Tales of Mystery and Imagination

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About the author
Edgar Allan Poe was born to a Scots-Irish family in Boston
on 19 January 1809. He was the second child of actress
Elizabeth Arnold Hopkins Poe and actor David Poe,
Jr. Tragedy struck Edgar Allan Poe very early in life
his father abandoned the family when he was just one
year old and his mother died of consumption a year later.
Poe was raised by John and Frances Allan, a family of
Scottish merchants from Richmond, Virginia. Although
they never formally adopted him, the Allans did give him
the name Edgar Allan Poe.
Poe attended school in England from 1815 until 1820.
In 1826 he went to the recently-opened University of
Virginia.
In 1835, he started work as an editor for the Southern
Literary Messenger. The following year he married his
cousin, Virginia. For the next ten years, during which time
his wife was often ill, Poe worked for various newspapers
and magazines. He also wrote the stories for which he
is now famous, though he did not always make a lot of
money from them. Also during this period, he began to
drink heavily and for the rest of his life he had problems
with alcohol. In 1847, Virginia died. Poe planned to
remarry but it was not to be. He died in mysterious
circumstances after being found wandering around the
streets of Baltimore in October, 1849.
Summary
The ten tales are stories of the supernatural, of revenge,
near-death experiences and some of the very first detective
stories.
In William Wilson a man is haunted in a strange and
disturbing way. He is convinced that he has an identical
namesake who has been following him everywhere since
his schooldays. Wherever he goes, he cannot escape his
unwanted double: he is always there to foil his plans
and snatch success away from him. In the storys tragic
conclusion the main character loses control and reacts in
a terrible and violent manner.
In The Gold-Bug we follow a mans obsessive search for
buried treasure. After finding a bug of real gold, the man
is convinced that it will lead him to the treasure and make
his fortune. Despite the scepticism of his friend, the man
persists with his search, uncovering clues and breaking a
secret code until finally, with the help of his servant and
of his friend; he sets off on a journey into the hills that
ultimately leads them to an amazing discovery.
The Fall of the House of Usher tells of some very strange
happenings. A man goes to visit an old friend who appears
to be suffering from some strange mental disorder. His
sister is very ill and he has been very badly affected by
this. He has lost his taste for life and is extremely afraid of
the future. He feels strongly that the very walls of his old
crumbling house have gained an influence over him. His
friend tries to help him by talking to him and painting
with him, but when the mans sister finally dies, things
go from bad to worse. The man is not convinced that
his sister is really dead and worries that he has buried her
alive. The story reaches a dramatic climax when the dead
sister reappears at the door of the house.
The Red Death tells the story of how a group privileged
people, led by their Prince shut themselves away in a
remote castle in an attempt to avoid being infected with a
terrible disease that is killing the population of the country
They live a life of luxury and pleasure until one day the
Red Death itself comes to pay a visit and wreak revenge
The Barrel of Amontillado is another story of terrible
revenge. A man lures his rival into a deep cellar with the
promise of tasting an expensive Spanish wine. The victims
pride and his single-minded desire to give his opinion on
the wine prevent him from seeing the trap he is walking
into. Even at the last moment, as he is being walled into
his death cell, he seems unable to fully comprehend the
terrible nature of his predicament.
The Whirlpool describes the very frightening near-death
experience of an old Norwegian fisherman. As his listener
observes the scene from a high point on the rocky
coastline, the fisherman shows him the power of the
enormous whirlpool of the Maelstrm just a few miles
Edgar Allan Poe
Tales of Mystery and Imagination
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off the coast. He tells the story of how he and his brother
were once sucked into the whirlpool. The fisherman
survived thanks to keen observation of how things were
being sucked down towards the seabed, but his brother,
through his terrible fear, was unwilling to heed his advice
and perished. The fisherman survived, but his experience
had turned him into a white-haired old man.
In The Pit and the Pendulum a prisoner recounts his
experiences at the hands of the Spanish Inquisition. He
is thrown into a dark cell and soon realises there is a deep
pit in the middle of the room from which there would
be no escape. Having successfully avoided falling into the
pit, he awakes to find himself tied to the bed beneath an
enormous swinging pendulum at the end of which there is
a sharp blade. As the blade slowly descends, coming ever-
closer to his chest, he begins to give up hope of survival.
But suddenly an idea occurs to him that brings him
new hope and he manages to avoid being sliced by the
swinging knife by attracting rats to eat through his bonds.
All his efforts seem to have been to no avail however when
the walls of the cell begin to close in on him, forcing him
towards the deep pit in the middle of the room
In The Stolen Letter the Paris police look for a letter that
holds great power. They know who has taken the letter,
but despite two thorough searches of the mans home,
they are unable to find it. And yet, the letter must be in
the mans house. The police cannot find the letter because
they are unable to put themselves in the place of the
person who hid it. It turns out that the letter was right in
front of their noses the whole time. It is ultimately found
by Monsieur Dupin, a very intelligent and wily Parisian
private detective, who presents the letter to the chief of
police in return for a handsome reward.
We find Monsieur Dupin at work again in The Murders in
the Rue Morgue. Two women have been savagely murdered
in their home in an apparently motiveless attack. Although
the women had money in the house, nothing was stolen.
