Why?
  
• 
  What do you think of Lisa’s explanation that people were easier to scare in 1845?
  
• 
  How would other modern TV satires depict The Raven? (think: Family Guy, South Park, How I Met Your Mother)
  

3/Part Three: Japanese Death Haiku and Butoh Dance of Darkness

Aim

In this section students will learn about Japan’s classic poetic structures, haiku and waka, and how they were used to paint the final thoughts of samurai, poets and monks. They will use this knowledge to modernize famous death poems as well as create their own for modern deceased celebrities. Students will explore the concept of life cycle and renewal through Butoh Dance, a spiritual art form rebelling against the Westernization of Japanese culture. Students will construct their own art rebelling against an aspect of society.

Suggested Materials: Handout: Famous Japanese Death Poems; other death poems, list of dead celebrities, article: About Butoh, videos of Seppuku and Butoh dance, computers with internet access, data projector, atmospheric Japanese music, textas,

Introduction

Death has long since been a common theme in Japanese art and spirituality. Shinto and Buddhism, the two most popular religions in Japan, both integrate ideas of nature, integrity, connectivity, life and death into their traditions. These concepts have been interwoven into the fabric of Japanese art, society, law and culture for thousands of years.

Jisei, Japanese Death Poetry

It is ancient tradition for literate people—particularly Zen Monks and writers—to compose jisei on their deathbeds. The custom continues today. The poems are traditionally composed in kanshi (Japanese poetry composed in Chinese) waka (classical verse) or haiku.

"The haiku that reveals seventy to eighty percent of its subject is good.

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