MAKING MEANING

POETRY COLLECTION

beware: do not read this poem

The Raven
Windigo

Concept Vocabulary
As you perform your first read, you will encounter these words.

entreating   implore   beguiling

Familiar Word Parts  When determining the meaning of an unfamiliar

word, look for word parts—roots and affixes—that you know. Doing so may
help you unlock word meanings. Here is an example of applying the strategy.

Unfamiliar Word:  incredulity

Familiar Root:  -cred-, meaning “believe,” as in credible

Familiar Affixes: the prefix in-, which means either “into” or “not”;
the suffix -ity, which forms abstract nouns

Conclusion:  You can determine that the word incredulity must mean
something like “state of not believing.”

Apply your knowledge of familiar word parts and other vocabulary strategies
to determine the meanings of unfamiliar words you encounter during your
first read.

First Read POETRY

Apply these strategies as you conduct your first read. You will have an
opportunity to complete a close read after your first read.

 STANDARDS Copyright © SAVVAS Learning Company LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Reading Literature
By the end of grade 10, read and
comprehend literature, including
stories, dramas, and poems, at the
NOTICE who or what is ANNOTATE by marking
high end of the grades 9–10 text
complexity band independently and “speaking” the poem and vocabulary and key passages
proficiently. whether the poem tells a story you want to revisit.
Language or describes a single moment.
• Determine or clarify the meaning
of unknown and multiple-meaning
words and phrases based on
grades 9–10 reading and content,
CONNECT ideas within RESPOND by completing
choosing flexibly from a range of
strategies. the selection to what you the Comprehension Check.
• Identify and correctly use patterns already know and what you
of word changes that indicate have already read.
different meanings or parts of
speech.

100  UNIT 1 • INSIDE THE NIGHTMARE

 essential question : What is the allure of fear?

About the Poets Backgrounds

Ishmael Reed (b. 1938) is a prolific author beware: do not read this poem
who has written novels, poems, plays, and In the first stanza of the poem, the word
essays in a variety of different styles and thriller appears in italic type to indicate it is a
genres. He was born in Chattanooga, reference to a fictional television show. The
Tennessee, and raised in Buffalo, New York. poem contains abbreviations: abt for about, yr
Reed’s works have been translated into many for your, and frm for from.
languages and published in a number of
notable magazines and newspapers. Reed is
the recipient of numerous honors for his
work, including a Guggenheim Foundation
fellowship, and a MacArthur Foundation
“Genius” Award.

Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849) is The Raven

internationally recognized as a pioneer of the
When Poe wrote this poem, he drew from a
short story, as well as the horror and
long tradition that viewed the raven as a bird
detective genres. Poe was born in Boston,
of ill omen. Yet, in some cultures, the raven
Massachusetts, and raised in Richmond,
enjoys a more positive image. For example,
Virginia, by tobacco farmer John Allan. During
when the Vikings were lost at sea, they would
his lifetime, Poe was only mildly successful as
release a raven. The raven would fly toward
a writer and struggled with poverty and loss.
land, thus directing the lost ship.
He died somewhat mysteriously at the age of
forty. Many of his works, including “The
Raven,” remain popular today.

Louise Erdrich (b. 1954) is the author of Windigo

many highly regarded novels and poetry
Windigos are evil, ice-coated, man-eating
collections. Erdrich was born in Minnesota,
creatures that appear in many Native
grew up on the plains of North Dakota, and
American folktales, including those from
was part of the first group of women
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the poet’s Chippewa culture. In Chippewa

admitted to Dartmouth College. In her work,
folklore, it is believed that a person who
Erdrich often explores her Native American
commits a sin is turned into a Windigo as
heritage through her choices of characters
punishment. The human spirit is said to live
and themes.
inside the creature, but the only escape
is death. This poem presents a different
perspective on the traditional tale.

