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Year 8

Comparing 'The Raven' and 'The Haunted Palace'

I can compare ‘The Raven’ and ‘The Haunted Palace and give a personal response.

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Year 8

Comparing 'The Raven' and 'The Haunted Palace'

I can compare ‘The Raven’ and ‘The Haunted Palace and give a personal response.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. 'The Raven' and 'The Haunted Palace' are both examples of the Gothic genre.
  2. 'The Raven' and 'The Haunted Palace' both feature speakers who are grieving, one for a woman, the other for a house.
  3. Both 'The Raven' and 'The Haunted Palace' use figurative language such as symbolism to convey emotions.
  4. Comparing the two poems involves looking at similarities and differences in meaning and linguistic techniques.

Keywords

  • Bereaved - someone who is bereaved has experienced the death of a loved one

  • Isolated - to be isolated is to be alone

  • Nostalgic - to be nostalgic is to think about the past with fondness

  • Gothic - the Gothic genre is characterised by gloomy settings and unhappy heroes

  • Symbol - a symbol is an image or a word that represents an idea or feeling

Common misconception

Students thinking they need to find big differences in the poems.

It's often better to choose similarities and then explain and explore the subtle differences.


To help you plan your year 8 english lesson on: Comparing 'The Raven' and 'The Haunted Palace', download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

In practice task B, encourage students to think of echoes as figurative.
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Teacher tip
equipment-required

Equipment

You will need access to copies of Edgar Allan Poe's 'The Raven' and 'The Haunted Palace'. These are available in the additional materials.

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Content guidance

  • Depiction or discussion of sensitive content
supervision-level

Supervision

Adult supervision recommended

copyright

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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Starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
'The Raven' features a speaker who is...
thinking about the past.
Correct answer: mourning the loss of a loved one.
thinking fearfully about the future.
Q2.
In 'The Haunted Palace'. what has happened to the building?
It was burned to the ground.
Correct answer: It has been abandoned.
It has been washed away in a flood.
Q3.
What is the term used to describe a group of words all on one topic or related by meaning?
Correct Answer: Semantic field
Q4.
What word describes the representation of ideas or feelings by a noun?
Correct Answer: Symbol, symbol
Q5.
'The Haunted Palace' is about the decline of glory and the loss of power. Which quotation best supports that interpretation?
"The ruler of the realm was seen"
"A winged odour went away"
Correct answer: "Assailed the monarch's high estate"
Q6.
In 'The Raven', the raven is presented as both wise and wicked. Which quotations would you use to support that interpretation?
"Nevermore" and "shadow"
Correct answer: "Pallas Athena" and "Prophet of evil"
"flutter" and "lord or lady"

Exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
What is the best definition of nostalgic?
a feeling of fondness for old grand buildings
a feeling of fondness for beautiful landscapes
Correct answer: a feeling of fondness for the past
Q2.
What is the best definition of the word "isolated"
unhappy
angry
deluded
Correct answer: alone
Q3.
How are the speakers of 'The Haunted Palace' and 'The Raven' similar?
They are both bereaved.
They are both highly distressed.
Correct answer: They are both melancholy.
Q4.
Choose the connectives you would use to explore differences between two poems.
similarly
likewise
also
Correct answer: whereas
Correct answer: however
Q5.
In regards to 'The Haunted Palace', what word would fill best completes the following sentence? The palace might the speaker's personality.
Correct Answer: symbolise, represent
Q6.
In 'The Raven', how is the writer establishing tone in the following quotation: "Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered weak and weary."
Correct answer: reference to the weather
the use of the pronoun "I"
Correct answer: the use of gloomy adjectives
The fairytale beginning "once"

Additional material

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