The Tell-Tale Heart Vocabulary ESL

"I have lost control of my mind,

why do you say that I am mad?"

In the quote below 'mad' means...

• The main character is mentally ill

• The main character is very angry

• The main character is funny

• The main character is acting silly

Answer explanation

Fun Fact: While mad can mean someone is angry or upset, it can also refer to mental illness or being unable to act in a reasonable way

"Indeed, the illness only made my mind, my feelings, my senses stronger, more powerful."

In the quote above 'senses' means...

• The ability to make good choices

• Supernatural abilities or superpowers

• The physical abilities to see, hear, smell, taste and touch

• Loss of consciousness

Answer explanation

Fun Fact: Senses can refer to your physical senses or your ability to make good judgements, in this case the main character is referring to their physical abilities such as hearing

"His eye was like the eye of a vulture..."

In the quote above 'vulture' means...

• A large bird that eats dead animals

• A person who takes advantage of others

• Someone who is cruel

• A flightless bird that lives in the Arctic

Answer explanation

Fun Fact: Someone who takes advantage of others can be called a vulture

"When the old man looked at me with his vulture eye a cold feeling went up and down my back; even my blood became cold."

In the quote above 'my blood ran cold' means...

• Feeling anxious and sad

• Feeling happy

• Your blood becoming colder

• Feeling fear, panic or dread

Answer explanation

Fun Fact: You can also say 'my blood froze' when talking about being frightened

"A madman cannot plan."

In the quote above 'madman' means...

• A man who behaves in an angry manner

• A man who works on Wallstreet in New York City

• A man who is mentally ill

• A very angry man

Answer explanation

Fun Fact: It wasn't until the 1960s that the term 'madwoman' was used

"The old man gave a loud cry of fear as I fell upon him and held the bedcovers tightly over his head."

In the quote above 'tightly' means...

• The main character is holding the sheets in a strong controlled way

• The main character is putting tights on the man's head

• The main character is holding onto the man

• The main character does not like the old man

Answer explanation

Fun Fact: The word tightly here means holding on strongly, however, 'tights' is another word for 'pantyhose'

"His eye would trouble me no more!"

In the quote above 'trouble' means...

• The main character is having a lot of problems

• The main character did something wrong

• The man's eye will no longer bother the main character

• The main character is angry

Answer explanation

Fun Fact: Although trouble refers to a problem or difficulty it could also refer to something bothersome

"I pulled up three of the boards that formed the floor, and put the pieces of the body there."

In the quote above 'boards' means...

• The meals provided when you are staying somewhere

• A group of people that control a company

• A board used to draw on

• The flat pieces of wood on the floor

Answer explanation

Fun Fact: All of the meanings above are the correct meanings for 'boards' but in the story, the character is talking about floorboards

Tell-tale in the context of 'The Tell-Tale heart' means...

• Revealing, indicating, or betraying something

• A device or object that automatically gives a visual indication of the state or presence of something

• A wind-direction indicator often in the form of a ribbon

• A device for indicating or recording something: such as

Answer explanation

Fun Fact: Although all of the above definitions are correct in the context of the story it means that the main character revealed his terrible secret and betrayed himself