Poetry Collection  101

POETRY

beware:
do not read this poem

Ishmael Reed

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tonite, thriller was

NOTES
abt an ol woman , so vain she
surrounded her self w/
many mirrors

5 it got so bad that finally she

locked herself indoors & her
whole life became the
mirrors

102  UNIT 1 • INSIDE THE NIGHTMARE

 one day the villagers broke
10 into her house, but she was too NOTES

swift for them. she disappeared

into a mirror
each tenant who bought the house
after that, lost a loved one to
15 the ol woman in the mirror:
first a little girl
then a young woman
then the young woman/s husband

the hunger of this poem is legendary

20 it has taken in many victims
back off from this poem
it has drawn in yr feet
back off from this poem
it has drawn in yr legs
25 back off from this poem
it is a greedy mirror
you are into this poem. from
the waist down
nobody can hear you can they?
30 this poem has had you up to here
belch
this poem aint got no manners
you cant call out frm this poem
relax now & go w/this poem
35 move & roll on to this poem

do not resist this poem

this poem has yr eyes
this poem has his head
this poem has his arms
40 this poem has his fingers
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this poem has his fingertips

this poem is the reader & the

reader this poem

statistic: the us bureau of missing persons reports

45 that in 1968 over 100,000 people disappeared
leaving no solid clues
nor trace only
a space in the lives of their friends

beware: do not read this poem  103

POETRY

The Raven
Edgar Allan Poe

Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,

NOTES Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore—
While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.
5 “‘Tis some visitor,” I muttered, “tapping at my chamber door—
Only this, and nothing more.”

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Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December,
And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor.
Eagerly I wished the morrow—vainly I had sought to borrow
10 From my books surcease1 of sorrow—sorrow for the lost Lenore—
For the rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore—
Nameless here for evermore.
Mark familiar word parts or And the silken, sad, uncertain rustling of each purple curtain
indicate another strategy you
used that helped you determine
Thrilled me—filled me with fantastic terrors never felt before;
meaning. 15 So that now, to still the beating of my heart, I stood repeating
entreating (ehn TREET ihng) “’Tis some visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door—
adj. Some late visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door—
MEANING: This it is, and nothing more.”

1. surcease  n. end.

104  UNIT 1 • INSIDE THE NIGHTMARE

 Presently my soul grew stronger; hesitating then no longer,
20 “Sir,” said I, “or Madam, truly your forgiveness I implore; NOTES

But the fact is I was napping, and so gently you came rapping,
And so faintly you came tapping, tapping at my chamber door, Mark familiar word parts or
That I scarce was sure I heard you”—here I opened wide the door— indicate another strategy you
used that helped you determine
Darkness there, and nothing more. meaning.
implore (ihm PLAWR) v.
25 Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing,
MEANING:
Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before;
But the silence was unbroken, and the darkness gave no token,
And the only word there spoken was the whispered word “Lenore?”
This I whispered, and an echo murmured back the word “Lenore!”
30 Merely this, and nothing more.

Back into the chamber turning, all my soul within me burning,

Soon again I heard a tapping somewhat louder than before.
“Surely,” said I, “surely that is something at my window lattice;
Let me see, then, what thereat is, and this mystery explore—
35 Let my heart be still a moment and this mystery explore—
‘Tis the wind, and nothing more!”

Open here I flung the shutter, when, with many a flirt and flutter,
In there stepped a stately Raven of the saintly days of yore;
Not the least obeisance2 made he; not a minute stopped or stayed he;
40 But, with mien of lord or lady, perched above my chamber door—
Perched upon a bust of Pallas3 just above my chamber door— Mark familiar word parts or
Perched, and sat, and nothing more. indicate another strategy you
used that helped you determine
meaning.
Then this ebony bird beguiling my sad fancy into smiling,
By the grave and stern decorum of the countenance4 it wore, beguiling (bih GYL ihng) adj.
MEANING:
45 “Though thy crest be shorn and shaven, thou,” I said, “art sure no
craven,5
Ghastly grim and ancient Raven wandering from the Nightly shore—
Tell me what thy lordly name is on the Night’s Plutonian6 shore!”
Quoth the Raven, “Nevermore.”
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Much I marveled this ungainly fowl to hear discourse so plainly,

50 Though its answer little meaning—little relevancy bore;
For we cannot help agreeing that no living human being
Ever yet was blessed with seeing bird above his chamber door—
Bird or beast above the sculptured bust above his chamber door,
With such name as “Nevermore.”

55 But the Raven, sitting lonely on the placid bust, spoke only
That one word, as if his soul in that one word he did outpour.

2. obeisance  (oh BAY suhns) n. gesture of respect.

