“Tell-Tale Heart” By Edgar Allan Poe ( )

“Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe I. Short Story A. Theme of story: Imagination many times exaggerates what you see or hear, to seem more than it is. Suspense and mystery add to simple, strange doings! B. Narrator: speaker or character who tells the story C. Narrator of story: the man who murdered, who suffers from “overacuteness of the senses” and claims NOT to be mad or insane is the narrator. He is unnerving and peculiar. C. Setting of story: an old house on a dark night, in the bedroom of an old man with a funny eye D. Protagonist: the main character in a literary work (the murderer/narrator) E. Antagonist: the force in conflict with the main character (the old man)

“Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe F. Characterization: the art of creating or developing a character G. Characterization of story: 1. Narrator/murderer = mad, insane, unnerving, peculiar 2. hates the “vulture eye”, obsessed, 3. dangerous, controlled, instability, proud, overconfident (direct characterization) H. direct characterization: the writer or poet states the character’s traits I. mood or atmosphere of story: talk of murder, horror, eerie, unsettling J. suspense: the feelings of anxious uncertainty of the outcome

“Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe K. suspense of story: 1. p. 542 Poe comes out and tells the reader of a murder, but keeps suspense in describing how it occurred. 2. The old man heard something that last night (p. 544) and Poe creates much suspense in the moment by moment terror that the old man must be experiencing, as the narrator sees: a. Personifying death: (giving human qualities to non- human tings) b. Vocabulary: stalking, black shadow, mournful, victim 3. Poe’s description of sight, and sound help readers feel the emotion—key elements in creating suspense. 4. Showing, yet hiding details to create suspense, such as, why does the murderer shine the light into the old man’s eye?

“Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe II. More Terms: A. Conflict: a struggle between two opposing forces B. Conflict of story: the narrator vs. the old man’s eye (internal) C. Climax: the peak or high point of interest in a story D. Climax of story: the narrator killed the old man by pulling the heavy bed over on him and killing him E. Resolution: the solving of the conflict F. Resolution of story: the narrator kept hearing heartbeats (the old man’s or his, in his guilt?) and confessed to the crime G. Point of view: the perspective or angle from which the story is told H. Point of view of story: this story is told in the First Person point of view by the narrator

“Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe III. More terms: A. Predictions and Outcomes: 1. p. 542 The title “tell-tale” allows readers to predict that something is revealed that is meant to be kept secret 2. p. 545 The old man’s heart was beating/or the murderer’s own, and the reader may predict that the killer will get caught by a sound—perhaps himself! 3. p. 546 The killer’s madness will get him, not any wonderful police work! IV. Notes: A. Poe creates suspense by having the narrator confess his crimes right away, but giving a slow, detailed account of the crime. B. He also leaves the reader wondering about the sanity of the narrator, and whether or not he’ll be caught!

Poetry: Unit IV

“Silver” by Walter de la Mare ( ) I. Poetry terms: A. Theme of poem: The poem speaks as a friend, telling something secret or surprising, like a secret language, to evoke a sense of peacefulness or mystery. B. Speaker of poem: the poet, Walter de la Mare is trying to express his feelings about the beauty of the night C. Sound Devices: used to create musical effects in poems D. Alliteration: repetition of initial consonant sounds to draw attention to words, ideas, to create musical effects E. Alliteration of poem: 1. “slowly, silently, silver, shoon, she, silver, silver” lines “casements, catch, couched, kennel” lines 5-8  The poet uses alliteration to make the reader feel the same things

“Silver” by Walter de la Mare ( ) F. Repetition: the use of more than one of any element of language, a word, phrase repeated G. Repetition of poem: 9 repeated uses of the word “silver” throughout the poem H. Stanza of poem: one stanza, one division of 14 lines I. Rhyme scheme of poem: aabbccddeeffgg J. Imagery of poem: use of sight words with “silver” to create a magical image of the moonlight on the trees, dog, doves etc. K. Personification: giving human qualities to non-human things L. Personification of poem: 1. the moon “walks” line 1 2. the moon “peers” line 3

“Silver” by Walter de la Mare ( ) II. More Poetry Terms: A. simile: comparing two unlike things using “like” or “as” B. simile of poem: “…dog, couched in his kennel, like a log” III. Notes: A. The use of the word “silver” is associated with silver, the precious metal. The poet describes a moonlit night as the moon casts its silvery light on the earth—how precious a sight, how lovely, how beautiful, and he shares this! B. The repetition of “silver” creates the special silver of nature, the magical landscape, gleaming as special things do.

“Forgotten Language” by Shel Silverstein ( ? I. Poetry Terms: A. Theme of poem: The reader is reminded of the limitless possibilities of a world when it is seen through the eyes of a small child—a secret or surprise that we’ve forgotten, and now want to share! B. Speaker: the imaginary voice assumed by the writer, and usually a character who tells the poem C. Speaker of poem: the poet, Shel Silverstein is the speaker D. Stanza of poem: a division of a seven-line poem called a heptastich that ends with a two-line poem called a couplet. E. Repetition of poem: 1. “Once I…” is repeated four times (lines 1,2,3,5,7) 2. “How did it go?” repeated in lines 8-9 ****repetition emphasizes that these things happened long ago, and it’s hard to remember—it’s the unspoken language of the heart!

“Forgotten Language” by Shel Silverstein ( II. More Terms: A. Alliteration of poem: 1. “…smiled in secret…” line 3 2. “questions of the crickets” line 5 3. “falling dying flake of snow” line 6 B. rhyme scheme of poem: abcbdefgg C. Inferences: drawing conclusions based on information given D. Inferences of poem: the last two lines infer that now that the speaker has grown, he’s lost the ability to communicate with nature.

“Drum Song” by Wendy Rose ( ) I. Poetry Terms: A. Theme of poem: Set to the beating of an imaginary drum, this poem expresses the relationship of animals and humans to nature, and that they must follow nature’s rhythms in order to survive. Rhythms and patterns in life are important for understanding. B. Speaker of poem: the poet, Wendy Rose C. Stanza of poem: a division of a seven-line poem called a heptastich ending with a nine-line stanza. D. Repetition of poem: 1. “Listen” is repeated (line 1,8,14, 21) at the beginning of each stanza to emphasize the reader to listen for the rhythm of life described in each stanza 2. it emphasizes the importance of the message E. Alliteration of poem: 1. “go slow, go steady” line 4 2. “bush to burrow” line “mesa to mesa” line 24

“Drum Song” by Wendy Rose ( ) F. rhythm of poem: the drum is the pulse of daily rhythms and how daily living things go about their daily business “from rock to water to land to rock to water”; “mesa to mesa” G. metaphor: comparing two unlike things NOT using “like” or “as” H. metaphor of poem: the drum beating is the pulse of life (extended) throughout the poem i. rhymes scheme of poem: no pattern set

“If I Can Stop one Heart from Breaking” by Emily Dickenson ( ) I. Poetry Terms: A. Theme of poem: The poetry was meant to touch the lives of others and help them, and by her (Dickinson’s) example, offers the reader ways to reach out to others in positive ways, and life will never be “in vain” or “a waste”. B. Speaker of poem: the poet, Emily Dickinson, is the speaker C. Stanza of poem: the formal division of a four-line stanza called a quatrain followed by a three-line stanza called a tercet. D. Rhyme scheme of poem: abababb E. repetition of poem: 1. “If I…..” repeated lines 1,3 2. “I shall…..in vain” repeated line 2, 7 *****this repetition tells the reader that this is important, and the poet wanted her life to mean something, to make a difference