READING A POEM WITH

LITERARY ANALYSIS
LECTURE BY MR. HOANG
ENGLISH 3H
______ _______ HIGH SCHOOL

Title page
 LECTURE OBJECTIVES

• CONTENT OBJECTIVE: STUDENTS WILL BE ABLE TO PERFORM A LITERARY ANALYSIS OF A TEXT,

ANALYZING HOW CERTAIN LITERARY DEVICES USED BY THE AUTHOR ENHANCE THE
EFFECTIVENESS OF THE TEXT.
• LANGUAGE OBJECTIVE: STUDENTS WILL BE ABLE TO RECOGNIZE, IDENTIFY, AND DEFINE
LITERARY DEVICES, AND WRITE SHORT SENTENCES ABOUT HOW THEY ARE USED IN A TEXT.

Lecture
objectives
 CA CONTENT STANDARDS ADDRESSED

• CC.RL.11-12.4: DETERMINE THE MEANING OF WORDS AND PHRASES AS THEY ARE USED IN THE TEXT,
INCLUDING FIGURATIVE AND CONNOTATIVE MEANINGS; ANALYZE THE IMPACT OF SPECIFIC WORD CHOICES
ON MEANING AND TONE, INCLUDING WORDS WITH MULTIPLE MEANINGS OR LANGUAGE THAT IS
PARTICULARLY FRESH, ENGAGING, OR BEAUTIFUL. (INCLUDE SHAKESPEARE AS WELL AS OTHER AUTHORS.)
• CC.RL.11-12.10: BY THE END OF GRADE 12, READ AND COMPREHEND LITERATURE, INCLUDING STORIES,
DRAMAS, AND POEMS, AT THE HIGH END OF THE GRADES 11–CCR TEXT COMPLEXITY BAND INDEPENDENTLY
AND PROFICIENTLY.
• ELA.L.11-12.3: APPLY KNOWLEDGE OF LANGUAGE TO UNDERSTAND HOW LANGUAGE FUNCTIONS IN
DIFFERENT CONTEXTS, TO MAKE EFFECTIVE CHOICES FOR MEANING OR STYLE, AND TO COMPREHEND MORE
FULLY WHEN READING OR LISTENING.

Content standards
addressed
 ICEBREAKER QUESTION

• WHAT MAKES A POEM BETTER OR WORSE

TO READ? WHAT MAKES YOU ENJOY IT
MORE?
• WHAT ELEMENTS OF POEMS DO YOU FIND
ENJOYABLE TO READ?
• SHARE YOUR ANSWERS WITH YOUR
NEIGHBORS FOR THREE MINUTES

Educational hook
 LITERARY DEVICES

• OFTENTIMES, IT IS THE USAGE OF LITERARY DEVICES THAT HELPS DETERMINE WHETHER WE

FIND A POEM EFFECTIVE, ENTERTAINING, OR PLEASURABLE
• LITERARY ANALYSIS REVOLVES AROUND IDENTIFYING THESE DEVICES AND ANALYZING THEIR
USE/EFFECTIVENESS

Dual-coding
 EXAMPLES OF LITERARY DEVICES

Device Name Definition

Rhyme The repetition of certain sounds, particularly at the
end of words, lines, or sentences
Hyperbole The exaggeration or overstatement of something
Alliteration The repetition of specific consonant sounds,
particularly at the beginning of words
Repetition The repetition of specific words or phrases

Table organizer
 LECTURE ACTIVITY

• EVEN IF YOU WERE PREVIOUSLY FAMILIAR WITH THESE DEVICES, CAN YOU IDENTIFY THEM IN A
TEXT?
• REFER TO YOUR COPY OF “ANNABEL LEE” ON YOUR GUIDED NOTES HANDOUT. UNDERLINE
EACH EXAMPLE OF THESE FOUR DEVICES IN THE TEXT AND WRITE IN THE MARGINS WHAT
DEVICE IS BEING USED.
• WHEN YOU’RE DONE, CONFER WITH YOUR NEIGHBORS. DID THEY FIND ANY YOU MISSED?
DID YOU FIND ANY THAT THEY MISSED?