3. Pallas  n. Pallas Athena, Greek goddess of wisdom.
4. countenance  n. facial expression.
5. craven  adj. cowardly.
6. Plutonian  adj. of the underworld; refers to Pluto, Greek god of the underworld.

The Raven  105

 Nothing further then he uttered—not a feather then he fluttered—
NOTES Till I scarcely more than muttered, “Other friends have flown
before—
On the morrow he will leave me, as my Hopes have flown before.”
60 Quoth the Raven, “Nevermore.”

Startled at the stillness broken by reply so aptly spoken,

“Doubtless,” said I, “what it utters is its only stock and store,
Caught from some unhappy master whom unmerciful Disaster
Followed fast and followed faster till his songs one burden bore—
65 Till the dirges of his Hope that melancholy burden bore
Of ‘Never—nevermore.’”

But the Raven still beguiling my sad fancy into smiling,

Straight I wheeled a cushioned seat in front of bird, and bust, and
door;
Then, upon the velvet sinking, I betook myself to linking
70 Fancy unto fancy, thinking what this ominous7 bird of yore—
What this grim, ungainly, ghastly, gaunt, and ominous bird of yore
Meant in croaking, “Nevermore.”

This I sat engaged in guessing, but no syllable expressing

To the fowl whose fiery eyes now burned into my bosom’s core;
75 This and more I sat divining, with my head at ease reclining
On the cushion’s velvet lining that the lamplight gloated o’er,
But whose velvet violet lining with the lamplight gloating o’er,
She shall press, ah, nevermore!

Then, methought, the air grew denser, perfumed from an unseen censer
80 Swung by seraphim whose footfalls tinkled on the tufted floor.
“Wretch,” I cried, “thy God hath lent thee—by these angels he hath
sent thee
Respite—respite and nepenthe8 from thy memories of Lenore!
Quaff, oh quaff this kind nepenthe and forget this lost Lenore!”
Quoth the Raven, “Nevermore.”

85 “Prophet!” said I, “thing of evil!—prophet still, if bird or devil!— Copyright © SAVVAS Learning Company LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Whether Tempter sent, or whether tempest tossed thee here ashore,

Desolate, yet all undaunted, on this desert land enchanted—
On this home by Horror haunted—tell me truly, I implore—
Is there—is there balm in Gilead?9—tell me—tell me, I implore!”
90 Quoth the Raven, “Nevermore.”

“Prophet!” said I, “thing of evil!—prophet still, if bird or devil!

7. ominous adj. threatening or sinister.
8. nepenthe  (nih PEHN thee) n. drug that the ancient Greeks believed could relieve
sorrow.
9. balm in Gilead  in the Bible, a healing ointment made in Gilead, a region of ancient
Palestine.

106  UNIT 1 • INSIDE THE NIGHTMARE

 By that Heaven that bends above us—by that God we both adore—
Tell this soul with sorrow laden if, within the distant Aidenn,10 NOTES

It shall clasp a sainted maiden whom the angels named Lenore—

95 Clasp a rare and radiant maiden whom the angels named Lenore.”
Quoth the Raven, “Nevermore.”

“Be that word our sign of parting, bird or fiend!” I shrieked,

upstarting—
“Get thee back into the tempest and the Night’s Plutonian shore!
Leave no black plume as a token of that lie thy soul hath spoken!
100 Leave my loneliness unbroken!—quit the bust above my door!
Take thy beak from out my heart, and take thy form from off my door!”
Quoth the Raven, “Nevermore.”

And the Raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting

On the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door;
105 And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon’s that is dreaming,
And the lamplight o’er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor;
And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor
Shall be lifted—nevermore!
10.  Aidenn  n. Arabic for Eden or heaven.
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The Raven  107

POETRY

Windigo
Louise Erdrich

You knew I was coming for you, little one,

NOTES when the kettle jumped into the fire.
Towels flapped on the hooks,
and the dog crept off, groaning,
5 to the deepest part of the woods.

In the hackles1 of dry brush a thin laughter started up.

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and called you to eat.

But I spoke in the cold trees:
10 New one, I have come for you, child hide and lie still.

The sumac2 pushed sour red cones through the air.

