Annabel Lee Questions

“Annabel Lee” Poetry Analysis

Directions: Answer the questions using the poem. (Use the hints in
parentheses to assist with the correct answer)

1. Who is the assumed speaker?
Anabel's old "lover."

1. What is the setting?
Allen Poe says "In a kingdom by the sea."

5. What lines inform you of Annabel’s death? (number)
I found her death being mentioned on line 18.

6. According to the speaker, why did Annabel die? Put the lines
that support this answer.
Allen Poe writes "that the wind came out of the cloud by night,

chilling and killing my Annabel Lee."

7. What does “coveted” (synonym from poem) mean, and who portrayed this
action?
Coveted means to yearn to have something. The angels made Allen Poe's main character and Anabel Lee fall in love with each other.

8. What is a synonym for the word “angel”?
Angel can also be referred to as a messenger.

8.5. What line addresses the young age of the two loves?
Line 7 is where I found Allen Poe mentioning that they were young.

9. In the 4th stanza, what sound device is “chilling and killing” an example
of?
"chilling and killing" is used to make a mood for the poem.

11.What is a synonym for tomb or crypt? Use a word from the poem.
Allen Poe mentions sepulcher as well as a tomb.

12. The speaker states that his and Annabel’s love is stronger than what two
groups of people? Write the number of the two lines that support this
statement or write the lines.
32-33 state the strength of the two's love.

13. What is a synonym for “separate”?
A synonym for separate is detached.

14. Line 34 is an example of what sound device?


15. Where are the angels located? Demons?


16. Where does the speaker spend most of this time after the death of Annabel?
He spends a lot of time in her sepulchral by the sea.

17. The speaker seems to have difficulty forgetting his love; what lines support
his inference? Write the number or the lines.
Line 33 states he cannot forget about his love for her.

18. What name does the speaker refer Annabel as?
The speaker refers to her a lot as darling.
19. How did the speaker describe Annabel Lee?
As an angel and beautiful.

20. Which line does not make “sense” when dealing with the senses?

Heart and Cat Questions

“The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allen Poe

BEFORE READING


Author Biography


Edgar Allen Poe (1809-1849) was born in Boston, Massachusetts. Orphaned at an early age, he was taken in by a wealthy family in Virginia. During his life, Poe endured personal tragedies, including the death of his mother, a difficult stay in his foster home, a college career shortened by debts and misconduct, the death of his wife at a young age, and years of poverty. These tragedies influenced Poe’s writing so that his short stories were filled with horror. He believed that a short story should be written to produce a single emotional effect for the reader: all events, characters, ideas, and words should be chosen and manipulated solely for the purpose of achieving this effect. “The Tell-Tale Heart” is one of the best examples of Poe’s tales of terror. 


Literary Focus:

Atmosphere and Mood
The atmosphere or mood of a story is the overall emotional feeling created by the details the author uses: Sometimes you may be able to describe the atmosphere in a single word – sad, frightening, or mysterious, for example. Authors create atmosphere by their descriptions of settings, characters, and events. They choose words carefully so that you will be affected by their writing in the way they want you to be. 


VOCABULARY 
Knowing the following words will help you as you read “The Tell-Tale Heart.” Before reading, preview the words and what they mean. It may also help if you scan through the story, find, and then underline the words in the text.

WORD	DEFINITION	WORD	DEFINITION
Acute	sensitive	over-acuteness	very keen, intense
foresight	thoughtful regard for the future	concealment	a means of hiding
dissimulation	the hiding of one’s feelings or purposes	waned	to grow gradually less
vexed	troubled, distressed, caused agitation	scantlings	small quantities or amounts
profound	seeing beyond what is obvious	suavity	graceful politeness
sagacity	sound judgment	bade	urged, compelled
hearkening	giving careful attention	audacity	bold courage, daring
awe	a mixed feeling of reverence, fear, and wonder	reposed	to lay at rest
crevice	a narrow opening	gesticulations	energetic hand or arm gestures
distinctness	unmistakable, clearly defined	derision	contempt, ridicule

Irony

Verbal Irony-occurs when there is a difference between what a character says and what another character understands

Ex. "The cake is as soft as concrete" - the person wants to tell that the cake is not so soft to eat.

 "Water is as clear as mud" - The person actually says that the water is not at all clear.

  "Isn't it as pleasant as a root canal?" - This implies that whatever occurred was not pleasant at all.

