The Raven
What kind of animal visits the speaker late at night?
What is a raven?
Who authored the poem "beware: do not read this poem"?
Ishmael Reed
What kind of creature is a Windigo in the poem’s cultural and literary context?
A frightening, flesh-eating supernatural ice creature from some Indigenous traditions, including Chippewa stories.
What literary device uses words that imitate sounds, such as “buzz” or “bang”?
Onomatopoeia
Which of the three poems features an animal that repeatedly responds to a speaker?
"The Raven" by Edgar Allan Poe
What is the name of the speaker’s lost love?
Lenore
What object does the old woman surround herself with because of her vanity?
a mirror
What season or type of weather is strongly associated with the Windigo?
Winter, cold, and icy weather.
What is it called when a word, phrase, or line is repeated for emphasis?
Repitition
Which poem "is" the reader?
"beware: do not read this poem"
What single word does the raven repeatedly say?
"Nevermore"
What happens to the old woman as a result of her obsession with mirrors?
She disappears into the mirror
How does the Windigo try to lure the child away?
The Windigo speaks to the child, calls to her, and tempts her to touch it before carrying her away.
What literary device gives an object, animal, or creature a meaning beyond its literal identity?
Personification
Which poem features a supernatural creature associated with winter and the danger of being taken away?
Windigo
What does the raven symbolize or represent to the speaker?
Grief, despair, inability to escape thoughts of his lost love, even perhaps death.
How does the poem make the reader part of the story?
The poem addresses the reader directly and suggests that the reader, too, can become absorbed into the poem.
How does Erdrich use imagery to make the Windigo seem frightening and powerful?
Erdrich uses sensory details involving cold, ice, snow, animal-like movement, and the natural environment to make the Windigo seem threatening and powerful.
What literary device uses descriptive language that appeals to the senses?
Imagery
Who is the speaker in "Windigo" and how does that contrast with "The Raven"?
In "Windigo" the speaker is the monster, while in "The Raven" the speaker is the victim who is tormented,
How does the repeated word “Nevermore” affect the speaker’s emotions and state of mind?
It intensifies the speaker’s sadness and desperation, knowing he will never be reunited with Lenore, worsening his emotional distress
What larger idea might Reed communicate by connecting the disappearance of people to the experience of reading a poem?
Reed suggests that stories, language, or poetry can absorb people and that disappearance can represent isolation, loss of identity, or the loss of people from society. The poem also invites readers to think about the broader reality of people disappearing.
How might the poem’s ending complicate the reader’s understanding of the Windigo as simply a monster?
The ending complicates the idea of the Windigo as purely evil because the creature carries the child home. Students may interpret this as a transformation, a release, or a more complicated relationship between danger and protection. Answers should be supported by details from the poem.
What is free verse, and which of the three poems uses this form rather than a regular, fixed rhyme-and-meter pattern?
Free verse is poetry that does not follow a consistent, fixed pattern of meter or rhyme. Ishmael Reed’s “beware: do not read this poem” uses free verse.
As far as "happy endings," how is "Windigo" different than "The Raven"?
In "Windigo" the girl melts the monster, which presents a "happy ending," while in "The Raven" the speaker will have the dark cloud over his head lifted "nevermore."