Copper burned in the raw wood.
You saw me drag toward you.
Oh touch me, I murmured, and licked the soles of your feet.
15 You dug your hands into my pale, melting fur.

1. hackles  n. usually used to mean the hairs on the neck and back of a dog that stiffen
when the dog is ready to attack. In this case, the poet is using the word figuratively.
2. sumac  n. bright shrub or small tree with multi-part leaves and fruit clusters.

108  UNIT 1 • INSIDE THE NIGHTMARE

 I stole you off, a huge thing in my bristling armor.
Steam rolled from my wintry arms, each leaf shivered NOTES

from the bushes we passed

until they stood, naked, spread like the cleaned spines of fish.

20 Then your warm hands hummed over and shoveled themselves full
of the ice and the snow. I would darken and spill
all night running, until at last morning broke the cold earth
and I carried you home,
a river shaking in the sun.

Comprehension Check
Complete the following items after you finish your first read. Review and clarify
details with your group.

beware: do not read this poem

1. What happened to the vain old woman who surrounded herself with mirrors?

2. After that, what happened to each tenant of the old woman’s house?

The Raven

1. At the beginning of the poem, why is the speaker sorrowful?

2. With what word does the Raven respond to all the speaker’s questions?
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Windigo

1. Who is the speaker of the poem?

2. Where does the speaker take the child?

RESEARCH
Research to Clarify  Choose at least one unfamiliar detail from one of the poems. Briefly
research that detail. In what way does the information you learned shed light on an aspect
of the poem?

Poetry Collection  109

 MAKING MEANING

Close Read the Text

With your group, revisit sections of the poems you marked
during your first read. Annotate details that you notice.
What questions do you have? What can you conclude?
Poetry Collection

CITE TEXTUAL EVIDENCE

Analyze the Text to support your answers.

Complete the activities.

1. Review and Clarify  With your group, reread lines 1–12 of “The Raven.”
GROUP DISCUSSION Discuss the ways in which Poe establishes the setting for the poem. How
Keep in mind that group do the time of day and the season match the speaker’s state of mind?
members will have different What overall mood or atmosphere does the poet create?
interpretations of the poems.
These different perspectives 2. Present and Discuss  Work with your group to share the passages from
enable group members to the selections that you found especially important. Take turns presenting
learn from one another and your passages. Discuss what details you noticed, what questions you
to clarify their own thoughts. asked, and what conclusions you reached.
Very often, there is no single
interpretation or conclusion. 3. Essential Question:  What is the allure of fear? What have these
poems taught you about portrayals of fear in literature?

language development

Concept Vocabulary
entreating   implore   beguiling

  WORD NETWORK Why These Words?  The three concept vocabulary words are related. With
your group, discuss what the words have in common. How do these word
Add words related to fear
choices enhance the impact of the text?
from the texts to your Word
Network.

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Practice
Notebook  Confirm your understanding of these words by using them
in sentences. Include context clues that hint at each word’s meaning.
 STANDARDS
Reading Literature
Determine a theme or central idea
of a text and analyze in detail its
development over the course of the Word Study
text, including how it emerges and
is shaped and refined by specific Anglo-Saxon Prefix: be-  The word beguiling begins with the
details; provide an objective summary Anglo-Saxon prefix be-, an ancient suffix with a variety of meanings.
of the text. Sometimes, it means “to make,” as in becalm. Other times, it acts as an
Language
• Identify and correctly use patterns
intensifier meaning “thoroughly” or “completely,” as in bedazzle.
of word changes that indicate Identify the base word in each of the following: becloud, befriend, belittle.
different meanings or parts of
speech.
Then, write the meaning of each word. Use a college-level dictionary to
• Verify the preliminary verify your definitions.
determination of the meaning of a
word or phrase.

110  UNIT 1 • INSIDE THE NIGHTMARE

 question: What is
essential QUESTION:
ESSENTIAL does
the itallure
take of
to fear?
survive?

Analyze Craft and Structure

Development of Theme A narrative poem relates a story in verse. Like
a narrator in prose fiction, the speaker of a poem is an imaginary voice that
“tells” the story. Interpreting a poem often depends on recognizing who
the speaker is, whom the speaker is addressing, and what the speaker feels
about the subject—his or her tone.
A theme is a central message or insight expressed in a literary work. Some
poems state a theme directly, but most convey their messages indirectly.
Readers must look for clues to a poem’s theme in its language and details.
These details include imagery, or sensory language that creates word
pictures in readers’ minds. Imagery makes a narrative poem more vivid, and
also suggests its themes.

