1. art and entertainment
2. books and literature
3. poetry

Teacher Resource Guide
and Lesson Plan Activities
Featuring general information about our production along with some creative activities which
will help make connections to your classroom curriculum, before and after the show.
The production and accompanying activities address North Carolina Essential
Standards in Theatre Arts, Goal A.1: Analyze literary texts and performances.
Look for this symbol throughout the resource guide for other curricular connections.
Tales of Edgar Allan Poe
About the Play
Tales of Edgar Allan Poe combines several poems
and stories by the “Master of Macabre” including:
 Alone
 Annabel Lee
 A Dream Within a Dream
 The Tell-Tale Heart
 The Cask of Amontillado
 The Raven
 The Bells
About the Author: Edgar Allan Poe
Featuring “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan
Poe, dramatized by Luella McMahon and
“The Halloween Trilogy” scripts by Cecilia Fannan
and John De Lancie
Founded in 1948, Children’s Theatre of Charlotte has
been opening young minds to the wonders of live theatre
for over half a century. Today it continues to be one of
the most technically imaginative and resourceful theatres
in the country. Annually it reaches over 320,000 young
people and their families with multiple program areas:
Mainstage productions, Tarradiddle Players Professional
Touring Company and a full scope of Education classes
for both community and schools. Children’s Theatre of
Charlotte is housed in ImaginOn: The Joe & Joan
Martin Center. The facility is shared with the Charlotte
Mecklenburg Library.
Born in Boston on January 19, 1809, Edgar Allan Poe was
the second of three children, born to travelling actors who
died when the children were very young. Poe was
separated from his siblings to live with John and Frances
Allan in Richmond, Virginia. Drawn to writing at an early
age, Poe had compiled enough poetry to publish a book by
the age of 13, but was forbidden to do so. At age 18 his
first book, Tamerlane, was published. Poe enlisted in the
US Army and later West Point, shortly after publishing his
second book. Poe’s relationship with John Allan was
turbulent; eventually Poe was expelled from West Point
and moved to Baltimore to live with his aunt, Maria
Clemm. After accepting an editorial job at the Southern
Literary Messenger magazine in Richmond, he moved the
Clemm family to be with him, and married his cousin
Virginia who was 13 at the time. He popularized The
Messenger magazine with brilliant stories and scathing
criticisms of other authors. While acclaimed, Poe
remained poor and worked for magazines in New York
and Philadelphia looking for higher pay. Tragedy struck in
1842 when his wife Virginia contracted tuberculosis.
Despite his growing popularity, Virginia’s failing heath and
death in 1847 sent Poe into a deep depression. He died on
October 7, 1849 though the cause of his death remains a
mystery. Having never written any plays, Poe’s works were
adapted for this production by playwrights Luella
McMahon, Cecilia Fannan and John De Lancie.
Children’s Theatre of Charlotte • Teacher Resource Guide • www.ctcharlotte.org
“Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing,
Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before.” - The Raven
Questions for Discussion
1. Both narrators in The Tell-Tale Heart and The Cask of
Amontillado commit murder. Do you still connect with
these characters? How does Poe make you feel sympathy for
them? What are their justifications for committing murder?
What’s the relationship between sanity, revenge, guilt and
confession in these two stories?
2. Poe’s work is often concerned with mortality and the fear
of death, the supernatural and the macabre. These themes are
still popular and of immense interest today. Why do you think
an interest in the macabre has been so enduring? Can you
think of how early works like Poe’s have impacted the
popularity of modern fiction?
3. Edgar Allan Poe is credited with “inventing” the detective
story. What elements can you see him using in The Tell-Tale
Heart (and also in his poetry) that are reminiscent of the
detective genre?
4. Poe once said that “the death...of a beautiful woman” is
“unquestionably the most poetical topic in the world.” Do
you think this is a response to the deaths of his mother and
wife? Can you think of other examples of this subject matter
in literature? How would you discuss this statement from a
modern feminist viewpoint?
5. Poe wrote an essay, “The Philosophy of Composition”, in
which he describes his theory of how writers write when they
write well. He believed good literature should be short, that it
should be composed logically and that the writer should have
decided on the ending and the emotional tone even before he
even begins. Consider The Raven; did Poe actually follow
his own Philosophy of Composition when writing it?
