1. The Tell Tale Heart By Edgar Allen Poe

2. The narrator confesses his crime to the Police.
STARTER ACTIVITY –Organise the following events of the story in the correct order.
The narrator confesses his crime to the Police.
The narrator kills the old man.
The narrator is driven mad by the ‘beating of the heart’
The narrator assures the reader he is not mad.
The narrator explains to the reader about the ‘evil eye’
The narrator waits for days before killing the old man.

3. Gothic fiction
Making its debut in the late 18th century, Gothic fiction was a branch of the larger Romantic movement that sought to stimulate strong emotions in the reader - fear and worry. Gothic fiction places heavy emphasis on atmosphere, using setting and speech to build suspense and a sense of unease in the reader. Common subject matter includes the supernatural, family curses, mystery, and madness. Sometimes gothic fiction can combine the genres of both horror and romance.

4. What makes The Tell Tale Heart a piece of GOTHIC Literature?

5. Answer the questions below in full sentences
Answer the questions below in full sentences. Use short quotes to support your answers
1) Why do you think Poe has set his story at night time, in the dark? 2) How does the writer let us know that this is an unreliable narrator telling the story? 3) Why is the motive for murder particularly shocking? 4) Choose 3 sentences in the story where Poe creates tension. Copy them out and explain HOW tension is created for the reader?

6. After reading the start of “Tell-Tale Heart” by Poe, answer the following questions. They need to be complete sentences and answer each part of the question thoroughly.
1. Who is telling this story (narrating)? Is it first, second, or third person?
2. What is your first impression of the narrator? What does he try convincing the reader of?
3. How does the narrator feel about the old man in general? What, then, specifically, is it about the old man that troubles/bothers the narrator? Why? How often does the narrator mention this “thing” in the story?

7. Help Box – what makes it gothic?
(1) Narrative Voice:
Who is the narrator?
Why might he not be a reliable narrator?
What do we learn about his state of mind?
(2) Setting
Where is the story set?
At what time of day is the story set?
How does the writer use light and dark to create mystery?
(3) Story Structure
When does the narrator kill the man?
Why has it taken him so long to commit the crime?
What can he hear? What could this really be?
What is the effect on the reader when the police arrive?
(4) Vocabulary, sentence structure and punctuation
Where have short sentences been used?
Why are words like ‘terror’, ‘blood’ and ‘evil’ effective in gothic fiction?
What is the effect of exclamation marks in the story?

8. Gothic checklist – Copy down the gothic conventions included in the story.
set in darkness
deals with sanity/madness
elements of horror
elements of romance
weather is used to create mystery
villain Vs hero
revenge
Distressed heroine

9. How does The Tell Tale Heart conform to the conventions of gothic literature?
The Tell Heart has many gothic conventions like… The most effective convention is… This has an effect on the reader because… My favourite part/the part that created the most tension was…

10. Tell-Tale Heart Each group: Give your section a subheading
Group Extract Analysis
You will need a chairperson, a scribe and a spokesperson for each group.
Analyse your given extract, looking for how stylistic and language features add to the mood and build tension. Be prepared to report your findings back to the class, showing your annotations on the interactive white board.
Each group:
Give your section a subheading
Reduce your section to the 3 most important words.
Punctuation
The narrator’s tone of voice
1st person narrative (unreliable narrator)
Interesting words (adjectives, nouns or verbs)
Metaphors, similes, onomatopoeia, alliteration etc
Things which are implied rather than said
Repetition
Symbols
Use of direct speech
Metonymy

11. Street in mist and darkness
Homework
Write a short (200 word) story using ONLY 5 of the following conventions.
Setting
Character
Sub - genre
Plot extras
Graveyard
Vampire
Romance
A candle
Castle
Monster
Horror
An abandoned car
Old House
Mad Man
Supernatural
Set in the past
Moors/fields
Villain vs Hero
Mystery
A broken doll
Street in mist and darkness
Distressed heroine
Thriller
Bloodied knife