Name: ___________________________________ Date: __________________
“The Tell-Tale Heart” Comprehension Worksheet
Section 1: Multiple Choice
Directions: Circle which answer best answers the question.
1. To what does Poe compare the sound of the heartbeat?
a. snare drum
b. watch wrapped in cotton
c. rain on a window pane
d. none of the above
2. At the end of the play, the sound the main character hears could be any of the following
EXCEPT:
a. the old man's heart continuing to beat.
b. his own heartbeat.
c. his imagination.
d. his guilty conscience.
3. How is the crime discovered?
a. The police officers produce a witness to the crime.
b. The narrator becomes so overwhelmed with paranoia that he admits to the crime
c. The police officers discover a small crack in the floor boards
Section 2: Matching
Directions: Match the definitions to the correct word.
_____ 1) Sagacity
_____ 2) Audacity
_____ 3) Suavity
_____ 4) Vexed
_____ 5) Gesticulations
a) Smooth manner,
smoothness
b) Energetic gestures
c) Disturbed
d) Intelligence and good
judgment
e) boldness
Section 3: Short Answer
1) How would you describe the narrator’s reaction to the old man (lines 8-17)?
2) Re-read lines 47-59. Why is it ironic that the old man feared robbers? What should he have feared?
3) Summarize that happens on the eighth night (lines 47-133). Be sure to include the narrator’s behavior
changes. Describe how he commits the murder.
4) Poe once wrote that every word in a story should create a “single, overwhelming impression”. In your
opinion, what impression was he trying to create in this story?