The Oval Portrait

What is the setting of "The Oval Portrait"?

• An apartment room in Boston in the 1800's
• A room within a house in the Apennines during the 1800's
• A hotel room in Europe in the 1900's
• Within the mountains of the East Coast, in the 1900's

What initially happens to the narrator that makes him feel anxious?

• He immediately notices the oval portrait and cannot take his attention off of it
• His driver, Pedro, drops him off and speeds away without saying goodbye
• He closes his eyes after having the sudden urge to do so, even though he has no idea why
• The pictures on the wall look as though they're alive

Why do you think the painter didn't notice his wife's declining health?

• She never showed any signs of being sick.
• She continuously assured him that she was fine.
• He wasn't around her to notice since he was so busy with his work.
• He was too fixated on creating his painting of her.

What did Poe write was happening to the wife to make her die?

• The painter was literally pulling the life out of her and putting it into the painting as he worked.
• The wife had tuberculosis, which eventually killed her.
• She died of exhaustion from having to pose for the painting for so long.
• She passed away from an unknown sickness.

Who is telling this story?

• Edgar Allan Poe
• Pedro
• The narrator
• The painter

Which option best describes the painter?

• He is a crazed, obsessive man who cares about his art more than anything
• He is a caring gentleman who loves his wife
• He is an egotistic workaholic
• He is a quiet, simple man

How does the narrator find out about the woman in the oval portrait?

• Pedro tells him about her
• He has heard the story before
• He made up the story-it was all a part of a dream
• He finds a book that gives an explanation of the painting

Who are the main characters from the story?

• The narrator, Pedro, the painter, and the woman from the portrait
• The narrator, Mrs. Radcliffe, Pedro, and the woman from the portrait
• The painter and the woman from the portrait
• There were no names used in this story, so therefore there were no characters

What does the narrator find so interesting about the oval portrait?

• How life-like it is
• The frame in which it seen in
• The pose of the woman
• All of these options

What happens at the end of the story?

• The narrator runs away from the room and never returns
• Nothing-Poe leaves the reader to create this themselves
• The woman from the portrait shows herself as a ghost
• Pedro finds the narrator dead