TERM 3

NEW STORY
P559
The pit and the pendulum-Edgar Allan Poe

Who is telling the story?
What is the story's setting?
What is happening to the narrator?


p562-563
1. Poe begins to create suspense from the opening paragraph when he refers to the "dread sentence of death". Explain how this reference creates suspense.

2. "And then my vision fell upon the seven tall candles.....and I saw that from them there would be no help. "
The narrator concretely describes two aspects of what he sees in the opening scene: the black-robed judges and seven tall candles. Close your eyes and visualize the scene as you read it aloud. Share and discuss features of your visions.

3. "Then silence, and stillness, and night were the universe. I had swooned; but still will not say that all of consciousness was lost."

Where is the narrator?

4. What impression do you have of the narrator so far?

5. What punishment have the judges decided on for the narrator?

6. How does the narrator react to the sentence?

7. What does the narrator experience while he is unconscious?