The Raven Stanza 7 continued

Stanza 1
obeisance (oh-bees-uhns): a deep bow or curtsy
curious: in Poe’s day, this meant strange
mien (meen): way of acting and looking
Challenge: Today, curious also means:

bust of Pallas: A bust is a sculpture showing

______________________________________________.
head, shoulders, and chest. Pallas was one of the
Greek names for Athena, the goddess of arts and
lore: knowledge about old beliefs
wisdom.
Challenge: Why do you think the speaker had a
Stanza 2
statue of Pallas Athena in his room?
wrought (rawt): made, as in “a carefully wrought
______________________________________________.
poem”
Challenge: Wrought-up has an entirely different
Stanza 8
meaning. In “Don’t get wrought-up about that,”
wrought-up means:
beguiling (bee-gile-ing): tricking; amusing;
entertaining
______________________________________________.
decorum (dee-kor-um): proper behavior
morrow: an old word for “the next day”
countenance (cow-tuh-nunce): facial expression
surcease (sur-seeze): an old word for “end”
craven: cowardly
Stanza 4
Plutonian shores: Pluto was the god of the
scarce: In Poe’s day, a synonym for hardly Underworld, the dark kingdom where dead souls
Challenges: 1. Today scarce means went. The shores were those of the Styx River,
which the dead had to cross.
______________________________________________.
Stanza 9
2. In “Make yourself scarce,” scarce means:
discourse (dis-korse): (verb) to speak or write
______________________________________________. formally on some important subject

Stanza 6 Stanza 11

thereat (ther-at): an old word for there dirges (dur-gis): songs at a funeral

Stanza 12
Stanza 7
fancy: (noun) imagination; imaginary pictures
flirt: a quick movement or flutter
Challenge: Today fancy can also be an adjective
Challenge: Today flirt can also mean
or describing word. What does fancy mean in
this sentence:
______________________________________________.
She wore a fancy dress.

yore: long ago

______________________________________________.
betook: (verb) Past form of betake, an old word What is this poem about?
that simply means go. So, “betook” means went.

Stanza 13

divining: predicting, guessing

gloated: In Poe’s time this meant “gazed intently

with satisfaction.” Explain how Poe is feeling while he is writing
this poem.
Stanza 14

methought (mee-thot): past form of the old verb

methinks, “it seems to me.”

censer (sen-ser): a container for incense

seraphim (sehr-uh-fim): angels Identify words that reveal Poe’s emotions.

respite (res-pit): time or relief and rest

nepenthe (ni-pen-thee): in old legends, a drink

that caused forgetfulness

quoth (kwoth): an old word for “said”

What is the relationship between the raven and
Stanza 15 Poe’s feelings?

Balm of Gilead (gil-ee-ad): sweet oil used for

anointing the dead and easing their passage into
the next world

Stanza 16

Aidenn (ay-den): Poe’s word for Eden, a happy Suppose you could meet Poe, what would you
place ask him about “The Raven”?

Challenge: Why did Poe make up a new word?

He needed a word to rhyme with

______________________________________________.
(Hint: Find it in the line in which Aidenn
appears.)
What is your opinion of this poem? Explain your
Stanza 17 answer.

upstarting: rising suddenly

Stanza 18

pallid: pale

seeming (noun): appearance