36 pages • 1 hour read
Edgar Allan PoeA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.
Short Answer
Consider the genre of Gothic literature. When was this literary form created, and when was it most popular? What were some of its features? Which authors are associated with it? What was the genre’s effect on subsequent waves of literature?
Teaching Suggestion: This question orients students with the literary context of Edgar Allan Poe’s short story as an example of Gothic literature. Originally popular in the late 18th to mid-19th century, Gothic literature often focused on haunted settings, combining supernatural elements with a tone of thrill and psychological disturbance. Occasionally referred to as the “Father of Gothic Literature,” Poe’s work combined the elements of mysterious settings with morbid and macabre plots through the eyes of tormented narrators. “The Tell-Tale Heart” is a classic example, as Poe explores the dichotomy between conscious and unconscious decisions and motivations.
Featured Collections