6. In Children’s Theatre of Charlotte’s production of Tales
of Edgar Allan Poe, the role of Montressor in The Cask of
Amontillado is played by a female. Why do you think the
director made this choice, and what effect did it have on the
interpretation of the story?
7. The Bells is an onomatopoetic poem, but is also symbolic
expression of the passing of seasons or the journey of life
from youth to old age. Discuss the progression of the poem
and the darkening of tone from beginning to end.
8. Poe wrote his stories over 150 years ago. Did Children’s
Theatre produce a modern or traditional adaptation of the
play? Discuss the images shown at the end of play. Why did
the director choose to include these in the production?
9. Poe famously scorned didacticism, which is the intention
in literature to teach a lesson. If not to teach a lesson, what
do you think Poe wanted his readers to take from his work?
The Unreliable Narrator
In 1961, Wayne C. Booth’s Rhetoric of
Fiction originated a term know as “The
Unreliable Narrator”. The term refers to a
narrator who is not trustworthy or whose
credibility is compromised. Some examples
could include:
 The narrator may be of dramatically
different age than the people in the story
(such as a child attempting to explain
adult actions)
 The narrator may have prejudices about
race, class or gender
 The narrator may suffer from dementia
or hallucinations
 The narrator may have a personality
flaw such as pathological lying or
narcissism
 The narrator may be trying to make a
point that is contrary to the actions of
story.
While the term was coined in the sixties, the
concept of the Unreliable Narrator is not a
modern one; Poe was a master of it. How
does the convention of an unreliable
narrator affect the reader? What qualities in
Poe’s work make the narrators unreliable?
Are any of his narrators reliable? Discuss
the unreliable narrators in the following
books and movies:
To Kill a Mockingbird
The Great Gatsby
The Sound and the Fury
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
A Beautiful Mind
Memento
Fight Club
Common Core Standards, Anchor Standard 2:
Determine central ideas of themes of a text and analyze
their development; summarize the key supporting details
and ideas. RL7: Compare and contrast a written story,
drama or poem to its...staged version, analyzing the
effects or techniques unique to each medium.
Children’s Theatre of Charlotte • Teacher Resource Guide • www.ctcharlotte.org
Alone
Annabel Lee
From childhood's hour I have not been
As others were; I have not seen
As others saw; I could not bring
My passions from a common spring.
From the same source I have not taken
My sorrow; I could not awaken
My heart to joy at the same tone;
And all I loved, I loved alone.
Then- in my childhood, in the dawn
Of a most stormy life- was drawn
From every depth of good and ill
The mystery which binds me still:
From the torrent, or the fountain,
From the red cliff of the mountain,
From the sun that round me rolled
In its autumn tint of gold,
From the lightning in the sky
As it passed me flying by,
From the thunder and the storm,
And the cloud that took the form
(When the rest of Heaven was blue)
Of a demon in my view.
It was many and many a year ago,
In a kingdom by the sea,
That a maiden there lived whom you may know
By the name of Annabel Lee;
And this maiden she lived with no other thought
Than to love and be loved by me.
A Dream Within a Dream
Take this kiss upon the brow!
And, in parting from you now,
Thus much let me avowYou are not wrong, who deem
That my days have been a dream;
Yet if hope has flown away
In a night, or in a day,
In a vision, or in none,
Is it therefore the less gone?
All that we see or seem
Is but a dream within a dream.
I stand amid the roar
Of a surf-tormented shore,
And I hold within my hand
Grains of the golden sandHow few! yet how they creep
Through my fingers to the deep,
While I weep- while I weep!
O God! can I not grasp
Them with a tighter clasp?
O God! can I not save
One from the pitiless wave?
Is all that we see or seem
But a dream within a dream?
I was a child and she was a child,
In this kingdom by the sea;
But we loved with a love that was more than loveI and my Annabel Lee;
With a love that the winged seraphs of heaven
Coveted her and me.
And this was the reason that, long ago,
In this kingdom by the sea,
A wind blew out of a cloud, chilling
My beautiful Annabel Lee;
So that her highborn kinsman came
And bore her away from me,
To shut her up in a sepulchre
In this kingdom by the sea.
