Unveiling Tone and Mood in Poe's Tell Tale Heart
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Learning Objective
At the end of the lesson you will be able to identify, explain, and analyse Edgar Allan Poe's use of tone and mood in the short story 'The Tell Tale Heart,' while understanding how these elements affect the reader's experience.
What Are Tone and Mood?
Tone is the author's attitude towards the subject.
Mood is the feeling the reader gets from the text. Both are important in understanding literature.
Examples of Tone
Tone can be serious, humorous, ironic, or nervous. Poe often uses an anxious, obsessive tone in his stories.
Examples of Mood
Mood can be suspenseful, creepy, joyful, or calm. In 'The Tell Tale Heart', the mood is tense and haunting.
About Edgar Allan Poe
Poe was an American writer famous for gothic stories and poems. He often explored themes of guilt, madness, and terror.
Introducing The Tell Tale Heart
A short story about a narrator driven to madness by an old man's eye. The story uses tone and mood to build suspense.
Prediction Activity
Based on the title and what you know about Poe, what kind of tone and mood do you expect from the story?
Into: Building Context
Consider the atmosphere of the setting and how it makes you, the reader, feel.
Tone
Think about how the narrator's words might reveal emotions such as fear, guilt, or obsession.
Mood
During Reading: Key Vocabulary
Look for words like 'vulture', 'heartbeat', and 'madness'. These words help establish the story's tone and mood.
Active Reading
Highlight words or sections that describe how the story makes you feel.
As you read, underline sentences that reveal the narrator's attitude or emotions.
Track Mood
Track Tone
Noticing Details
Pay special attention to repeated words and descriptive language that build tension.
Reading The Story
Let's read the story together. You can listen to the story while you read. Listen for words and phrases that help set the tone and mood.
Analysing Tone Examples
"It is impossible to say how first the idea entered my brain; but once conceived, it haunted me day and night."
How does this line help us understand the narrator's tone?
Analysing Mood Examples
"He had the eye of a vulture—a pale blue eye, with a film over it."
What mood does this description create?
Deeper Thinking: Author's Choice
How does the story's mood affect your engagement as a reader?
Why This Mood?
Why This Tone?
Discuss why Poe chose such a nervous, obsessive tone for his narrator.
Deeper Thinking: Plot Diagram
A plot diagram is a simple visual that shows how a story is structured. It helps you follow the key events and understand how the story develops.
The exposition is the beginning part of the story, where you meet the main characters, learn about the setting, and get the basic background information.
Beyond: Creative Extension - CHOICE
Rewrite a short passage from the story with a different tone or mood. How does this affect its meaning?
OR
Create a comic book of the story (using a template).
Group Discussion
Share your rewritten passages and discuss how the changes in tone or mood impact the story.
OR
Share your comic book assignments and discuss if/how the drawings helps the reader grasp the story more easily.
Summary: Tone and Mood in Action
Tone and mood are powerful tools that shape our experience of a story. Authors use them to guide our emotions and reactions.
Reflection
How will understanding tone and mood help you with other texts and your own writing?
Exit ticket - fill in and leave on my desk
