Question

"A Valentine"
by Edgar Allan Poe
Answer the following questions about the poem above.

Which vocabulary strategy would best help a reader determine the meaning of the word scintillating in line 14?


a. Find the meaning of the Latin root scintilla.
b. Study the context clues in line 13 and line 15.
c. Use the meaning of the suffix ing.
d. Read in words that sound the same such as skin.

What is the "treasure," the "talisman," the "three eloquent words" that the poem contains?


a. "I despise you"
b. "I love you"
c. The Valentine's love
d. The Valenti

Answer 1

What do words such as "sweet," "divine," and "eloquent" imply?


a. The poet enjoys creating puzzles for readers
b. The poet is mocking the person to whom the poem is written
c. The poet loves the person to whom the poem is written
d. The poet thinks his words are beautiful

Answer 2

Latin root scintilla: a tiny trace or spark of a specified quality or feeling.

"For her this rhyme is penned, whose luminous eyes,
Brightly expressive as the twins of Leda,
Shall find her own sweet name, that nestling lies
Upon the page, enwrapped from every reader.
Search narrowly the lines!- they hold a treasure
Divine- a talisman- an amulet
That must be worn at heart. Search well the measure-
The words- the syllables! Do not forget
The trivialest point, or you may lose your labor
And yet there is in this no Gordian knot
Which one might not undo without a sabre,
If one could merely comprehend the plot.
Enwritten upon the leaf where now are peering
Eyes scintillating soul, there lie perdus
Three eloquent words oft uttered in the hearing
Of poets, by poets- as the name is a poet's, too,
Its letters, although naturally lying
Like the knight Pinto- Mendez Ferdinando-
Still form a synonym for Truth- Cease trying!
You will not read the riddle, though you do the best you can do"

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ing
ing- action or process <running> <sleeping> : instance of an action or process <a meeting>

Answer 3

infer-->deduce or conclude (information) from evidence and reasoning rather than from explicit statements.
imply-->strongly suggest the truth or existence of (something not expressly stated).

Answer 4

i thought that maybe you'd wanna know this but his adoptive moms name was Frances Keeling Valentine Allan. I think that maybe there is more to this poem that meets the eye.

Answer 5

@britanyashton so what's the answers?

Answer 6

Which phrases from the poem gives the best context clues for the meaning of luminous eyes in line one?

I think it's a but was told either a or b
a. brightly expressive; scintillating soul
b. brightly expressive; trivialest point
c. sweet name; synonym for Truth
d. sweet name; twins of Leda

Answer 7

im not sure what they mean by twins of leda? is that a family member of his?

Answer 8

well luminous is like light and bright. it narrows it down to that point so i believe your right.

Answer 9

Idk there was four questions I just don't know.

Answer 10

was there a reference on the bottom of the page of your book ?

Answer 11

No just read the poem and answer the questions. I put them all on this post

Answer 12

scintilla: a tiny trace or spark of a specified quality or feeling.-action
scintillating soul
a slight present quality or feeling. soul.

contrast that with trivialest point.

Answer 13

lol im not giving you the answers. ill help. but i actually want you to understand it. english is hard. its going to get harder.

Answer 14

I think the first question is c. I'm not really sure

Answer 15

I think that he is writing about a woman he admires---possibly his adoptive mother. Its not his words that are so special its the fact that its about her.

Answer 16

He calls her humorously a puzzel in a way. you can search the lines yet find yourself looking in a riddle.

Answer 17

This is hard.

Answer 18

do you know what the poems about?

Answer 19

i know the words are much. ill help though

Answer 20

---its kind of stupid too haha.

Answer 21

luminous-bright shining

she has luminous eyes---bright eyes

Answer 22

he is penning her---writing about her

Answer 23

Can I just work at mcdonalds.

Answer 24

lol NO. youll regret it. plus youll never get a date if you smell like bigmac all the time ;)

Answer 25

you can do this! come on! i promise you can

Answer 26

You never know ;D

Answer 27

First answer is a I think

Answer 28

lol no. i wont allow you to!
i have to suffer during english and so you u.
I know english is lame, but here. lets break it down.

Answer 29

slow down. breathe. you got all the time in the world.

Answer 30

"For her this rhyme is penned, whose luminous eyes,"
he is writing this "rhyme" for "her"
bright eyes,
"Brightly expressive as the twins of Leda,"
expressive. so right now just picture a girl with crazy bright eyes. so bright that you cant take your eyes off of them. okay?

Answer 31

A because you need to find the root of the word obviously.

Answer 32

ohhhh wait i found how what twins of leda meand! This references Leda the mother of the famous twins Castor and Pollox who make up the Gemini constellation... its a constellation!

Answer 33

go here :
http://poetry.rapgenius.com/Edgar-allan-poe-a-valentine-annotated#note-1585628

Answer 34

Cleverrrrr

Answer 35

click the words.... lol shut up XD

Answer 36

okay so you need to figure out what "treasure," the "talisman," the "three eloquent words" means in poes irrational mind.

Answer 37

talisman-A talisman is an object which is believed to contain certain magical or sacramental properties which would provide good luck for the possessor or possibly offer protection from evil or harm

Answer 38

B. because it's his lover?

Answer 39

yes its his secret lover :)

Answer 40

Next answer is c I think.

Answer 41

shes married

Answer 42

Ooooo sketchy

Answer 43

he has feelings for her but hes afraid to tell her since shes married. this is a riddle to reveal who she is :)

Answer 44

lol ikr that why hes awesome.

Answer 45

hes trying to get us interested in her.
"The theme of this poem is about a woman’s magnificence to a man when he’s falling in love, and the mysteriousness of this secret love they’re having. Poe wrote this poem under his personal context of being in love, in a secret love affair."

Answer 46

Did I get them all right? :o

Answer 47

WAIT TAKE A LOOK AT THIS
If you take the first letter from the first line, the second letter from the second line, the third letter from the third line, and so on until the end, the riddle of this poem will be revealed. The name of the woman who Poe is crazed about exists in every line throughout the whole poem, Frances Sargent Osgood. She was another great poetess who shares her secret affair with Poe through poems.

Answer 48

you've cracked the riddle c:

Answer 49

Oh dang (; secretive but clever

Answer 50

ikr! that was actually prety cool!
did we answer the questions alright? :O

Answer 51

~wasnt keeping track

Answer 52

here, if you find any more trouble try this link (:
i didnt crack the code :P
http://louieduy.wordpress.com/2009/12/04/a-valentine-of-edgar-allen-poe-analysis/

Answer 53

Yess

Answer 54

mmk (:
I think you'll do good with whatever your doing!
dont resort to mccdonalds, you got this!