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Vocabulary for Poe's Poem,"The Raven"

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Vocabulary for Poe's Poem,"The Raven"

Grade Levels

10th Grade, 11th Grade, 12th Grade, 7th Grade, 8th Grade, 9th Grade

Course, Subject

English Language Arts

Description

Poem Vocabulary

curious: strange

lore: stories or knowledge of old beliefs

wrought: made

surcease: end

scarce: hardly

token: a sign or signal

thereat: ('there at') there

flirt: flutter; quick movement

yore: olden days; long ago

obeisance: a deep bow or curtsy

mien: way of looking or behaving

bust of Pallas: head and shoulder sculpture of the Greek goddess of wisdom (Pallas is also called Athena.)

beguiling: amusing or tricking; entertaining

decorum: proper behavior

countenance: appearance; facial expression

craven: cowardly

Plutonian shores: From Greek mythology, the shores of the River Styx, which the dead were ferried across to the Underworld, the dark kingdom of the dead. They are called 'Plutonian shores' because Pluto was the god of the Underworld.

discourse: formal writing or speaking on some important subject

dirges: somber funeral songs

fancy: imagination

betook: went

divining: predicting; guessing; imagining

gloated: gazed at with much satisfaction

methought: 'It seemed to me.'

censer: a container for incense, as may be used in some religious ceremonies

seraphim: angels

respite: relief and rest

nepenthe: in ancient lore, a drink that caused forgetfulness of sorrow and grief

quoth: 'quoted'; said

balm in Gilead: a sweet oil that was used for anointing the dead and easing their passage into the next world

Aidenn: Poe’s made-up word for Eden (paradise) (He needed it to rhyme with 'laden' and 'maiden' in the poem.)

pallid: pale

seeming: appearance

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