Nina did exceptional work today in identifying the various forms of irony in Poe's "Cask of Amontillado." We noted how the author creates tension through the continuing use of dramatic irony as we watch a somewhat deranged narrator ensnare his nemesis . I then defined the word"macabre" and we discussed Poe's use of the macabre as a motif .We specifically compared the use of the premature burial plot in both Poe short stories we have studied this week . Nina further discussed elements of the Gothic . We next compared the different tone between "Fall of the House of Usher" and "Cask of Amontillado" examining how the narrator in today's reading quite coldly reports his murder scheme with a subtle glee. Next, we read and discussed Poe's famous poem,"The Raven". By way of introduction, I noted the poem's symbols on the board, and pointed out Poe's use of rhyme and rhythm in his poetry. I defined the literary term "meter" as the series of accented and unaccented syllables in a line of poetry. As we read the poem, we stopped to examine rhyme , rhythm ,and alliteration .Last,we commented on the mood of the poem again noting pervasive elements of the Gothic and the thematic victory of a dark force. HW- read the first two sections of Faulkner's Southern Gothic story ," A Rose For Emily."