Poe’s World: “The Tell Tale Heart”

“The Tell Tale Heart”

Quickly annotate to discover how Poe uses language to create suspense

- Pacing (Note caesuras)- Repetition of words (note 5 examples in each)- Sentence Structure (note 5 examples of short

sentences)

Annotations of Stylistic DevicesWord Repetition- What is the effect of the

passage you selected, on you the reader?

Caesuras- note effects

Short, choppy sentences- effects?

Diction to create mood- what mood is created?

There’s madness to consider:

1. . What does the first paragraph reveal about the narrator? What does it foreshadow?

2. Look through the story and find 3 times when the narrator insists he is not mad. How does he define madness?

3. Is the reader meant to agree with the narrator when he says he is not mad? How do you know?

4. In paragraph 18 the narrator says the officers “chatted pleasantly and smiled.” Do you think the officers would agree with this description? What events (prior to admitting to murder) might the officers find just a little odd?

• 1. Keen hearing, nervous, able to hear heaven and hell (foreshadows heart beat)

• 2. (P 1,3,12, 14) He seems to define madness as a dull sense, foolishness, or not paying attention to details

• 3.Once the narrator admits to hearing things in heaven and hell (in P 1) the reader knows he is hallucinating and that his observations may not be accurate.

• 4. 4 am, sitting upstairs in the bedroom (not a living room), narrator starts talking loudly, pacing, scraping chair, etc .

With Poe- We think Perspective

• Point of View of Police Officers

Short Film-

• What are the elements of suspense in film?• How is light and dark (Chiaroscuro) used in

film?• How is mood conveyed?

Homework: Read “The Raven”

Elements of the Gothic“The Raven”

“The Raven” Dramatization

• Dramatize the stanzas• Add sounds (wind, gasps, creaking, etc)• Capture/exaggerate/recreate important

images, themes, gothic setting, dialogue, etc• Note the speaker’s tone changing as the poem

progresses- capture this! • Feel free to use props• 8 minutes

Poe’s Victorian Gothic element:

• 1. Setting in a castle or dark place• 2. An atmosphere of mystery and suspense• 3. An ancient prophecy• 4. Omens, portents, visions. A character may have a

disturbing dream vision, or some phenomenon may be seen as a portent of coming events.

• 5. Supernatural or otherwise inexplicable events • 6. High, even overwrought emotion. The narration may be

highly sentimental; characters are often overcome by anger, sorrow, surprise, and especially, terror. Characters suffer from raw nerves and a feeling of impending doom. Crying and emotional speeches are frequent.

• 7. Women in distress• 8. Decent into madness• 9. Psychology

“The Raven”• Find examples for each of the following*:– alliteration (repetition of sound at the beginning of

words)– assonance (repetition of internal vowel sound)– internal rhyme (rhyme inside of lines of poetry)– descriptive language that creates mood– Repetition/anaphora– allusions (mythological/biblical/historical references)

*How do these poetic devices affect meaning, mood and tone in the poem?

1.) What do we know about the narrator of the poem? How might this effect our understanding of the events in the poem?

2.) What mood is created in the first stanzas of the poem?

3.) Showcase the six times the narrator says/asks to which the raven responds “Nevermore”? What is revealed.

4.) How does the narrator’s emotional state change during the poem? How do we know these changes are happening?

5.) What is the Raven a symbol for?

The Simpsons….http://www.teachertube.com/video/the-raventhe-simpsons-version-251203#

Poe: Master at Suspense

• Suspenseful Moments• Dangerous Actions• Pacing• Foreshadowing

Homework

Carefully and slowly read “The Cask of Amontillado”

You will absolutely NEED to look up unknown words

Setting: Carnival Time: Italy

It’s our last Poe story so don’t skimp!

Mini, Dark, Creepy, Gothic, “The Raven” Art

• Partner TASK– Create a visual that depicts the stanza of the poem you

are assigned.– You will want to include a piece or two of dialogue to

capture your section.– Characterization, essential words and most importantly,

Gothic imagery should be the focal point. – Color, if used, must be used symbolically! – (Group names and stanza number on back!)