1. By Edgar Allan Poe
The Tell-Tale Heart

2. Edgar Allan Poe ( )
Edgar Allan Poe is known for writing about mysterious forces, wicked crimes and death. Unfortunately, his life was as sad as those of most of his characters. His mother died when he was two, and he was disowned by his foster father. Poe himself died young (40 years old), but left behind classic works of horror and the first modern detective stories.
Although Poe spent much of his career creating poems, he is perhaps best known today for his tales of terror. Like other authors of Gothic literature, Poe often created an atmosphere, or mood, of chilling uncertainty in his fictional work.

3. TELL TALE ELEMENTS LITERARY IN SIMILE METAPHOR PERSONIFICATION
Comparison of two things where one is substituted for another
Giving human characteristics to inanimate objects
Author’s use of repeating words or phrases for emphasis
Comparing two things using ‘like’ or ‘as’
LITERARY
ELEMENTS
TELL TALE IN
SIMILE
METAPHOR
PERSONIFICATION
REPETITION

4. READING BEFORE prediction
Peruse the title and pictures in the story. Make a about the plot.
prediction
With its suspense, twists, and chills, reading The Tell-Tale Heart is like watching a scary movie. What do you think makes a story really entertaining and effective at thrilling the audience?

5. Vocabulary to know inquiring foul play vain hideous hearkening
Listening
inquiring
To be free from
To trouble or worry
rid
agony
hideous
Violence, sometimes ending in murder
fancy
mad
hearkening
mournful
planks
Crazy
foul play
Torture
Shocking
precautions
vex
vain
Useless
Gloomy or sad
Floor boards
To imagine
Asking
To prevent harm

6. The Tell-Tale Heart was first published in Pioneer magazine in 1843.
The plot of the story focuses on mysterious happenings or terrible outcomes. The characters are often mad, or crazy, in addition to being frightened to death.
STORY
BACKGROUND

7. Read The Tell-Tale Heart to:
Find out how repetition helps the reader identify and understand the theme of the story.
Find out how Poe uses similes and metaphors to help establish the mood of the story.

8. After
Reading
Poe does not give names to the characters in The Tell-Tale Heart. Why do you think this is? How might the story be different if the characters had names?
Throughout the story, the narrator accuses the audience of thinking that he is mad. Is he mad? Why or why not? Explain your opinion with specific examples from the story to support your answer.

9. The Tell-Tale Heart Extra Credit
Write a fictional police report of the crime from the point of view of the officers that arrived at the house. In your one page report, remember to include the who, what, where, when, and why. (20 pts)
Imagine you are a lawyer serving on this case. Choose the side of either the defense or the prosecution and make your case in a brochure for the narrator’s sanity at the time of the crime. (25 pts)
Draw and color a sketch of the scene where the narrator is having a conversation with the officers in the room where the crime was committed. (15 pts)