The angels, not half so happy in heaven,
Went envying her and meYes!- that was the reason (as all men know,
In this kingdom by the sea)
That the wind came out of the cloud by night,
Chilling and killing my Annabel Lee.
But our love it was stronger by far than the love
Of those who were older than weOf many far wiser than weAnd neither the angels in heaven above,
Nor the demons down under the sea,
Can ever dissever my soul from the soul
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee.
For the moon never beams without bringing me dreams
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And the stars never rise but I feel the bright eyes
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side
Of my darling- my darling- my life and my bride,
In the sepulchre there by the sea,
In her tomb by the sounding sea.
Children’s Theatre of Charlotte • Teacher Resource Guide • www.ctcharlotte.org
The Bells
I
Hear the sledges with the bells Silver bells!
What a world of merriment their melody foretells!
How they tinkle, tinkle, tinkle,
In the icy air of night!
While the stars that oversprinkle
All the heavens seem to twinkle
With a crystalline delight;
Keeping time, time, time,
In a sort of Runic rhyme,
To the tintinnabulation that so musically wells
From the bells, bells, bells, bells,
Bells, bells, bells From the jingling and the tinkling of the bells.
II
Hear the mellow wedding bells Golden bells!
What a world of happiness their harmony foretells!
Through the balmy air of night
How they ring out their delight!
From the molten-golden notes,
And all in tune,
What a liquid ditty floats
To the turtle-dove that listens, while she gloats
On the moon!
Oh, from out the sounding cells
What a gush of euphony voluminously wells!
How it swells!
How it dwells
On the Future! -how it tells
Of the rapture that impels
To the swinging and the ringing
Of the bells, bells, bells,
Of the bells, bells, bells, bells,
Bells, bells, bells To the rhyming and the chiming of the bells!
III
Hear the loud alarum bells Brazen bells!
What a tale of terror, now, their turbulency tells!
In the startled ear of night
How they scream out their affright!
Too much horrified to speak,
They can only shriek, shriek,
Out of tune,
In a clamorous appealing to the mercy of the fire,
In a mad expostulation with the deaf and frantic fire,
Leaping higher, higher, higher,
With a desperate desire,
And a resolute endeavor
Now -now to sit or never,
By the side of the pale-faced moon.
Oh, the bells, bells, bells!
What a tale their terror tells
Of despair!
How they clang, and clash, and roar!
What a horror they outpour
On the bosom of the palpitating air!
Yet the ear it fully knows,
By the twanging
And the clanging,
How the danger ebbs and flows;
Yet the ear distinctly tells,
In the jangling
And the wrangling,
How the danger sinks and swells,
By the sinking or the swelling in the anger of the bells Of the bells,
Of the bells, bells, bells, bells,
Bells, bells, bells In the clamor and the clangor of the bells!
IV
Hear the tolling of the bells Iron bells!
What a world of solemn thought their monody compels!
In the silence of the night,
How we shiver with affright
At the melancholy menace of their tone!
For every sound that floats
From the rust within their throats
Is a groan.
And the people -ah, the people They that dwell up in the steeple,
All alone,
And who tolling, tolling, tolling,
In that muffled monotone,
Feel a glory in so rolling
On the human heart a stone They are neither man nor woman They are neither brute nor human They are Ghouls:
And their king it is who tolls;
And he rolls, rolls, rolls,
Rolls
A paean from the bells!
And his merry bosom swells
With the paean of the bells!
And he dances, and he yells;
Keeping time, time, time,
In a sort of Runic rhyme,
To the paean of the bells,
Of the bells Keeping time, time, time,
In a sort of Runic rhyme,
To the throbbing of the bells,
Of the bells, bells, bells To the sobbing of the bells;
Keeping time, time, time,
As he knells, knells, knells,
In a happy Runic rhyme,
To the rolling of the bells,
Of the bells, bells, bells To the tolling of the bells,
Of the bells, bells, bells, bells,
Bells, bells, bells To the moaning and the groaning of the bells.
Children’s Theatre of Charlotte • Teacher Resource Guide • www.ctcharlotte.org
The Raven
Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered weak and weary,
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.
