Week 1
Lesson 1
Introduction to Poe and the Gothic
- Biography of Edgar Allan Poe
- Gothic Literature and Dark Romanticism
- Poe's themes and writing style
- Poe's "Philosophy of Composition" 
- In-class reading and discussion of "The Haunted Palace"
- Guidelines, expectations, and resources for the final essay (due in Week 11)
- Homework: Read "The Fall of the House of Usher"
 Week 2
Lesson 2
Literary Analysis
- In-class discussion of "The Fall of the House of Usher"
- In-class reading and analysis of "The Tell-Tale Heart"
- Homework: Read "The Black Cat"
 Week 3
Lesson 3
A Look into Poe's Use of Mythology and Folklore in Short Stories
- *Essay Milestone 1: Topic is due
- In-class discussion of "The Black Cat" (individual story and comparison to "The Tell-Tale Heart"
- In-class discussion of Poe's use of mythology and folklore in "The Black Cat"
- In-class reading and discussion of "Annabel Lee"
- Homework: Read "The Bells."
 Week 4
Lesson 4
Exploring Psychoanalytic Theory: Doubles, The Uncanny, and More
- In-class discussion of "The Bells"
- In-class discussion of the doubles trope and the uncanny in the horror genre
- In-class lesson on Psychoanalytic Literary Theory
- Homework: Read and analyze "William Wilson" through the lens of Psychoanalytic Literary Theory.
 Week 5
Lesson 5
Further Poe Works and Literary Concepts
- *Essay Milestone 2: Thesis statement is due
- In-class discussion of "William Wilson"
- In-class reading and discussion of "The Conqueror Worm"
- Homework: Read "Ligeia" 
 Week 6
Lesson 6
Vampire Symbolism and the Concept of the Sublime in Poe's works
- In-class discussion of "Ligeia"
- In-class discussion of vampire symbolism in literature
- In-class mini-lesson on Edmund Burke's theory of the sublime
- Homework: Read "Berenice" and identify the elements of vampire symbolism and the concept of the sublime
 Week 7
Lesson 7
More Vampire Symbolism and Gothic Themes
- *Essay Milestone 3: Outline of essay is due
- In-class discussion of "Berenice"
- In-class reading and discussion of "Morella"
- In-class discussion (part two) of vampire symbolism and the sublime in literature and film
- Homework: Read "The Pit and the Pendulum"
 Week 8
Lesson 8
Poe's Use of Mythology and Folklore in Poetry
- *Essay Milestone 4: Introductory paragraph of essay is due
- In-class discussion of "The Pit and the Pendulum"
- In-class reading and discussion of "To Helen"
- In-class discussion of Poe's use of mythology and folklore in poems
- In-class lesson on ballads
- Homework: Read and identify mythological allusions in "To -- -- -- Ulalume"
 Week 9
Lesson 9
Romantic Poetry; Detective Fiction
- In-class discussion of "To -- -- -- Ulalume"
- In-class reading and discussion of Romantic poems that feature allusions to mythology
- In-class lesson on the tropes and themes in detective fiction
- Homework: Read and identify the detective fiction tropes and themes in "The Murders in the Rue Morgue"
 Week 10
Lesson 10
The Influence of Poe's Detective Fiction
- *Essay Milestone 5: Rough draft of essay is due
- In-class discussion of "The Murders in the Rue Morgue"
- In-class discussion of Poe's influence on detective fiction and connections to contemporary literature and media
- Homework: Read "The Purloined Letter"
 Week 11
Lesson 11
Essays; Poe's Lighter Side and His Enduring Legacy
- *Final essay is due
- In-class discussion of "The Purloined Letter"
- In-class reading and discussion of Poe's "lighter side" poems
- Discussion of Poe's continuing influence on literature and media
- Homework: (OPTIONAL) Gather supplies for next week's Poe Party
 Week 12
Lesson 12
Sharing, Puns, Memes, and More
- Students share what they learned while writing their essays (brief summary, what surprised them or interested them the most, what further questions they still have, etc.)
- Discussion of favorite Poe works
- Edgar Allan Poe humor
- Perfectly Poe Party