The document outlines the life and works of Edgar Allan Poe, including his early experiences with loss and the impact on his writing, particularly themes of death and melancholy. It highlights significant events, such as his education, military service, marriages, and notable literary contributions like 'The Raven' and 'The Sleeper.' Additionally, the document delves into the elements of the poem 'The Sleeper,' exploring its imagery, symbolism, and emotional tone.

2. Unlocking of Difficulties
• Opiate – A drug that induces sleep or relaxation
• Vapor – A mist or fine spray
• Drowsily – In a way that causes sleepiness or a lack of energy.
• Musically – In a manner that is melodious or harmonious
• Lethe – In Greek mythology, the river of forgetfulness in the
underworld, describe something that induces forgetfulness or a state of
oblivion.
• Pallor – An unusual or extreme paleness of the skin, often associated
with illness or death.
• Destinies – Fates or predetermined outcomes of one’s life.
• Lattice – A structure of crossed wooden or metal strips, often used for
windows

3. Unlocking of Difficulties
• Bodiless – Without a physical body; in the poem
• Canopy – A covering or a roof-like structure, often made of fabric or
material, that provides shelter.
• Fringéd – line or relatively narrow space that marks the outer limit of
something
• Melancholy – A deep, persistent sadness or sorrow.
• Vault – A burial chamber or tomb, typically large and underground.
• Sepulchre – A tomb or burial place; a vault for the dead.
• Palls – Heavy cloths used to cover a coffin; in the poem, it refers to
funeral drapes.
• Groaned – Made a low, mournful sound, often associated with pain
or distress.

5. Edgar Allan Poe
Life
of
Edgar
Allan
Poe

6. Edgar Allan Poe was an
American short-story writer,
poet, critic and editor who is
famous for his cultivation of
mystery and the macabre.
What is Macabre?
- having death as subject
- comprising or including a
personalized representation
of death
- dwelling on the gruesome
- tending to produce horror in
a beholder

7. • He was born on January
19, 1809 at Boston,
Massachusetts.
• Son of English-born actress
Elizabeth Arnold Poe and
actor from Baltimore David
Poe Jr.

8. • January 30, 1807: Edgar's
older brother, William
Henry Leonard Poe, was
born in Boston.
• December 1810: Edgar's
younger sister, Rosalie
Mackenzie Poe, was born
in Norfolk, Virginia.

9. • 1810: Poe’s father
abandoned the family.
• December 8, 1811: Poe’s
mother, Elizabeth Arnold
Poe, dies of tuberculosis,
leaving Edgar, Henry, and
Rosalie orphaned.
• Edgar is taken in by John
Allan, a wealthy
businessman from Scotland
and his wife Frances
Valentine Allan in
Richmond, Virginia.
• Henry went to live with their
paternal grandparents in
Baltimore, while Rosalie was
adopted by the Mackenzie
family in Richmond.

10. • 1815–1820: Poe attended the
Manor House School in Stoke
Newington, London, while
living with the Allan family in
England. He received a
classical education, studying
Latin, French and literature.
• 1820: The Allan family
returns to Richmond,
Virginia, where Poe attends
various private schools and
later studies at William
Burke’s Academy, furthering
his classical education.

11. • 1826: Poe entered the
University of Virginia but
soon dropped out due to
gambling debts. His foster
father, John Allan, refused
to support him financially.
• 1827: Poe enlists in the U.S.
Army under the name
"Edgar A. Perry" and
publishes his first collection
of poetry, Tamerlane and
Other Poems.

12. • 1829: Poe’s foster mother,
Frances Allan, died. He
published his second poetry
collection, “Al Aaraaf,
Tamerlane, and Minor
Poems”.
• 1830: Poe enrolls at the
United States Military
Academy at West Point but is
dismissed for disobedience in
1831.
• 1831: He moved to
Baltimore and lived with his
aunt, Maria Clemm, and her
daughter Virginia. Poe
published poems, which
included early versions of
“To Helen” and “Israfel.”

13. • 1835: Poe becomes an editor
at the Southern Literary
Messenger in Richmond,
where he gains recognition as
a critic.
• May 16, 1836: Poe
marries his 13-year-old
cousin, Virginia Clemm.
• 1833: Ms. Found in a Bottle
won ＄ 50 from a Baltimore
weekly

14. • 1838: Poe publishes his
only complete novel, The
Narrative of Arthur
Gordon Pym of
Nantucket.
• 1839: He became coeditor of
Burton’s Gentleman’s
Magazine in Philadelphia. He
published “Tales of the
Grotesque and Arabesque”,
which included famous
stories like “The Fall of the
House of Usher” and
“Ligeia.”

