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A Valentine

A poem by Edgar Allan Poe

Edgar Allan Poe wrote 'A Valentine' in 1846 as a puzzle-poem for Frances Sargent Osgood, a poet and contemporary. The poem is an acrostic: by reading the first letter of the first line, the second letter of the second line, and so on, the reader spells out Osgood's full name. This reader expands the brief original into a narrative that explains the poem's structure, Poe's intentions, and the literary culture that valued such wit. Poe is remembered for his tales of mystery and the macabre, but he was also a master of poetic craft and wordplay. This piece is worth a reader's time because it demonstrates that literature can engage both the heart and the mind, and that a gift of words, carefully made, can be more meaningful than one carelessly given. This text reflects its era.

Band

Blue · Independent readers, confidentTypical starting range: ages 12–14

Length

long · about 986 words in 5 sections · 2 pictures

Source

The Complete Poetical Works of Edgar Allan Poe, Edgar Allan Poe

First published

see the About page in the reader

Regions

Canada · United States

Included formats

• · Web reader and PDF
• · EPUB for e-readers
• · Home-print sheet
• · Folded booklet
• · Binder edition (8.5 × 11)
• · Worksheet
• · Quick Check (10 questions) with answer key
• · Read-aloud script
• · Teacher’s Edition (members)

Readers are engineered from the original public-domain text with AI under HummingRead’s published canon and Content Philosophy, checked by automated audit and sampled by a person. Pictures are made with AI to HummingRead’s brief for each story. How a reader is made.

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