Welcome to Usher II...

Today, we read "April 2005: Usher II," which is a parody of Poe's "Fall of the House of Usher."  What elements of the story did you enjoy most and why?  How did you feel reading something and knowing what was going to happen next?  (The deadline to post a response is midnight, Tuesday, April 24, 2012.)

The Man Called Poe

We have a few selections of Edgar Allan Poe's poetry and short stories.  If you had the opportunity to meet Poe, based upoon what you have read of his, what would you ask him and why?  (The deadline to post a response to this blog is midnight, Monday, April 23, 2012.)

Isn't it ironic?

We have been reading several poems and stories that have irony in them.  Which of the following:  "Richard Cory," "Lamb to the Slaughter," "Thank you M'am," "The Story of an Hour," or "The Cask of Amontillado"--did you find most entertaining through its use of irony?  Explain the element of irony that you found in that work and how it made you feel or think.  (The deadline to post a response is midnight, Friday, April 20, 2012.)

Voices from Beyond

Today, we read "Mrs. Charles Bliss" by Edgar Lee Masters. Read now the epitaph of Reverend Wiley. Compare their views and tones. (The deadline to post a response to this blog is midnight Wednesday, April 18, 2012.)
Rev. Lemuel Wiley
I preached four thousand sermons,
I conducted forty revivals,
And baptized many converts.
Yet no deed of mine
Shines brighter in the memory of the world,
And none is treasured more by me:
Look how I saved the Blisses from divorce.
And kept the children free from that disgrace,
To grow up into moral men and women,
Happy themselves a credit to the village.
Edgar Lee Masters

Soul Speaks through Ink...

We have just begun our study of American poetry by reading "Thanatopsis,"  "The Children's Hour," "Cross of Snow," "Psalm of Life," "Song of Myself," "Because I Could Not Stop for Death," "O Captain! My Captain," "The Raven," and "Annabel Lee."  Select any two of these poems and comment upon what the speaker was saying in each and how you felt reading them.  (The deadline to post a response is midnight, Saturday, April 14, 2012)