15. • 1841: Poe served as an editor
and contributor in Graham’s
Lady’s and Gentlemen’s
Magazine, where he published
some of his notable works like
"The Murders in the Rue
Morgue”, which is considered
the first modern detective
story.
• 1843: Poe wins a
prize for his
short story “The
Gold-Bug” ,
which becomes
highly popular.
• 1844: He wrote
“ The Balloon
Hoax” and
became
subeditor of
The New York
Mirror.

16. • 1845: Poe published “The
Raven and Other Poems”, and
“The Raven” became an
immediate success, solidifying
his literary fame. He became
an editor of the Broadway
Journal where he republished
most of his short stories.
• 1847: Poe’s wife, Virginia
Clemm, dies of tuberculosis.

17. • 1849: Poe
became engaged
to Elmira Royster
but was found
delirious on the
streets of
Baltimore on
October 3. He
died four days
later on October
7, 1849, under
mysterious
circumstances.
• 1848: Lewis. Poe wrote
“Eureka: A Prose Poem” , his
philosophical treatise on the
universe.

18. LITERARY WORKS
• To Helen (1831)
• The City in the Sea (1831)
• Lenore (1843)
• The Raven (1845)
• Ulalume (1847)
• The Bells (1849)
• Annabel Lee (1849)
• A Dream Within a Dream
(1849)
 Poems
 Short Stories
• Manuscript Found in a Bottle
(1833)
• Ligeia (1838)
• The Fall of the House of
Usher (1839)
• The Murders in the Rue
Morgue (1841)
• The Pit and the Pendulum
(1842)
• The Masque of the Red Death
(1842)

19.  Essays
• The Oval Portrait (1842)
• The Tell-Tale Heart (1843)
• The Gold-Bug (1843)
• The Black Cat (1843)
• The Purloined Letter (1844)
• The Cask of Amontillado
(1846)
 Novel
• The Narrative of Arthur
Gordon Pym of
Nantucket (1838)
• The Philosophy of
Composition (1846)
• The Poetic Principle (1848)
• Eureka: A Prose Poem (1848)
AWARDS
• Baltimore Saturday Visiter
Prize (1833)
• Dollar Newspaper Prize
(1843)

20. Edgar Allan Poe

21. History of The Sleeper
• First Publication (1831)
The poem appeared in April 1831, funded by Poe's classmates from the
United States Military Academy at West Point, where he had been dismissed
earlier that year. In this early version, many themes about death and sleep
were present, but the language and style were not fully developed.
• Revisions and Final Version (1845)
Poe revised The Sleeper several times. The final version, with its current
title, was published in 1845. In this version, the poem became more polished
and emotional. The central idea of the woman in deep sleep, often seen as a
symbol for death, became clearer. Poe’s revisions showed his growing skill
in writing. He used strong imagery and a haunting tone, making the poem
feel both beautiful and eerie.

22. History of The Sleeper
• Themes and Influence
Poe often wrote about death and loss, influenced by the early deaths of
women in his life, like his mother and wife. In The Sleeper, he presents
death as peaceful, reflecting his desire to find beauty in stillness. The poem
captures his thoughts on how death can be both sad and serene.
• Legacy of The Sleeper
Although The Sleeper is not as famous as some of Poe's other works, it is
still an important part of his poetry. It showcases his ability to mix beauty
with sadness and explore themes of life and death. The poem remains a
significant example of his gothic style and his deep reflections on mortality.

23. At midnight, in the month of
June,
I stand beneath the mystic
moon.
An opiate vapour, dewy, dim,
Exhales from out her golden
rim,
And, softly dripping, drop by
drop,
Upon the quiet mountain top,
Steals drowsily and musically
Into the universal valley.
The Sleeper by Edgar Allan Poe
The lily lolls upon the wave;
Wrapping the fog about its breast
The ruin molders into rest;
Looking like Lethe, see! the lake
A conscious slumber seems to
take
And would not, for the world,
awake,
All Beauty sleeps!- and lo!
where lies
Irene, with her Destinies!

24. O, lady bright! can it be right-
This window open to the night?
The wanton airs, from the tree-top,
The bodiless airs, a wizard rout,
Flit through thy chamber in and
out,
And wave the curtain canopy
So fitfully- so fearfully-
Above the closed and fringe lid
‘Neath which thy slumb’ring soul
lies hid,
That, o’er the floor and down the
wall,
Like ghost the shadows rise and
fall!
Oh, lady dear, hast thou no fear?
Why and what art thou dreaming
here?
Sure thou art come O’er far-off
seas,
A wonder to these garden trees!
Strange is thy pallor! strange thy
dress,
Strange, above all, thy length of
tress,
And this all solemn silentness!