`'Tis some visitor,' I muttered, `tapping at my chamber door Only this, and nothing more.'
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.
Nothing further then he uttered - not a feather then he fluttered Till I scarcely more than muttered `Other friends have flown before On the morrow he will leave me, as my hopes have flown before.'
Then the bird said, `Nevermore.'
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
From my books surcease of sorrow - sorrow for the lost Lenore For the rare and radiant maiden whom the angels named Lenore Nameless here for evermore.
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 Till the dirges of his hope that melancholy burden bore
Of "Never-nevermore."'
And the silken sad uncertain rustling of each purple curtain
Thrilled me - filled me with fantastic terrors never felt before;
So that now, to still the beating of my heart, I stood repeating
`'Tis some visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door Some late visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door; This it is, and nothing more,'
But the raven still beguiling all my sad soul 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
Fancy unto fancy, thinking what this ominous bird of yore What this grim, ungainly, ghastly, gaunt, and ominous bird of yore
Meant in croaking `Nevermore.'
Presently my soul grew stronger; hesitating then no longer,
`Sir,' said I, `or Madam, truly your forgiveness I implore;
But the fact is I was napping, and so gently you came rapping,
And so faintly you came tapping, tapping at my chamber door,
That I scarce was sure I heard you' - here I opened wide the door; Darkness there, and nothing more.
This I sat engaged in guessing, but no syllable expressing
To the fowl whose fiery eyes now burned into my bosom's core;
This and more I sat divining, with my head at ease reclining
On the cushion's velvet lining that the lamp-light gloated o'er,
But whose velvet violet lining with the lamp-light gloating o'er,
She shall press, ah, nevermore!
Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing,
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!'
Merely this and nothing more.
Then, methought, the air grew denser, perfumed from an unseen censer
Swung by Seraphim whose foot-falls tinkled on the tufted floor.
`Wretch,' I cried, `thy God hath lent thee - by these angels he has sent thee
Respite - respite and nepenthe from thy memories of Lenore!
Quaff, oh quaff this kind nepenthe, and forget this lost Lenore!'
Quoth the raven, `Nevermore.'
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 Let my heart be still a moment and this mystery explore; 'Tis the wind and nothing more!'
`Prophet!' said I, `thing of evil! - prophet still, if bird or devil! 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? - tell me - tell me, I implore!'
Quoth the raven, `Nevermore.'
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 obeisance made he; not a minute stopped or stayed he;
But, with mien of lord or lady, perched above my chamber door Perched upon a bust of Pallas just above my chamber door Perched, and sat, and nothing more.
`Prophet!' said I, `thing of evil! - prophet still, if bird or devil!
By that Heaven that bends above us - by that God we both adore Tell this soul with sorrow laden if, within the distant Aidenn,
It shall clasp a sainted maiden whom the angels named Lenore Clasp a rare and radiant maiden, whom the angels named Lenore?'
Quoth the raven, `Nevermore.'
Then this ebony bird beguiling my sad fancy into smiling,
By the grave and stern decorum of the countenance it wore,
`Though thy crest be shorn and shaven, thou,' I said, `art sure no craven.
Ghastly grim and ancient raven wandering from the nightly shore Tell me what thy lordly name is on the Night's Plutonian shore!'
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!
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.'
Much I marvelled this ungainly fowl to hear discourse so plainly,
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.'
And the raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting
On the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door;
And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon's that is dreaming,
And the lamp-light 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!
Children’s Theatre of Charlotte • Teacher Resource Guide • www.ctcharlotte.org
Fact or Myth
Poe led a complex and interesting life; in exchange many
rumors and myths have circulated about him. Read each
statement below and decide if it is a FACT or MYTH.
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Poe’s parents were both actors, and supposedly named
him for a character in William Shakespeare’s King Lear,
a play they performed in 1809. (FACT)
Poe’s middle name “Allan” represents the family who
took him in after his own parents died. (FACT)
Poe was expelled from the University of Virginia.
(MYTH). Poe was not allowed to return to the
University because he did not pay his expenses. It is
claimed that Poe was so poor that he burned his
furniture to stay warm.