Progress
monitoring
question
 LET’S LOOK AT “ANNABEL LEE”

“IT WAS MANY AND MANY A YEAR AGO,

IN A KINGDOM BY THE SEA,
THAT A MAIDEN THERE LIVED WHOM YOU MAY KNOW
BY THE NAME OF ANNABEL LEE;
AND THIS MAIDEN SHE LIVED WITH NO OTHER THOUGHT
THAN TO LOVE AND BE LOVED BY ME.”
• ALTHOUGH OTHER DEVICES ARE BEING USED BY POE HERE, LET’S FOCUS ON RHYME
• WHAT EFFECT DO YOU THINK THE RHYME IS HAVING HERE?
• DISCUSS WITH YOUR PARTNERS FOR A FEW MINUTES

Progress
monitoring
question
 LITERARY ANALYSIS OF POE’S USAGE OF RHYME

• “SEA, LEE, ME”

• THE RHYME IS CREATING CONNECTIONS BETWEEN THESE THREE CONCEPTS
• NOW WE ASSOCIATE THE SEA WITH ANNABEL LEE AND THE NARRATOR

Dual-coding
 HOW DOES POE USE HYPERBOLE?

“AND THIS MAIDEN SHE LIVED WITH NO OTHER THOUGHT

THAN TO LOVE AND BE LOVED BY ME.
...
BUT WE LOVED WITH A LOVE THAT WAS MORE THAN LOVE—
I AND MY ANNABEL LEE—”
• HOW IS POE USING HYPERBOLE HERE? WHAT IS BEING EXAGGERATED?
• WHAT EFFECT DOES THIS HYPERBOLE HAVE?
• DISCUSS WITH YOUR PARTNERS FOR A FEW MINUTES
Progress
monitoring
question
 LITERARY ANALYSIS OF POE’S USAGE OF HYPERBOLE

• “A LOVE THAT WAS MORE THAN

LOVE”
• READING HYPERBOLE: WHAT’S
UNDER THE WATER? READ INTO IT
• THE NARRATOR EXAGGERATES THEIR
LOVE TO SUCH AN EXTENT THAT WE
BEGIN TO FEEL THAT THE NARRATOR
HAS NOT GOTTEN OVER IT, AND
THAT THEY ARE STILL FIXATED ON IT

Dual-coding
 LECTURE ACTIVITY

• LET’S SEE IF YOU CAN PERFORM LITERARY ANALYSIS FOR

OUR NEXT TWO TERMS
• IN THE APPROPRIATE SECTIONS IN YOUR GUIDED NOTES,
WRITE A FEW SENTENCES FOR EACH, ANALYZING THE
EFFECT THAT POE’S USAGE OF ALLITERATION AND
REPETITION HAVE ON THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE POEM
• WHEN YOU’RE DONE, COMPARE YOUR ANALYSIS WITH
YOUR NEIGHBORS FOR A FEW MINUTES UNTIL YOUR
TEACHER CALLS TIME

Progress
monitoring
question
 WHAT EFFECT DOES ALLITERATION HAVE?

“THAT THE WIND CAME OUT OF THE CLOUD BY NIGHT,

CHILLING AND KILLING MY ANNABEL LEE.
...
NOR THE DEMONS DOWN UNDER THE SEA
CAN EVER DISSEVER MY SOUL FROM THE SOUL
OF THE BEAUTIFUL ANNABEL LEE”
• WHAT EFFECT DOES POE’S ALLITERATION HAVE?
• IT MAKES THE TEXT FLOW, IT FEELS GOOD TO SAY

Dual-coding
 REPETITION’S LITERARY EFFECTIVENESS AND IMPACT
“NOR THE DEMONS DOWN UNDER THE SEA
CAN EVER DISSEVER MY SOUL FROM THE SOUL
OF THE BEAUTIFUL ANNABEL LEE;
FOR THE MOON NEVER BEAMS, WITHOUT BRINGING ME
DREAMS
OF THE BEAUTIFUL ANNABEL LEE;
AND THE STARS NEVER RISE, BUT I FEEL THE BRIGHT EYES
OF THE BEAUTIFUL ANNABEL LEE;”