25. Some sepulchre, remote, alone,
Against whose portals she hath
thrown,
In childhood, many an idle stone
—
Some tomb from out whose
sounding door
She ne’er shall force an echo
more,
Thrilling to think, poor child of
sin!
It was the dead who groaned
within.
The lady sleeps! Oh, may her
sleep,
Which is enduring, so be deep!
Heaven have her in its sacred
keep!
This chamber changed for one
more holy,
This bed for one more
melancholy,
I pray to God that she may lie
For ever with unopened eye,
While the pale sheeted ghosts
go by!

26. The Sleeper is a poem that explores themes of death and eternal
rest. It centers around a woman who lies in a deep, undisturbed sleep,
which is often interpreted as a metaphor for death. The poem paints a
serene yet eerie picture, describing a lush, vibrant natural setting at
midnight in June.
As the speaker reflects on the sleeping figure, he conveys a sense
of calmness and beauty in her stillness. The imagery contrasts the
liveliness of nature with the quiet of the sleeper, emphasizing the
isolation that death brings.

27. • Imagery: The poem uses vivid
descriptions to create visual and
sensory images, such as the
“mystic moon,” “opiate vapor,”
and “pale sheeted ghosts.”
• Symbolism: Objects like
rosemary and lilies symbolize
remembrance and death. The lake
resembling Lethe represents
forgetfulness.
LITERARY ELEMENTS
• Personification: The lake and fog
are given human-like qualities,
such as the lake appearing to
“take conscious slumber” and
the fog “wrapping the ruin.”
• Alliteration: Repetition of
consonant sounds at the
beginning of words, such as in
“softly dripping” and “bodiless
airs.”

28. LITERARY ELEMENTS
• Assonance: Repetition of
vowel sounds within words, as
seen in “misty,” “dim,” and
“dripping.”
• Metaphor: The poem compares
sleep to death, suggesting that
Irene’s rest is like a peaceful,
eternal slumber.
• Tone: The tone is reflective and
mournful, with a sense of
reverence for eternal rest.
• Mood: The poem creates a
mood of tranquility mixed with
eerie or supernatural elements.

29. • Meter: The poem primarily
uses iambic tetrameter and
trimeter, creating a rhythmic
flow that enhances its musical
quality.
Example: The poem generally
follows an iambic tetrameter
pattern, where lines have a
rhythm like "In the forest, deep
and still."
• Rhyme: The poem follows an
AABB rhyme scheme in many
stanzas, creating a sense of
harmony and cohesion.
Example: The AABB rhyme
scheme can be seen in lines that
rhyme with each other, such as:
"The sleeper's eyes are closed and
bright,
In the dark they hide from sight."
LITERARY ELEMENTS

31. Evaluation

32. Evaluation
1. What personal experience influence Poe’s themes of
death in The Sleeper?
a. His succesful career
b. The loss of loved ones
c. His travels
2. Whic river mentioned in The Sleeper means
forgetfulness?
a. Styx
b. Lethe
c. Nile

33. Evaluation
3. What main theme does The Sleeper explore?
a. The joy of life
b. The link between sleep and death
c. The beauty of nature
4. What happened when Poe was three years old?
a. He published his first poem
b. His mother
c. He got married

34. Evaluation
5. How did Poe’s upbringing affect his writing?
a. He focused on romance
b. His loss and struggles shaped his themes of death
c. He became wealthy
6. In The Sleeper, what does the lady’s pale face mean/
a. She is healthy
b. She looks dead
c. She is happy

35. Evaluation
7. What role does nature play in the poem?
a. It distracts from the main themes
b. It shows peace and death
c. It represents chaos
8. What does the speaker wish for Irene’s sleep?
a. That it be shallow
b. That it be deep and lasting
c. That she wakes up soon

36. Evaluation
9. What jo helped Poe become known as a writer?
a. Novelist
b. Editor or magazines
c. Playwright
10. How does Poe’s view of death show in The Sleeper?
a. By celebrating life
b. By showing sadness and beauty in death
c. Through happy themes

37. Evaluation
11. What kind of mood does Poe create In The Sleeper?
a. Happy and cheerful
b. Darl and eerie
c. Energetic and lively
12. How did Poe’s experiences with loss shape his
poetry?
a. They made him write only comedies
b. They led him