The Pit and the Pendulum By Edgar Allan Poe. Dark Romanticism Known for grotesque characters,...

The Pit and the Pendulum

By Edgar Allan Poe

Dark Romanticism

• Known for grotesque characters, bizarre situations, gloomy moods

• Dark themes like the inevitability of death, growth of evil, the fine line between reason and insanity

• In terms of the individual: dark emotions, obsession, strange experiences, etc

Gothic Literature (basically Dark romanticism)

• Literary style popular in the 18th and 19th centuries

• Portrayed fantastic tales dealing with horror, despair, the grotesque and other dark subjects

• In essence, these stories were romances, largely due to their love of the imaginary over the logical

As we read

• Think about “ The Minister’s Black Veil”

• How are these two stories similar?• How are they different?• Think about things like tone, mood,

theme, and writing style

Guided Reading Questions(write these down and answer)

1. What is happening in the first 4 lines of the story? Describe the dramatic tension this creates

Guided Reading Questions

2. Describe the narrators state of consciousness and how it changes in lines 8-13

3. Why were the judges voices turned into an “indeterminate hum” ?

4. What creates and atmosphere of horror in lines 15-23?

5. Based on lines 42-54, what might be the theme of the story?

6. In lines 93-103 what effect does withholding further details about the narrators situation have on the reader? What new details are revealed in lines 93-100? Why might Poe have delayed describing the surroundings?

7. Was the narrator’s mind lucid when he was being taken from the scene of his trial to his prison?

8. How do lines 111-120 build dramatic tension?

9. What does the description of a tumultuously beating hearts suggest to readers?

10. What evidence of the narrators terror is in lines 119-126?

11. Why did the narrator reject the supposition that he might be dead?

12. In lines 128-140, does the narrator’s hopeful state of mind continue? How can you tell? What happens to cause a change?

13. The narrator feels the challenge of measuring his cell cannot be overcome. What other tasks might have been insuperable for the narrator?

14. What does the narrator’s decision to remain prostrate on lines 160-161 tell you about his state?

15. What sensory details contribute to the atmosphere? To which sense does each detail appeal?

16. Based on lines 204-210, do you think the narrator fears physical agony or psychological agony more? Explain using evidence from the text

17. Lines 224–260: Does the narrator find his prison more or less horrible than he had supposed? How does it differ from what he originally thought? Explain.

18.Lines 251–259: Which words in these lines have strong connotations of horror?

19.Lines 261–272: Why did the writer wait to let the reader know that the narrator was bound? What other details are revealed in this paragraph?

20. Lines 275–305: Why might the writer have chosen to include this image? What sensory details describe the pendulum? Explain their effect.

21.Lines 307–310: Describe the effect on the reader of leaving the reasons for which the narrator was condemned unspecified.

22.Lines 318–325: Is it fitting that the image of Father Time is attached to the pendulum? Why or why not?

23.Lines 334–344: Describe the narrator’s emotions. What is their effect on the story?

24. Lines 358–377: How does the repetition of the word down at the beginning of each paragraph increase the dramatic tension? How does the narrator’s state of mind change as the pendulum descends?

25.Lines 381–402: What gives the narrator hope in these lines?

26. Lines 389–395: Why does Poe include these sentences? What effect do they have on the reader?

27. Lines 402–409: Why might Poe have kept this information from the reader?

28. Lines 428–432: How does Poe convey the sensation of the swarming rats? Support your answer with evidence from the text.

29. Lines 470–475: Explain which sensory details give readers the information they need to infer that the walls are being heated by fire. Why does Poe use sensory details from which readers must infer the situation, rather than stating it directly?

30. Lines 483–489: How does Poe convey the horror of the pit? Why do you think Poe might choose not to tell readers what the narrator sees in the pit?

31. Lines 508–513: What is the narrator’s ultimate fear? Describe the narrator’s state of mind as he teeters on the brink of the pit.

32. Lines 514–519: Why do you think Poe might have ended the story so abruptly? Do you think the protagonist is actually rescued? Explain your response.

The Pit and the Pendulum By Edgar Allan Poe. Dark Romanticism Known for grotesque characters,...

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