• REPETITION ALLOWS AN AUTHOR TO EMPHASIZE A

SPECIFIC POINT OVER TIME, BUILDING IT IN STRENGTH

Dual-coding
 THE PURPOSE OF LITERARY ANALYSIS

• LITERARY ANALYSIS GIVES US A WAY TO ANALYZE HOW AND WHY WE FIND A POEM
EFFECTIVE OR PLEASURABLE TO READ
• IF WE JUST LOOK AT THE STORY OF “ANNABEL LEE,” IT IS A POEM ABOUT A TRAGIC LOST
LOVE AND SOMEONE WHO HAS NEVER GOTTEN OVER THEIR LOSS
• BUT IF WE LOOK AT THE LANGUAGE OF “ANNABEL LEE,” WE CAN SEE THE MANY SKILLFUL
WAYS IN WHICH POE MADE IT MORE EFFECTIVE AND EMOTIONAL FOR ITS READERS: BY
EMPHASIZING THE EFFECT THAT ANNABEL LEE HAS ON THE NARRATOR, BY MAKING THE
LANGUAGE SOUND MORE DREAMLIKE AND MELANCHOLY, ETC.

Summary of
main idea
 POETRY WITHOUT LITERARY DEVICES OR ANALYSIS

• THE CORE OF THE POEM IS STILL THE SAME, IT CAN SERVE THE SAME PURPOSE AND TELL THE
SAME STORY
• BUT WHICH IS MORE INTERESTING? WHICH IS MORE EFFECTIVE OR MEMORABLE?

Dual-coding
 TIPS FOR PERFORMING LITERARY ANALYSIS

• REMEMBER TO ALWAYS THINK “UNDER-

THE-SURFACE”
• DON’T EVER BE SATISFIED WITH THE
“ON-THE-SURFACE” OR WITH HAVING
THE BASIC UNDERSTANDING OF
SOMETHING
• “GO DEEPER!” THAT’S WHERE THE
INTERESTING STUFF IS!

Dual-coding
 TIPS FOR PERFORMING LITERARY ANALYSIS

• IDENTIFYING THE LITERARY DEVICES

USED ISN’T ENOUGH
• “CROSS THE FINISH LINE” BY
THINKING ABOUT THE EFFECT THAT
THESE LITERARY DEVICES HAVE ON
THE TEXT AND ON THE READER!
• THINK: “HOW DOES THIS MAKE ME
FEEL?”

Dual-coding
 NOW YOU TRY

• IN THE APPROPRIATE SECTION IN YOUR GUIDED NOTES, IDENTIFY AN INSTANCE OF A LITERARY

DEVICE BEING USED IN “ANNABEL LEE” THAT WAS NOT COVERED IN CLASS
• (IT CAN BE RHYME, HYPERBOLE, ALLITERATION, OR REPETITION AGAIN, BUT NOT AN EXAMPLE
USED IN THIS POWERPOINT)
• IN A FEW SENTENCES, ANALYZE ITS EFFECT ON THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE LANGUAGE OF THE
POEM AND ON THE POEM AS A WHOLE

Culminating
question
 TAKE-AWAY QUESTION

• NOW THAT WE’VE SPENT THE LAST HOUR DISCUSSING LITERARY ANALYSIS AND HOW
CERTAIN TECHNIQUES EMPLOYED BY AUTHORS CAN DRASTICALLY IMPACT THE EFFECTIVENESS
OF A POEM, ANSWER THIS QUESTION ONE LAST TIME:

• WHAT MAKES A POEM BETTER OR WORSE TO READ? WHAT FACTORS HELP DETERMINE
WHETHER YOU ENJOY A POEM, FIND IT MEMORABLE, OR FIND IT PLEASURABLE TO READ?

Culminating
question
 WORKS CITED

• POE, EDGAR ALLAN. “ANNABEL LEE.” SARTAIN’S UNION MAGAZINE, 1849. RETRIEVED FROM
HTTPS://WWW.POETRYFOUNDATION.ORG/POEMS/44885/ANNABEL-LEE

Works
cited