Quoth "The Raven"'s Author Trivia Quiz

Answer: Eldorado

"Eldorado" is a short 1849 poem that tells of a knight seeking the legendary city of Eldorado, famous for its gold. The poem was written during the California Gold Rush of 1849. The knight is now elderly and has not found the city he is looking for. On his journey, he meets a shadowy pilgrim pointing the way to the city of Eldorado through the Valley of the Shadow, a metaphor for Death.

Answer: Pit and the Pendulum

"The Pit and the Pendulum" is an 1842 short story about a man imprisoned during the Spanish Inquisition. The man details his imprisonment in a pit and all of the psychological horrors he experiences. The prisoner uses all five senses to describe his emotions and his surroundings. Although this story is among Poe's most famous, the historical details are somewhat exaggerated.

Answer: Tell-Tale Heart

"The Tell-Tale Heart" is an 1843 short story about a murderer. The murderer kills an old man, apparently bothered by an odd looking eye the old man has. Not much is given to explain the relationship between these two men. The murderer conceals the old man's dead heart under the floorboards.

When the police come, the murderer believes he can still hear the heart beating and confesses to the crime, overwhelmed by guilt.

Answer: The Bells

"The Bells" is a short 1849 poem that describes the ringing of four different bells. While some of the bells make pleasant sounds, other do not. It is the loud alarum bells that tell the tale of terror in this passage. The other bells described in the poem are silver, golden and iron bells.

Answer: The Black Cat

"The Black Cat" is an 1843 short story about a man and his wife who love pets. In particular, they are fond of Pluto their black cat. The man, however, is a hopeless alcoholic and his drunken stupors prompt the cat to begin to avoid him. This angers the man who attempts to kill the cat with an axe.

However, the man's wife stops him from doing so. The man then becomes angry at her and kills her. He hides her body in the cellar wall and when he thinks he has gotten away with it, his guilt and the cat get the better of him.

Answer: Masque of the Red Death

"The Masque of the Red Death" is an 1842 short story about a rich prince who, during a plague, retreats within his castle with many of his friends. His subjects are left to fend for themselves and die as Prince Prospero and his guests continue to live a lavish lifestyle of balls and parties for months. However, Death still finds its way into the mansion.

This short story became particularly popular during the COVID-19 pandemic as it had relatable subject matter. "And the revel went whirlingly on" was a quote from the story some media outlets used to describe the situation in the United States when elected officials were perceived as not doing enough to fight the pandemic or provide relief.

Answer: Annabel Lee

"Annabel Lee" is an 1850 posthumously-published poem that was Poe's last to be written. In the poem, the narrator is lamenting the loss of his young bride Annabel Lee who succumbed to some illness. Annabel Lee is entombed by the sea. Unusually for Poe works, this poem has a happy ending as it is implied the narrator will one day be reunited with his lost love.

Answer: Berenice

"Berenice" is an 1835 short story about a man named Egaeus who falls in love with his cousin Berenice. Berenice is beautiful but suffers from a degenerative diseases that makes her unattractive. The intellectual Egaeus becomes obsessed with her beautiful teeth, which do not rot with the rest of her. Upon hearing that Berenice has died, Egaeus visits her body and notices she is, in fact, still alive, yet she is buried anyway. Egaeus later wakes up to a servant telling him that someone has disinterred Berenice, disfigured her and she is still alive. Egaeus notices he is holding a box and finds Berenice's teeth inside the box.

"Berenice" caused considerable controversy when it was first published and the Southern Literary Messenger, the magazine that published it, later censored the story.

Answer: The Raven

"The Raven" is an 1845 poem that may be Poe's most famous work. It tells of a man, mourning his love Lenore, on a December night when he is visited unexpectedly by a raven who says his name is Nevermore. The poem is widely disputed by literary critics and readers as to its meaning.

Some believe the raven represents the man's impending death while others believe he is falling into madness. Another interpretation is that the man will never be reunited with his Lenore.

Answer: Hop-Frog

"Hop-Frog" is an 1849 short story, Poe's last published. It centers around a dwarf who is forced to be a jester to a king. The king loves pranks and humiliates the Hop-Frog whenever he can. The Hop-Frog falls for a dwarf named Tripetta. When the king hits Tripetta, the Hop-Frog seeks revenge by tricking the king and his court into dressing as orangutans and killing them by setting them on fire.