Starter quiz
- Gothic protagonists are usually egotistical and ....
- modest
- isolated ✓
- sociable
- charismatic
- moral
-
- What can the colour yellow symbolise?
- illness ✓
- love
- betrayal ✓
- family
- evil
-
- Which century was 1843 in?
- 17th
- 18th
- 19th ✓
- 20th
- 21st
-
- Which of the following statements is true about the 19th century?
- The 19th century was also known as the Enlightenment period
- The 19th century saw the first Industrial Revolution
- Gothic literature was popularised in the 19th century ✓
- The 19th century was a time of great innovation and invention ✓
-
- Which of the following words might mean 'to take a systematic and organised approach to something'?
- dissimulation
- sane
- methodical ✓
- delusional
- paranoia
-
- Which of the following explains the effect of this quotation: "He had the eye of a vulture—a pale blue eye, with a film over it."
- The eye is presented as beautiful and enchanting
- The eye is presented as repulsive and hideous ✓
- The eye is presented as vulgar and offensive
- The eye is presented as extremely ordinary and usual
-
Exit quiz
- Who wrote 'The Tell-Tale Heart'?
- Mary Anne Shelley
- Charlotte Anne Brontë
- Ethan William Jones
- Edgar Allan Poe ✓
- Matthew Spencer Raven
-
- Which of the following statements is true about short stories?
- they are more popular in the United Kingdom than America
- you should be able to read one in between 20 and 60 minutes ✓
- each word has to work extra hard, so writers have to craft them very carefully ✓
- they are easier to write than novels
-
- What nationality was Edgar Allan Poe?
- British
- Canadian
- Australian
- South-African
- American ✓
-
- What drives the narrator in Poe's 'The Tell-Tale Heart' to commit murder?
- his desire for the old man's money
- a fear of the old man's pale, blue eye ✓
- his hatred of the old man, who is frequently rude to him
- his dislike of himself and jealousy of the old man
-
- Why does the narrator in 'The Tell-Tale Heart' confess to his crimes?
- he gets pleasure from relaying his crimes to others
- he wants to go to prison to protect others
- he is convinced that the police already know he committed the crime ✓
- he feels extremely ashamed and remorseful for what he has done
- he believes he hears the sound of the old man's heart -this makes him frenzied ✓
-
- Starting with the first, put the events of 'The Tell-Tale Heart' in chronological order.
- 1⇔The narrator tells us about his hatred of the old man's 'evil eye'.
- 2⇔The narrator sneaks into the old man's room seven nights in a row.
- 3⇔On the 8th night, the narrator accidentally wakes the old man up.
- 4⇔The narrator chuckles at the thought of the old man's fear.
- 5⇔The narrator thinks he hears the old man's heart beating, so he kills him.
- 6⇔The police visit, but they are unaware that the body is under the floorboards.
- 7⇔The narrator hears the old man's heart beating and hysterically confesses.
Worksheet
Loading worksheet ...
Presentation
Loading presentation ...
Video
Lesson Details
Key learning points
- ’The Tell-Tale Heart’ is the story about the murder of an old man.
- The narrator did not murder for money but for fear of the man's blue eyes.
- The narrator kills the man as he worries a neighbour may hear the loud beating of his heart.
- The narrator dismembers the body and hides it under the floorboards.
- The narrator continues to hear the beating heart of the dead man, which leads him to confess.
Common misconception
Students might not recognise that there is a possibility that the sound of the old man's heart beating, may be the sound of the narrator's own heart beating.
Some may interpret the sound of the old man's heart beating as the sound of the narrator's own heart beating, with anticipation and excitement at the prospect of the imminent murder.
Keywords
Paranoia - suspicion and mistrust of other people or their actions that is not rational
Methodical - taking a systematic and organised approach to something
Dissimulation - pretence - hiding one’s true thoughts or feelings
Sane - being of sound and sensible mind
Delusional - holding irrational or untrue beliefs - in this context, as a result of mental illness
+