Vocabulary
What does acute mean?
Sharp or focused
Who is the author of “The Tell-Tale Heart”?
Edgar Allan Poe
What type of literature is the story?
Gothic/Horror
What emotion causes the narrator to lose control?
Guilt
How many people live in the house?
2 (Narrator and the old man’s)
What does vex mean?
Annoyed or bothered
How many nights does the narrator watch the old man before killing him?
Seven nights
What point of view is ”The Tell-Tale Heart”?
First-person point of view
How does the narrator describe the old man’s eye?
”The eye of a vulture”
What color is the old man’s eye?
Pale blue
What does sagacity mean?
Intelligence and good judgement
Where does the narrator hide the old man’s body?
Under the floorboards/scantlings
What does the heartbeat symbolize?
Guilt and conscience
Why do the police arrive at the narrator’s house?
Neighbors report hearing a scream
What does the narrator claims he hears in the night?
Sounds from heaven, hell, and earth
What does gesticulations mean?
Energetic gestures; strong movement of arms or hands
What makes the Narrator panic while talking to the police?
He imagines hearing the old man’s heartbeat
What is irony?
When the opposite of what is expected, or intended, occurs
What time does the narrator enter the old man’s room at night?
What does dissimulation mean?
Hiding or disguising of true intentions or feelings
What does suavity mean?
Being smooth in manner; charming
What does the narrator use when he walks into the old man’s room?
Lantern
What is an unreliable narrator?
Version of events cannot be fully trusted
How long does it take for the narrator to put his head in the doorway?
One hour
What are “deathwatches”
Beetles that burrow into the wood