Plot & Setting
Where does most of the story “Ligeia” take place?
In the narrator’s rooms/castle-like chamber, particularly the abbey in England.
Who is the narrator of the story?
Ligeia’s unnamed husband.
What is one major theme of “Ligeia”?
The power of the human will over death.
What point of view is “Ligeia” written in?
First person.
In what year was Edgar Allan Poe born?
1809
What illness does Ligeia suffer from?
A mysterious, wasting illness that leads to her death.
What quality does Ligeia possess that makes her unique?
Her intelligence, willpower, and almost supernatural beauty.
What does Ligeia symbolize in the story?
Eternal love, intellect, and the triumph of spirit over mortality.
How does Poe create suspense in the story?
Through vivid description, unreliable narration, and supernatural ambiguity.
Poe is often called the master of what literary genre?
Gothic fiction (or horror).
What happens to the narrator after Ligeia dies?
He becomes grief-stricken, addicted to opium, and remarries Lady Rowena.
What does the narrator admire most about Ligeia?
Her intellect and her will to live beyond death.
What does the abbey setting symbolize?
Decay, death, and the narrator’s deteriorating mind.
What literary device is used when Rowena’s body transforms into Ligeia?
Symbolism and ambiguity (possible hallucination).
What personal tragedy influenced much of Poe’s writing?
The early death of the women he loved, including his wife Virginia Clemm.
What strange event happens to Lady Rowena at the end?
She appears to die, but then revives as Ligeia.
Why does the narrator marry Lady Rowena?
Possibly out of loneliness, grief, or an attempt to move on from Ligeia.
What theme is explored through the transformation of Rowena into Ligeia?
The idea of resurrection and the blurring between life and death.
What effect does the unreliable narrator have on the reader?
It causes doubt about what is real versus imagined.
What was Poe’s most famous poem that made him widely known?
“The Raven”
What atmosphere dominates the setting of the story?
A dark, Gothic, mysterious atmosphere filled with decay and death.
How does the narrator’s obsession with Ligeia affect his sanity?
It drives him to hallucination, opium use, and eventual madness.
How does Poe use Gothic imagery to support his themes?
Through dark settings, death imagery, and supernatural elements reflecting obsession and madness.
How does Poe’s word choice contribute to the Gothic tone?
His use of archaic, ornate, and dark language deepens the eerie, mysterious mood.
How did Poe’s mysterious death reflect the themes in his work?
His death was surrounded by mystery and uncertainty—much like the dark, eerie subjects he wrote about.