After being expelled from school, Poe returned to
Richmond and found that his fiancée was engaged to
another man. (FACT.) Her name was Elmira Royster,
and Poe reconnected with her later in life after both of
their spouses had died.
Poe was expelled from West Point for refusing to attend
church. (FACT). He was charged with “Gross Neglect
of Duty” for “absenting himself from roll calls” as well
as “Disobedience of Orders” for refusing to attend
church after having been directed to do so by an officer.
In his lifetime Poe was actually most well known for his
efforts as a literary critic. (FACT). The poet James
Russell Lowell suggested that Poe used prussic acid
instead of ink.
John Allan left Poe out of his will. (FACT). Prior to
his death, Allan also remarried without informing Poe.
Poe made up the word “tintinnabulation”. (MYTH).
The word was earlier seen in Pelham by English poet
Edward Bulwer-Lytton.
Poe had a pet raven. (MYTH). However, author
Charles Dickens did have a pet raven named Grip who
apparently served as inspiration for Dickens’ novel
Barnaby Rudge as well as Poe’s poem, The Raven.
Poe died drunk in a gutter. (UNKNOWN) Poe died in
Washington College Hospital, though evidence of his
cause of death are still disputed. There are no existing
medical records or death certificate. (See “Poe’s Death
Theories” on the final page of this packet for details.)
Rival author Rufus Griswold wrote a scathing obituary
which portrayed Poe as a “drunken, womanizing
madman with no friends and no morals.” (FACT).
This was an attempt to cause the public to dismiss Poe’s
work but instead it caused book sales to climb higher
than they had ever been in Poe’s lifetime.
Ever since 1949, a mysterious visitor has left roses and a
bottle of cognac on Poe’s grave. (FACT). This person
(or persons) is know as the “Poe Toaster”.
The Raven
Arguably one of Poe’s most highly acclaimed poems,
The Raven was first published in 1845. It is often
noted for its musicality, stylized language and supernatural feel. It is also chock-full of almost every
poetic literary device imaginable.
Referencing the text of The Raven, encourage
students to identify the following literary devices.
Some examples are listed in parenthesis.
Symbolism: (the raven, Pallas, midnight, December)
Internal rhyme: (dreary, weary)
End rhyme: (door, implore)
Imagery: (“Each separate dying ember wrought its
ghost upon the floor”; also “And his eyes have all the
seeming of a demon that is dreaming”)
Assonance: (nodded nearly napping)
Consonance: (“And the silken sad uncertain
rustling”)
Alliteration: (“Terrors never felt before”)
Onomatopoeia: (tapping, rapping, rustling, croaking)
Personification: (purple curtain, lamplight, raven)
Refrain: (nevermore)
Anaphora: (Still is sitting, still is sitting)
Metaphor: (Comparison of the ash to a ghost)
Simile: (“That one word, as if his soul in that one
word he did outpour”)
Allusion: (the night’s Plutonian shore, Balm in
Gilead)
Common Core Standards for English Language Arts and
Literacy: RL4: Determine the meaning of words and phrases
as they are used in a text, including figurative and connotative
meanings; analyze the impact of rhymes and other repetitions
of sounds on a specific verse of stanza of a poem.
Autobiographical Poetry
Critical analysis of Poe’s poetry suggests that many of
his works are autobiographical. Four of Poe’s poems
are included in this production of Tales of Edgar
Allan Poe. Of the four, which do you think is most
autobiographical?
Alone was originally written in 1829, when Poe was
20 years old.
The Raven was written in 1845, when his wife was
suffering from Tuberculosis.
A Dream Within a Dream was published in 1849,
two years after Virginia’s death.
Annabel Lee was also written in 1849, and some
claim that this was Poe’s last completed poem.
Children’s Theatre of Charlotte • Teacher Resource Guide • www.ctcharlotte.org
Theatre Corner
Every play produced by Children's Theatre
of Charlotte is created in the city of
Charlotte by a talented team of designers,
carpenters, stitchers, props masters and
lighting technicians, not to mention the
director and the actors. Because it is
presented live, a play is very different from
a television show or a movie. As a class,
discuss what you experienced when you
went to the theatre.
1. What was the first thing you noticed on
the stage?
2. Name three things you noticed about
the set. Did the set help tell the story?