CITE TEXTUAL EVIDENCE

Practice to support your answers.

Use the chart to analyze each poem. Consider how the speaker’s tone and the poem’s
imagery reveal the theme.

beware: do not read this poem

speaker/speaker’s tone

possible theme We cannot separate ourselves from the

things that we read.

details that develop this theme

The Raven

speaker/speaker’s tone

possible theme Great sorrow may lead to madness.

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details that develop this theme

Windigo

speaker/speaker’s tone

possible theme
Mystery is at the heart of life.

details that develop this theme

1. Choose one of the poems, and identify another theme it expresses.

2. List details that suggest this theme, and explain your interpretation.

Poetry Collection  111

 LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT

Author’s Style
Point of View  In narrative literature, whether stories or poems, the point
of view is the perspective, or vantage point, from which the story is told. The
point of view is very important, since it controls what the reader learns about
events and what he or she can logically infer.
Poetry Collection

In first-person point of view, the narrator is a character in the literary

work and refers to him- or herself with the first-person pronoun I or me.
Since the narrator participates directly in the action, his or her point of
view is limited. A first-person narrator can reliably relate only those events
he or she witnesses, experiences firsthand, or learns about from others.
In omniscient third-person point of view, the narrator is not a
character in the story. He or she stands “outside” the story and is,
thus, free to be omniscient, or “all-knowing.” The omniscient narrator
knows what all of the characters are thinking and feeling.

 STANDARDS
Reading Literature Read It 
Analyze how an author’s Work individually. Use this chart to identify the point of view employed in
choices concerning how to structure
a text, order events within it, and each poem. Then, consider the effects of this choice—what does the point of
manipulate time create such effects view allow readers to learn, and what does it keep hidden? When you finish,
as mystery, tension, or suspense. reconvene as a group to discuss your responses.

beware: do not read this poem

Point of view: Effects:

The Raven

Point of view: Effects:

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Windigo

Point of view: Effects:

Write It 
Notebook  Write two brief versions of the same scene. In one version of the
scene, describe events from the first-person point of view. In the other version,
describe the same events using the omniscient third-person point of view.

112  UNIT 1 • INSIDE THE NIGHTMARE

 EFFECTIVE EXPRESSION

Speaking and Listening

Assignment
Create and deliver a group presentation. As you deliver your
presentation, pay close attention to such things as eye contact, body
language, clear pronunciation, tone, speaking rate, and volume. Choose
from the following topics.
  Conduct a mock interview with one of the poets. Prepare a list of
questions you would like to ask the poet about the inspiration behind
his or her poem. Each group member should write at least one
question and create an answer. Then, one group member should play
the poet, while the others pose questions. Present the role-play for
the class.

  Present a compare-and-contrast analysis of two of the poems,

focusing on the personalities and tones of the speakers. How do the
speakers change over the course of the poems? Cite evidence from
the text to support your ideas. Present your analysis to the class.

  Present a retelling of one of the poems. For example, you might

present it as a short story, a hip-hop song, or a play. Present your
retelling for the class.

Project Plan  Before you begin, make a list of the tasks you will need to
  EVIDENCE LOG
accomplish in order to complete the assignment you have chosen. Then,
Before moving on to a
assign individual group members to each task. Use this chart to organize
new selection, go to your
your ideas.
Evidence Log and record
what you learned from
MOCK Interview
“beware: do not read this
Tasks: Additional notes: poem,” “The Raven,” and
“Windigo.”
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COMPARE-AND-CONTRAST ANALYSIS

Tasks: Additional notes:

 STANDARDS
Speaking and Listening
• Initiate and participate effectively in
Retelling a range of collaborative discussions
with diverse partners on grades 9–10
Tasks: Additional notes: topics, texts, and issues, building on
others’ ideas and expressing their
own clearly and persuasively.
• Adapt speech to a variety of
contexts and tasks, demonstrating
command of formal English, when
indicated or appropriate.

Poetry Collection  113