Short Biographies
Literary Device: Imagery
Definition: Imagery is a device used by writers to explain a scene, person, or object through descriptive or figurative language.
Edgar Allan Poe
Authors Background-Writing Style Connections:
Edgar Allan Poe lived a very dramatic childhood. Many deaths and complications throughout his younger years can be assumed to be the reason for his frightening, mysterious writing style. Poe has written many poems of death, tragedy, and terror which all express what he is possibly thinking and feeling, no matter how strange it might be. His diction is the same powerful yet odd word choice throughout his poems, allowing the author to take a trip into his estranged mind. In The Raven, Poe uses the Raven as a connotation of death, most likely to resemble of the main character's lost love, Lenore.
Edgar Allan Poe lived a very dramatic childhood. Many deaths and complications throughout his younger years can be assumed to be the reason for his frightening, mysterious writing style. Poe has written many poems of death, tragedy, and terror which all express what he is possibly thinking and feeling, no matter how strange it might be. His diction is the same powerful yet odd word choice throughout his poems, allowing the author to take a trip into his estranged mind. In The Raven, Poe uses the Raven as a connotation of death, most likely to resemble of the main character's lost love, Lenore.
'The Raven' -Edgar Allan Poe, read by Christopher WalkenAnalysis
Night's Plutonian Shore .This three worded phrase packs in a lot of meaning. Throughout Poe's multiple poems, mysterious and spooky seems to be a recurring theme. Night resembles darkness, contributing to the scariness of the scene. Poe uses Plutonian as an allusion to the Roman god of the underworld. We can believe that this word is associated with other words such as death and tragedy. The third word, shore, can be pictured in a very different way if it weren't for the two words before it. The shore is imagined as dark and scary, and some may even picture large waves crashing upon the 'chamber' the narrator is in. |
AnalysisThe Raven
There are many attempts to explain the Raven throughout this poem. Poe uses strong, dramatic language to express the pure and almost intimidating looks of the bird. ~ 'Then this ebony bird beguiling my sad fancy into smiling, By the grave and stern decorum of the countenance it wore, `Though thy crest be shorn and shaven, thou,' I said, `art sure no craven. Ghastly grim and ancient raven wandering from the nightly shore - Tell me what thy lordly name is on the Night's Plutonian shore!' Quoth the raven, `Nevermore.'' ~ The Man Though Poe does not describe the physical features of the man due to the fact it is in 1st person point of view, he describes his inner feelings and the loss of his love, Lenore. ~ 'Eagerly I wished the morrow; - vainly I had sought to borrow From my books surcease of sorrow - sorrow for the lost Lenore' -- 'And the silken sad uncertain rustling of each purple curtain Thrilled me - filled me with fantastic terrors never felt before' -- 'Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing, Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before' -- 'Back into the chamber turning, all my soul within me burning' |
Shel Silverstein
Authors Background-Writing Style Connections:
Shel Silverstein grew up with an average home, family, and life. Since he spent most of his early years drawing cartoons instead of playing sports, we can infer that this lead to his creative poems for children. Many of his poems involve crazy, made-up characters with outrageous names. This makes everyone who reads these poems expand their imagination outside of the few images that Silverstein etches in his books, just like he did when he was a kid.
Shel Silverstein grew up with an average home, family, and life. Since he spent most of his early years drawing cartoons instead of playing sports, we can infer that this lead to his creative poems for children. Many of his poems involve crazy, made-up characters with outrageous names. This makes everyone who reads these poems expand their imagination outside of the few images that Silverstein etches in his books, just like he did when he was a kid.
'The Nap Taker'- Short Story written by Shel Silverstein
Analysis
The Stolen Things As the judge accuses the boy of stealing the nap from Bonnie Bowlingbrook, he runs through certain things that we recognize as what we say we have have stolen or taken. This story can make us see these phrases in a different way than we usually do. ~ "You beat your eggs, you've whipped your cream, At work you punched the clock, You've even killed an hour or two, We've heard you darn your socks, We know you shot a basketball, You've stolen second base, And we can see you're guilty From the sleep that's on your face. |
Analysis
The Nap
The nap is personified in this story, and the narrator claims the nap takes him multiple places. Through Silverstein's descriptive rhymes, we can travel with this child and his nap. ~ 'No -- I did not take a nap -- The nap -- took -- me Off the bed and out the window Far beyond the sea, To a land where sleepy heads Read only comic books And lock their naps in iron safes So that they can't get took.' ~ Bonnie Bowlingbrook The boy encounters a girl on his adventure, Bonnie Bowlingbrook. He is accused of stealing her nap. ~ '"She hasn't slept in quite some time-- Just see her eyelids flap. She's tired, drowsy -- cranky too, 'Cause guess who took her nap?"' |
Example
PowerPoint Presentation
By: Gabi Kinney
Debating who better expresses imagery~Poe vs. Silverstein
In my opinion, Edgar Allan Poe expresses imagery better than Shel Silverstein. This Prezi explains why.
Citations:
"Shel Silverstein." 2013. The Biography Channel website. Oct 21 2013, 10:15
"Shel Silverstein Biography." Shel Silverstein Biography. Web. 23 Oct. 2013.
"The Nap Taker - Shel Silverstein." The Nap Taker - Shel Silverstein. Web. 27
"Edgar Allan Poe." 2013. The Biography Channel website. Oct 23 2013, 08:47
"MamaJonni17 - Diction in The Raven." MamaJonni17 - Diction in The Raven. Web. 25 Oct. 2013.
"Night's Plutonian Shore." Shmoop. Web. 27 Oct. 2013.
"Shel Silverstein." 2013. The Biography Channel website. Oct 21 2013, 10:15
"Shel Silverstein Biography." Shel Silverstein Biography. Web. 23 Oct. 2013.
"The Nap Taker - Shel Silverstein." The Nap Taker - Shel Silverstein. Web. 27
"Edgar Allan Poe." 2013. The Biography Channel website. Oct 23 2013, 08:47
"MamaJonni17 - Diction in The Raven." MamaJonni17 - Diction in The Raven. Web. 25 Oct. 2013.
"Night's Plutonian Shore." Shmoop. Web. 27 Oct. 2013.