Example from Tell-Tale Heart:

(Hint: what does the narrator say about himself?)

1. The narrator says he is not insane but than it turns out that he is insane.

Situational Irony when the opposite of what one would expect to happen

actually happens

Ex. My dog Lucky was hit by a car.

Example from Tell-Tale Heart:

2. When he successfully killed people because of his beating heart which led him there. 

 

Dramatic Irony : when the reader/audience knows something that a character doesn’t

Ex.

Example from Tell-Tale Heart:

3. That the cops don't know that the narrator killed the old man, because they were just standing above where the man was buried.

4.   How does an author use sensory details to describe the atmosphere or mood of a short story?
 The heart beat and the eyes.

5.  In what ways do our choice of words create specific atmosphere and characterization?
Allen Poe used details that made you imagine that you were actually there in the story making the reader feel "creep-ed out" and afraid.

III. Literary Elements

6. Mood, or atmosphere, is the overall feeling in the story. How would you describe the mood in this story? What details does Poe use to create the mood?

He was either tempt or manic.

7. Symbolism: What does the heartbeat noise symbolize in the story? Provide evidence from the story.

It shows his guiltiness 

8. How does first paragraph foreshadow, or hint at, the events of the story? Be specific (use a quote)!

The very first sentence in the story says by the character himself that he is not crazy. "TRUE!—nervous—very, very dreadfully nervous I had been and  am;  but why will you say  that I  am mad?"

9. The final paragraph in the story builds to a kind of mad climax. How does the writer use words and punctuation to create?

Overuse of dashes makes the narrators

10.  What does the narrator repeatedly claim about himself? Why?
The narrator says that he is an alcoholic, and the alcohol changes him and makes him crazy.

“The Black Cat”

11.  An allusion is a reference to a person, place, or thing.  What allusion exists in the story?
The allusion of the black cat keeps appearing throughout the story.

12.  From what point of view is the story told?  What effect does this create?
 The story is told through first-person view. This makes us the reader feel more "in the character's situation."

13.  What’s the significance of the title animal?  Explain.
Pluto, the cat's name, is also the name of the Greek God of the Underworld.

14.  What foreshadowing could you find in the story?
The image of the noose.

15.  What similarities do you see in this story and “The Tell-Tale Heart.”
Both of these two stories involve eyes. Also both the stories involve hiding bodies.

The Cask of the Amontillado Questions

Irony (i-RAH-nee): a literary term referring to how a person, situation, statement,
or circumstance is not as it would actually seem. Many times it is the exact opposite
of what it appears to be. There are many types of irony, the three most common
being verbal irony, dramatic irony, and cosmic irony. Verbal irony occurs when
either the speaker means something totally different than what he is saying or the
audience realizes, because of their knowledge of the particular situation to which
the speaker is referring, that the opposite of what a character is saying is true.
     Verbal irony also occurs when a character says something in jest that, in actuality, is
true. In Julius Caesar, Marc Antony’s reference to Brutus being an honorable man is
an example of verbal irony. Marc Antony notes all of the good deeds Julius Caesar
did for his people while, more than once, he asks the rhetorical question, “Did this in
Caesar seem ambitious?” Antony uses this rhetorical question to try to convince his
audience that Caesar is not ambitious, presenting Brutus as a dishonorable man
because of his claim that Caesar was ambitious. Dramatic irony occurs when facts
are not known to the characters in a work of literature but are known by the
audience. Cosmic irony suggests that some unknown force brings about dire and
dreadful events.

Throughout the story, Poe uses verbal and dramatic irony to build suspense,
foreshadow the ending, and add a touch of macabre humor. Here are some examples

Irony:

The Title: The word cask, meaning wine barrel, is derived from the same root word
used to form casket, meaning coffin. Thus, the cask figuratively represents
Fortunato’s casket.

Fortunato’s Name: The Italian name Fortunato suggests good fortune, luck.
However, Fortunato is anything but fortunate; he is going to his death.

Fortunato’s Costume: Fortunato dresses as a court jester. His festive outfit contrasts
with the ghastly fate that awaits him. From time to time, the bell on his cone-shaped
hat jingles–a nice comic touch from Poe.

