WorksheetsEdgar Allen Poe
Total questions: 43
Worksheet time: 56mins
The author builds suspense by--
not revealing what the crime will be
having the narrator watch the sleeping victim for seven nights in a row.
having the narrator explain how clever he is
describing what is done with the victim's body
How is the narrator's sense of hearing important to the story?
He hears the police coming
The sound of the heartbeat pushes the narrator to kill and confess
The sound of the heartbeat allows him to plan carefully, very carefully.
He believes the heartbeat calms him.
Which detail should be included in a summary of the story?
The narrator murders the old man.
The old man was sleeping when the narrator crept in to his room.
The officers chatted about familiar things.
The narrator is kind to the man
Why is it important that the officers stay so long in the house?
to show the reader how friendly they are.
to allow the reader to characterize them as lazy.
to provide enough time for the old man's body to decompose.
to provide enough time for the narrator to become upset and confess.
What event causes the narrator to confess at the end of the story?
The constant sound of watch ticking waiting for the police to leave
The sound of his heartbeat that he believes is the dead man's
The policemen laugh and mock the narrator in his home
The neighbors heard a shriek late at night
What is the central message of "The Tell-Tale Heart"?
From love comes sacrifice
Guilt can drive you mad.
With murder comes joy.
Do not trust your elders.
By telling this story from the murderer's point of view, the author helps the reader
recognize the narrator's insanity
understand the old man's thoughts
compare both of the character's thoughts
understand why the police have come
The author describes the sound that narrator hears beneath the floorboards as a heartbeat. This is a symbol of what human emotion?
Happiness
Anger
Despair
Guilt
Which definition of acute is best used in the sentence?
His nervousness increased his acute sense of hearing.
1: demanding urgent attention
2: characterized by sharpness
3: experienced intensely
4: lasting a short time
1
2
3
4
What is the best meaning of vehemently?
“I talked more quickly – more vehemently; but the noise steadily increased.
Passionately
Blankly
Carefully
Softly
Which sentence best reveals the narrator's confidence?
"I smiled - for what had I to fear?"
"...I now grew very pale."
"...but the noise steadily increased."
"Why would they not be gone?"
What character trait does the narrator convey through this sentence?
"I kept quite still and said nothing. For a whole hour I did not move a muscle..."
intelligence
insanity
patience
cruelty
In the climax, how do the narrator's feelings contrast with the old man's?
The narrator is afraid of the old man, and the old man is cruel.
The narrator loves the old man who is angry at the narrator.
The narrator is full of rage, and the old man is full of fear.
The narrator is worried, and the old man is calm.
The author creates suspense by
not letting the reader know what will happen next
describing what the narrator did before the murder.
using interjections to catch the reader off guard
never revealing who the killer is
No doubt I grew very pale; - but I talked more fluently, and with a heightened voice.
Which of the following is NOT true of Edgar Allan Poe?
His mother died and his father abandoned him by the time he was three.
He was a detective during the Spanish Inquisition.
He married his 13 year old cousin.
He was found nearly dead on the side of the road wearing someone else's clothing.
“… this I thought, and this I think” is an example of
metaphor
onomatopoeia
allusion
alliteration
1. “It grew quicker and quicker, and louder and louder every instant” is an example of
an allusion
a pun
repetition
personification
The loud beating of what the narrator thinks is the old man's heart symbolizes the narrator's
love
guilt
strength
sincerity
“… because Death, in approaching him had stalked with his black shadow before him, and enveloped the victim” is an example of
metaphor
personification
simile
symbolism
“… with a hideous veil over it that chilled the very marrow in my bones;” an example of
hyperbole
allusion
parallel structure
repetition
“…for the hinges creaked…” is an example of
onomatopoeia
personification
hyperbole
alliteration
“His room was as black as pitch with the thick darkness…” is an example of a
parallel structure
symbolism
simile
allusion
Presently, I heard a slight groan, and I knew it was the groan of mortal terror. It was not a groan of pain or of grief-oh no-it was the low, stifled sound that arises from the bottom of the soul when overcharged with awe. I knew the sound well. Many, a night, just at midnight, when all the world slept, it has welled up from my own bosom, deepening, with its dreadful echo, the terrors that distracted me. I say I knew it well. I knew what the old man felt and pitied him, although I chuckled at heart.
And every morning, when the day broke, I went boldly into the chamber, and spoke courageously to him, calling him by name in a heart tone, and inquiring how he has passed the night. So you see he would have been a very profound man, indeed, to suspect that every night, just at twelve, I looked in upon him while he slept.
I knew that he has been lying awake every since the first slight noise, when he had turned in the bed. His fears had been ever since growing on him. He has been trying to fancy them causeless, but could not. He had been saying to himself-"It is nothing but the wind in the chimney-it is only a mouse crossing the floor," or "It is merely a cricket which has made a single chirp." Yes, he had been trying to comfort himself with these suppositions: but he had found all was in vain. All in vain because Death, in approaching him had stalked with his black shadow before him, and enveloped the victim.
A shriek had been heard by a neighbor during the night; suspicion of foul play had been aroused' information had been logged at the police office; and they (the officers) has been deputed to search the premises
“A single dim ray, like the thread of the spider, shot from out the crevice and full upon the vulture eye.”
“Many a night, just at midnight, when the whole world slept, it has welled up from my own bosom, deepening, with its dreadful echo, the terrors that distracted me.”
“You should have seen how wisely I proceeded—with what caution—with what foresight—with what dissimulation I went to work!”
