Starter quiz
- What does the narrator in 'The Tell-Tale Heart' reveal about himself in the first line of the story?
- that he is mad and delusional
- that he has murdered people before
- that he is not mad, but dreadfully nervous ✓
- that he loves the old man
- that he is planning to confess
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- Why does the narrator hate the old man in 'The Tell-Tale Heart'?
- because he is richer than him
- because he disturbs him with loud music
- because he is older and wiser than him
- because he has a strange blue eye ✓
- because he was rude to him once
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- Hubristic means ...
- excessively intelligent and academic.
- anti-social and withdrawn.
- charismatic and personable.
- excessively proud and arrogant. ✓
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- Which of the following words can be used as a synonym for 'suspense'?
- mirroring
- tension ✓
- horror
- amusement
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- Complete the quotation from 'The Tell-Tale Heart': "He had the eye of a ______—a pale blue eye, with a film over it."
- 'vulture' ✓
- Starting with the first, put the quotations from 'The Tell-Tell Heart' in chronological order.
- 1⇔"Hearken! and observe how healthily—how calmly I can tell you the whole story."
- 2⇔"I knew what the old man felt, and pitied him, although I chuckled at heart"
- 3⇔"There came to my ears a low, dull, quick sound, such as a watch makes"
- 4⇔"In an instant I dragged him to the floor, and pulled the heavy bed over him."
- 5⇔"I dismembered the corpse. I cut off the head and the arms and the legs.."
- 6⇔"The officers were satisfied. My manner had convinced them."
- 7⇔"Tear up the planks!—here, here!—It is the beating of his hideous heart!”"
Exit quiz
- What is meany by the term 'point of view'?
- the main character's voice
- the perspective the text is told from ✓
- the tone of the narrative voice
- the events that take place in the story
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- Which three words best describe the narrator in 'The Tell-Tale Heart'?
- intelligent
- unreliable ✓
- delusional ✓
- sane
- unpredictable ✓
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- Which of the following quotations from 'The Tell-Tale Heart' best shows us how dangerous the narrator is?
- “But you should have seen me. You should have seen how wisely I proceeded”
- “They heard!...they knew!—they were making a mockery of my horror!”
- “Ha!—would a madman have been so wise as this?”
- "I knew what the old man felt, and pitied him, although I chuckled at heart." ✓
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- In 'The Tell-Tale Heart' Poe uses ______ to create suspense. The narrator insists that he is not 'mad' but his heinous actions suggest otherwise.
- 'irony' ✓
- What is the effect of Poe's use of short sentences in this quotation from 'The Tell-Tale Heart': "“Almighty God!—no, no! They heard!—they suspected!—they knew!”?
- The shorter sentences reflect the narrator's loss of control and hysteria. ✓
- The short sentences reflect the old man's time running out.
- The short sentences reflect the narrator's lack of patience with the police.
- The short sentences reflect the narrator's clarity and sanity in this moment.
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- Which of the following best explain why Poe used an unreliable narrator in 'The Tell-Tale Heart'?
- Using an unreliable narrator makes us question whether the old man really died.
- Using an unreliable narrator puts us in a state of discomfort and doubt. ✓
- The narrator's unreliability makes him a wicked, but likeable protagonist.
- The narrator's unreliability makes him unpredictable, which creates suspense. ✓
- The narrator's unreliability makes him charismatic and endearing.
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Lesson Details
Key learning points
- The narrator in the story is extremely hubristic, unreliable and unpredictable because he is delusional.
- Poe uses the hubristic and delusional narrator to create suspense.
- Poe uses irony to create suspense - the narrator insists that he is not ‘mad’ but his actions suggest otherwise.
- Poe shortens his sentences and uses more expressive punctuation to reflect the narrator’s escalating delusion.
- Poe uses sentence structure and punctuation to build tension in the lead up to the narrator's dramatic confession.
Common misconception
Students might think that irony is a term only used in comedy.
There is a dark comedy to this story, created through the use of irony, whereby the narrator insists that he is not 'mad' but then proceeds to murder and dismember an old man simply because he hates one of the old man's eyes.
Keywords
Suspense - a state of feeling anxious or excited about what could happen
Hubristic - excessively proud or arrogant
Unreliable - not to be relied or depended on
Heinous - extremely wicked
Irony - the expression of meaning by using language that suggests the opposite of the reality
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