How the iconic poem might look if written by Twitter. “The Raven” By Twitter How the iconic poem might look if written by Twitter.

“The Raven” can sometimes be hard to understand.

There’s this guy. And a bird. And a bunch of fancy language. WHAT?

What does it All Mean????

Sometimes, it really helps to put something in a format you can understand quite easily. Kind of like translating something into another language, even though it’s still English.

So, with that idea, allow me to present “The Raven. By Twitter.”

Guy: Hey, a bird that says “No”. That’s cool. Raven: “No” Guy: Haha. Must have had a really unfortunate owner to have learned that. Raven: “No”. Guy: *puts chair in front of bird to sit and stare at it* Guy: *wonders of Raven really understands “no”* Guy: *starts thinking of Lenore again* Guy: Look, self, this is a distraction from Lenore. Just go with it.

Guy:. turns back to bird. Hey, what do you mean “No”. Come on Guy: *turns back to bird* Hey, what do you mean “No”? Come on! Is there anything that can make me feel better about losing Lenore? Raven: “No”. Guy: Is Lenore in heaven? Raven: “No.” Guy: GET OUT!!!! YOU EVIL FIEND YOU!!! GO AWAY!!! Raven: “No.” *Raven never moves—ever* *Guy despairs and compares his soul to being lower than the Raven’s shadow* *End poem*

Now, how can you “rewrite” “The Raven? Have this question start a discussion on how to “rewrite” “The Raven. Be sure to emphasize the following: What is the main idea of the poem? What evidence from the text shows you that? What ideas from the poem should you emphasize? What should you leave out? What format is your rewrite going to take? Who is the primary audience for that format? Does the format you choose impact the style and ideas included in your re-write? Why or why not? At this point, you could break students into groups or have them work individually. You can either have a pre-established list of acceptable formats in which the students could complete their rewrites or have them decide on their own (which option you choose will depend on your teaching style and your students). Assign them to complete the rewrite, either in class or as a project. For extra fun, you could have students complete their own PPT presentation that would discuss the choices they made regarding their rewrites and why.

Sources Poe, Edgar Allan. “The Raven”. The American Tradition in Literature, edited by George Perkins and Barbara Perkins. McGraw-Hill, 2007, pp. 1234-37.