Reference to Masons: Fortunato asks Montresor whether his is a mason, meaning a
member of the fraternal order of Freemasonry. Montresor says he is indeed a
mason. However, he is using the word to mean a craftsman who builds with stone
and mortar (because he will be building Fortunato’s “tomb,” a stone wall.)

Poe also uses irony frequently in the dialogue. For example, when Montresor runs
into Fortunato, he says, “My dear Fortunato, you are luckily met.” Later, when
Montresor pretends to be concerned about Fortunato’s hacking cough as they
descend into the vaults, Montresor says, “We will go back. Your health is precious.
Your are rich, respected, admired, beloved; you are happy, as I once was. You are a
man to be missed.” Fortunato then tells Montresor not to worry: “The cough is a
mere nothing; it will not kill me. I will not die of a cough.” To this reply, Montresor
says, “True–true.” The reader at this point can almost see a devilish gleam in
Montresor’s eyes, for he knows exactly how Fortunato will die.” Later, Montresor
opens a bottle of wine and toasts Fortunato: “To your long life,” he says.



1.  Edgar Allan Poe's gothic tale, “The cask of Amontillado”, is really a story
about the loss of face, or "amor propio".
What is the expression in your language for the loss of face? What other
English words come to mind when you think of the word "face" in this sense? Lossing your reputation.



2.  How did Fortunato cause Montresor to lose face in the story?
The third paragraph of the story appears in full below. Read it carefully and try
to imagine how Fortunato might have insulted Montresor.

"He had a weak point—this Fortunato—although in other regards he was a man to be
respected and even feared. He prided himself on his connoisseurship in wine. Few
Italians have the true virtuoso spirit. For the most part their enthusiasm is adopted to suit
the time and opportunity to practice imposture upon the British and Austrian millionaires.
In painting and gemmary Fortunato, like his countrymen, was a quack, but in the matter of
old wines he was sincere. In this respect I did not differ from him materially;—I was skillful in
the Italian vintages myself, and bought largely whenever I could." There's no specific answer, but Fortunato had made fun of Montrsor and his wine. He said that his wine was better and the Montresor was pretty much a "joke."



3.  Does Montresor seem to have much respect for Italians? Which lines in the
paragraph above reveal his contempt? Lines 2-3 say that very few Italians have the true Virtuoso spirit. Therefore, Montresor has little respect for Italians and their wine(s).



4.  What was Fortunato's insult?Allen Poe doesn't say what the insult is, but we can assume Fortunato made fun of Montresor.




5.  Why does Montresor entertain Fortunato with wines from his collection?Montresor wanted to make Fortunato drunk and to make Fortunato comfertable even though Montresor is about to kill him.




6.  In what two ways does Montresor imprison Fortunato?


The story, The Cask of Amontillado, first appeared in an anthology of Poe's
stories entitled Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque. Arabesque comes from the
word Arab and refers to ornaments, decorations and motifs in Arabic art, where
figures of flowers, fruits and sometimes animal outlines appear in elaborate
patterns of interlaced lines, particularly those which have been borrowed by
other cultures. Such arabesque patterns are reflected in some of the designs and
motifs of the batik of Indonesia and Malaysia.
     By analogy, then, an arabesque story is one of intricate design, which is told
through the use of fanciful language. Because arabesque graphic designs
sometimes depict fantastic creatures, Poe and others also applied this term to
tales that dealt with fantastic or supernatural happenings. Grotesque refers to
something distorted, ugly, abnormal, fantastic, or bizarre to the point of being
ludicrous or absurd. In a grotesque story, characters are physically or
psychologically deformed and engage in actions that may be abnormal or
comically absurd. Montresor brings Fortunato down into his catacombs and Montresor chains Fortunato to the catacombs wall.



7.  In what ways is The Cask of Amontillado grotesque?It is grotesque at the end where Montrsor chains and leaves Fortunato there to die behind a brick wall. Also in the beginning Montrsor had sick humor in wanting to kill Fortunato.


8.  First, which of Montresor's actions are abnormal? Montresor was going to offer Lughesi the wine instead of Fortunato.
Then Montresor offers Fortunato to go back up to the party.
Then Montresor keeps giving Fortunato a lot of wine.
Then Montresor has brick laying materials waiting for Fortunato.
Then Montresor chains Fortunato to the catacombs wall.



9.  Is there anything grotesque about Fortunato? Fortunato was drunk and was wearing bells on his head that you can hear at the end of the story where he is trying to escape from Montresor's chains.