Edgar Allan Poe

a cura di Annabel Pope
 
 Five short-stories by Edgar Allan Poe: The Oval Portrait (the story of an artist who wants to make a painting of his young wife, but becomes so obsessed with it that he doesn’t realize his wife is dying meanwhile), Berenice (a horror story in which the protagonist is unable to stop thinking about his cousinwife’s beautiful teeth), The Premature Burial (a sequence of different episodes where people are buried alive by mistake), The Cask of Amontillado (a tale of terror in which a man takes his cruel revenge during a Carnival in Italy), The Fall of the House of Usher (Usher’s sister Madeline dies from a mysterious illness; she comes back from the grave and the visitor flees the house before it collapses.)
 Teacher's Resources available online: Answer Key - Audioscripts - Summing-up Activities 
 
 Cinque famose short-stories del grande scrittore americano: The Oval Portrait, Berenice, The Premature Burial, The Cask of Amontillado, The Fall of the House of Usher.
 Completano il reader diversi approfondimenti, tra cui: lo strano decesso del geniale autore, la ritrattistica, la tafofobia, la rivalità con alcuni critici letterari del periodo, le regole d’oro stabilite da Poe per scrivere un buon racconto breve.

Story 1 – The Oval Portrait

Extension: Portrait painting

Story 2 – Berenice

Extension: What’s in a name? Berenice

Story 3 – The Premature Burial

Extension: Taphophobia

Story 4 – The Cask of Amontillado

Extension: Rivalry and revenge

Story 5 – The Fall of the House of Usher

Extension: The perfect short story – Poe’s rules

Summing-up activities

Glossary

1 The Oval Portrait BEFORE READING Story 1 Which of the following emotions do you anticipate experiencing while you are reading The Oval Portrait? Tick the relevant boxes and write the corresponding adjectives next to the nouns. fear ................................ happiness ................................ joy ................................ desperation ................................ compassion ................................ sadness ................................ terror ................................ pity ................................ enthusiasm ................................ surprise ................................ 2 Portraits have the power to connect us with other humans through the face. Whose face do you expect the portrait of this story to be of? Underline the one you expect from the suggestions given below. Poe himself   his wife   a well-known person in Poe s time   a child   a beautiful woman   a saint or martyr   an unknown man or woman 3 What kind of place do you imagine this oval portrait to be in? Put a tick ( ) in the box by the answer you think is most likely. The bedroom of an abandoned mansion The library in an ancient castle An art gallery in a famous city In a remote derelict house on the moors In the captain s cabin of a transatlantic ship In the suitcase of a commercial traveler living in a rented room  The great, gloomy chateau high on the Apennines   8 

The Oval Portrait The Oval Portrait and  Story 1  Beauty of whatever kind, in its supreme development, invariably excites the sensitive soul to tears.  (Philosophy of Composition) The great, gloomy chateau high on the Apennines looked down at us disapprovingly, as my valet, Pedro, forced open the old door, desperate to find shelter for the night for me. I urgently needed to rest, I was so weak and sick from my wounds. He helped me, with considerable difficulty, through the abandoned rooms until we finally discovered a suitable, smallish apartment in a remote tower, furnished not only with rich, decaying old tapestries1 and armory2, but also a multitude of paintings which seemed to observe us from every niche3 in the walls, of which there were several, due to the rather odd4 architecture of the place. These immediately attracted my attention in my half-delirious state, so I asked Pedro to close the heavy shutters as night was falling fast and to light a candelabrum5 near the bed, so that I could contemplate the pictures while I was resting. He drew back the thick, black curtains which hung around the bed for me. I found a small book on the pillow which proved to be the history of all the paintings in the room. I settled down6 to read and pass this strange night as I knew sleep would not come easily. Pedro, on the other hand, went out like a light7. I read and rested quietly until midnight, but then, not wanting to wake him, I changed the position of the candles to see the book more clearly. As I did so, the flames illuminated a picture 1. tapestry: a piece of cloth with pictures made by embroidering and used as a wall hanging. 2. armory: weapons and military equipment. 3. niche: a hollow recess in a wall, often used for statues. 4. odd: strange, unusual. 5. candelabrum: an ornate candleholder with arms. 6. settled down: made himself comfortable. 7. went out like a light: fell asleep very suddenly. 9 

Narrativa inglese, livello B2 intermedio, cinque famose short-stories del grande scrittore americano Edgar Allan Poe.

The Oval Portrait - Collana RAINBOWS

Level B2 • Intermediate - Collana RAINBOWS

The Oval Portrait and other stories

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