The Tell-Tale Heart

by Edgar Allan Poe

Feature Menu

Introducing the Selection

Literary Focus: Narrator and Irony
Reading Skills: Previewing
The Tell-Tale Heart
by Edgar Allan Poe
 The Tell-Tale Heart
by Edgar Allan Poe

Every night at midnight

he creeps into the old man’s

room.

What will he do?

What did he do?

Can you trust him to tell you?

The Tell-Tale Heart
by Edgar Allan Poe

“True!—nervous—
very, very dreadfully
nervous I had been
and am; but why will
you say that I am
mad?”

[End of Section]
 The Tell-Tale Heart
Literary Focus: Narrator and Irony

As you read “The Tell-Tale Heart,”

you will be asked to figure out if the
story’s narrator is reliable.

The narrator is the person who is

?
telling the story.

Sometimes the narrator cannot be

trusted to let us know what is
really going on.
 The Tell-Tale Heart
Literary Focus: Narrator and Irony

As you read “The Tell-Tale Heart,” you will also be

asked to identify and appreciate irony in the story.

Irony can be described as the difference between

what you expect—or what the narrator tells you—
and what is real.
Listen to this excerpt
again. What example
of irony do you see
already in what the
narrator has told you?
 The Tell-Tale Heart
Literary Focus: Narrator and Irony

There are three kinds of irony:

Verbal irony We say just the opposite of

what we mean.

Situational irony What happens is different from

what we expect.

Dramatic irony We know something a character

doesn’t know.
 Verbal Irony
Verbal irony occurs when there is a contrast
between what is said or written and what is really
meant.
In speech, a person’s tone of voice helps us
identify verbal irony.

I’m so glad
that I brought the

© 2003 clipart.com
sunscreen.
 Situational Irony

Situational irony occurs when a situation turns

out to be the opposite of what we expect.

© 2003 clipart.com
 Dramatic Irony
Dramatic irony occurs when the audience or
reader knows something that the characters do
not know.

I’m picking up
speed now!

© 2003 clipart.com
 The Tell-Tale Heart
Reading Skills: Previewing

As you read “The Tell-Tale Heart,” practice the

strategy previewing.

Follow these steps to preview a story.

• Look at the story’s title. What does it suggest
about the story?
• Look at the illustrations. What do they tell you
about the story’s characters, setting, and
events?
• Guess what will happen in the story.
 The Tell-Tale Heart
Reading Skills: Previewing

Follow these steps to preview “The Tell-Tale Heart.”

• Look at the illustrations. What do they tell you
about the story’s characters, setting, and
events?
 The Tell-Tale Heart
Reading Skills: Previewing

Follow these steps to preview “The Tell-Tale

Heart.”
• What do you think will happen in “The Tell-Tale
Heart”?

[End of Section]
 The Tell-Tale Heart
Make the Connection: Quickwrite

Make the Connection:

Quickwrite
 The Tell-Tale Heart
Make the Connection: Quickwrite

Many people like a good scare now and then.

Conduct a class poll to come up with a list of your
top-ten terrors—choose details from scary TV
shows, movies, books, and events.

[End of Section]
The Tell-Tale Heart
Preview the Vocabulary

Vocabulary
 The Tell-Tale Heart
Preview the Vocabulary

Some words in the story may be unfamiliar to you.

Get to know these words before starting the story.
acute adj.: sharp.

vexed v.: disturbed.

sagacity n.: intelligence and good judgement.

refrained v.: held back.

wary adj.: cautious.
 The Tell-Tale Heart
Preview the Vocabulary

Some words in the story may be unfamiliar to you.

Get to know these words before starting the story.
suavity n.: smooth manner.

audacity n.: boldness.

vehemently adv.: forcefully.

gestculations n.: energetic gestures.

derision n.: ridicule.
 The Tell-Tale Heart
Preview the Vocabulary

Replace each of the vocabulary words in orange

with an easier synonym. Use the picture as a hint.
1. Foxhounds have been bred to
possess an acute sense of
smell.

2. The man on the phone

seemed vexed by his
conversation.
 The Tell-Tale Heart
Preview the Vocabulary

Replace each of the vocabulary words in orange

with an easier synonym. Use the picture as a hint.
3. Judge Taylor was well-known for
his sagacity.

4. A stop sign on the side of the bus

reminds drivers to refrain from
passing it.
5. Dad became more wary as he drove
past the third deer crossing sign.
 The Tell-Tale Heart
Preview the Vocabulary

6. The salesman’s suavity had

earned him a hefty bonus—his
customers always came back for
more.

7. “I can’t believe,” barked Ryan’s

dad, “that you have the
audacity to ask for money when
the yard hasn’t been mowed in
three weeks!”
 The Tell-Tale Heart
Preview the Vocabulary

8. Suzanne argued vehemently that

she was old enough to choose her
own friends.

9. The umpire’s gesticulations left

little doubt about the outcome of
the play.

10. To Jared’s dismay, his

announcement about entering the
talent show was met with derision.
 The Tell-Tale Heart
Preview the Vocabulary

Now check your answers.

1. acute: sharp
2. vexed: disturbed
3. sagacity: good judgment
4. refrain: hold back
5. wary: cautious
6. suavity: smooth manner
7. audacity: boldness
8. vehemently: forcefully
9. gesticulations: energetic gestures
10. derision: ridicule
The Tell-Tale Heart
Meet the Writer

Meet the Writer

 The Tell-Tale Heart
Meet the Writer

Edgar Allan Poe was born in

Boston in 1809. He was
orphaned by age three and
taken in by a foster family.
Poe did not get along with his
foster father, John Allan, and
eventually Allan cut all ties
with him. Poe died at the age
of forty—a poor man but well-
known for his tales of horror
and mystery.

More about the writer. [End of Section]

The Tell-Tale Heart
by Edgar Allan Poe

The End