What sort of set would you have
designed?
3. What did you like about the costumes?
Did they fit the story? What sort of
costumes would you have designed?
4. What role did lighting play in telling the
story? How did the lights enhance
what you were seeing?
5. Sound design plays a major role in this
production. How was sound and
music used to enhance the play?
6. Discuss the use of special effects in this
production, such as fog and smoke.
How do you think these effects were
achieved? Were they effective in
creating the mood of the play?
7. Which actors did you think were most
effective, and why?
8. Discuss the role of the director in a
theatrical production. Do you think
this was a difficult show to direct?
Why or why not?
North Carolina Essential Standards in
Theatre, AE1.1: Understand how the major
technical elements of theatre, such as lights,
sound, set and costumes, are used to support and
enhance a theatrical production.
Poe’s Death Theories
Directly from The Museum of Edgar Allan Poe in Richmond, Virginia:
In dying under such mysterious circumstances, the father of the detective story
has left us with a real-life mystery which Poe scholars, medical professionals,
and others have been trying to solve for over 150 years.
On October 3, 1849, Dr. Joseph E. Snodgrass received the following note:
Baltimore City, Oct. 3, 1849
Dear Sir,
There is a gentleman, rather the worse for wear, at Ryan's 4th ward polls, who goes under the
cognomen of Edgar A. Poe, and who appears in great distress, & he says he is acquainted with
you, he is in need of immediate assistance.
Yours, in haste,
JOS. W. WALKER
To Dr. J.E. Snodgrass.
This is the first verifiable evidence available of Poe's whereabouts since
departing Richmond in the early morning of September 27. His intended
destination had been Philadelphia, where he was to edit a volume of poetry.
Dr. Snodgrass found Poe semiconscious and dressed in cheap, ill-fitting
clothes so unlike Poe's usual mode of dress that many believe that Poe's own
clothing had been stolen. Poe was taken to Washington College Hospital on
the afternoon of October 3 and did not regain consciousness until the next
morning. For days he passed from delirium to unconsciousness, but never
recovered well enough to tell how he had arrived in such a condition. For no
known reason he started calling loudly for "Reynolds" on the fourth night.
In the early morning hours of October 7, Poe calmly breathed a simple
prayer, "Lord, help my poor soul," and died. His cause of death was ascribed
to "congestion of the brain." No autopsy was performed, and the author was
buried two days later. The following is a bibliography of some of the theories
of Poe's cause of death that have been published over the years:
Beating (1857) The United States Magazine Vol.II (1857): 268.
Epilepsy (1875) Scribner's Monthly Vo1. 10 (1875): 691.
Dipsomania (1921) Robertson, John W. Edgar A. Poe A Study. Brough, 1921: 134, 379.
Heart (1926) Allan, Hervey. Israfel. Doubleday, 1926: Chapt. XXVII, 670.
Toxic Disorder (1970) Studia Philo1ogica Vol. 16 (1970): 41-42.
Hypoglycemia (1979) Artes Literatus (1979) Vol. 5: 7-19.
Diabetes (1977) Sinclair, David. Edgar Allan Poe. Roman & Litt1efield, 1977: 151-152.
Alcohol Dehydrogenase (1984) Arno Karlen. Napo1eon's Glands. Little Brown, 1984: 92.
Porphryia (1989) JMAMA Feb. 10, 1989: 863-864.
Delerium Tremens (1992) Meyers, Jeffrey. Edgar A1lan Poe. Charles Scribner, 1992: 255.
Rabies (1996) Maryland Medical Journal Sept. 1996: 765-769.
Heart (1997) Scientific Sleuthing Review Summer 1997: 1-4.
Murder (1998) Walsh, John E., Midnight Dreary. Rutgers Univ. Press, 1998: 119-120.
Epilepsy (1999) Archives of Neurology June 1999: 646, 740.
Carbon Monoxide Poisoning (1999) Albert Donnay
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is sincerely grateful to our generous
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Children’s Theatre of Charlotte is
supported, in part, with funding from the
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Carolina Arts Council, a division of the
Department of Cultural Resources.
Children’s Theatre of Charlotte • Teacher Resource Guide • www.ctcharlotte.org