Figurative Language
"His room was as black as pitch with the thick darkness..."
Simile
What was the exposition?
The narrator explaining his relationship with the old man and why he wants to kill him.
To annoy or irritate
Vex
What does the lantern symbolize?
Obsession with control
What is the mood of the story?
Suspenseful and tense
"...a low, dull, quick sound, such as a watch makes when enveloped in cotton."
Imagery
What was the falling action?
The narrator believes the police are mocking him when he begins to hear the sound of a heartbeat.
Smothered
stifled
What do the shadows in the story symbolize?
Unknown fears
To which bird does the narrator compare the old man's eye to?
Vulture
"It grew louder - louder - louder!"
Repetition
What was the resolution?
The narrator confesses to killing the old man.
Ridicule, mocking, jeering laughter
Derision
What does the watch sound symbolize?
The narrator's anxiety
What drove the narrator to confess to the murder?
He 'hears' the beating of the old man's heart.
"You fancy me mad. Madmen know nothing. You should have seen me."
Irony
What was the rising action?
The narrator watches the old man sleep for eight nights.
Vehemently
What did the eye symbolize in the story?
Evil and fear
For how many nights does the narrator watch the old man sleep?
Eight
"Death, in approaching him had stalked with his black shadow before him, and enveloped the victim."
Personification
What was the climax of the story?
The narrator killing the old man.
Energetic motions of hands and arms
Gesticulations
What did the heartbeat symbolize at the end of the story?
Guilt; it is what drove the narrator to confess.
Where did the narrator hide the old man's body?
Under the floorboards of the bedroom.