Witnesses didnt see anything, but nearly all of them
say they heard two voices from inside the womens
apartment. One of the voices was that of a Frenchman,
but the witnesses all give a different account of the second
voice one says it was a Russian voice, another thinks
it was an Italian voice, others say they heard English or
German sounds Dupin doubts that the voice was
human at all
The story called Metzengerstein recounts the rivalry
between two rich families and the descent into madness
and death of the young heir to the Metzengerstein fortune.
When his neighbour and head of his hated rival family
dies in a fire, a beautiful but strange red horse comes into
the young mans possession. The horse appears to have
been branded with the initials of the dead neighbour,
but nobody at the household can confirm that the horse
belonged to the dead man. The young Metzengerstein
becomes increasingly obsessed with the horse and begins
to spend all his time riding it, avoiding the company of
people. When a fire breaks out at his property, horse and
rider gallop into the flames.
Background and themes
Death and its physical signs: Some of Poes most
recurring themes can be found in the stories presented
here: death and its physical signs, the effects and nature of
decomposition, concerns of premature burial, the coming
back to life of the dead, and the process of mourning.
Poes stories are remarkable for their inventiveness,
their fine construction, their vivid descriptions and
their psychological insight. Since their first publication,
Poes powerful stories have captured the imagination of
generations of readers. Many of the stories have been
made into films or television dramas or they have been the
source of inspiration for countless adaptations. Poes fame
nowadays rests more on his macabre tales of mystery and
horror than on his poetry or literary essays. But he did not
invent the horror story.
Mystery, horror and violence: In Poes youth, one of the
most popular types of fiction was the gothic novel and his
stories owe a lot to the gothic style. These novels typically
dealt with mystery, horror, violence and the supernatural
and the stories often took place in dramatic, romantic
settings such as ruined castles. They were extremely
popular at the end of the eighteenth century and the
beginning of the nineteenth. Perhaps the most famous
example of the genre is Mary Shelleys Frankenstein (1818).
Fictional detective: In the gothic elements of his stories,
Poe was tapping into an existing tradition. However he
can be credited with creating the worlds first fictional
detective in the figure of C Auguste Dupin. A number of
aspects of Dupins character (his methods of deduction, his
slightly eccentric personality and his generally low opinion
of the police force) have all served as a model for many if
not most detective story writers ever since.
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The power of the imagination: One idea that obviously
interested Poe is the power of the imagination and how
it can possess or haunt a person. We see this theme
developed in a number of stories, particularly William
Wilson, The Fall of the House of Usher and Metzengerstein.
Poe was also interested in analysing how a person (often
a lonely figure) reacts in moments of extreme terror or
despair facing death or torment. We see this in The Pit
and the Pendulum, The Fall of the House of Usher and
The Whirlpool. Poe examines the themes of revenge and
punishment in The Barrel of Amontillado, The Red Death
and Metzengerstein while in the detective stories his
underlying theme is the power of deductive reasoning
to solve a seemingly insurmountable problem.
Discussion activities
Before reading
1 Discuss: Give students the following list of different
types of fiction and ask them to put them in the order
of their own personal preference:
horror stories stories of the supernatural
mystery stories detective stories
stories of suspense
After a few minutes, put students into groups of
four or five to compare and discuss their preferences.
Encourage them to give their reasons and to cite
examples of the types of stories they enjoy.
William Wilson
After reading
2 Role play: Put the students into pairs. Tell each pair
to think of some questions that they would like to
ask William Wilson. After about ten minutes, get the
students to form new pairs and to take it in turns to
ask and answer each others questions. Finally, ask
some of the pairs to act out the conversation in front
of the whole class.
3 Discuss: Working individually, give the students ten
minutes to make a list of all the positive and negative
qualities of William Wilson mentioned in the story.
Then write the following questions on the board:
Do you feel any sympathy for William Wilson? Why/Why
not? Working individually for another five minutes or
so, the students note down their answers. Then put
the students into groups of four or five and ask them
to exchange their views on the following question:
Does William Wilson deserve our sympathy? Encourage
the students always to give reasons for their answers.
Finally, call on the groups to present their views to the
rest of the class.
4 Debate: On page 1 we can read the narrators opinion
that Men usually grow evil by degrees. Working with
the whole class, ask the students to write whether or
not they agree with this statement and why (or why
not). After a few minutes, ask individual students to
read out their answers. Write the key points up on the
board. Keep the discussion going for as long as the
students interest remains high enough.
The Gold-Bug
Before reading
5 Discuss: Put the students into groups of three or four.
Each student thinks of a real or imaginary story of
buried treasure. They write down a few details of the
story and then share the information with the other
members of their group. Then the students choose
one of the stories and recount it to the rest of the
class.
After reading
6 Pair work: Ask the students to look at the coded
message on page 21 and its translation on page 23.
Make sure the students know the expression to break
a code. Put the students into pairs and ask each pair
to invent their own code using number and other
symbols. After ten or fifteen minutes, get each pair to
write a short message using their code and to swap
messages with another pair. The pairs now try to
break each others codes. When they have finished,
call on one of the pairs to come to the front of the
class and explain how they managed to break the
code.
7 Role play: Put the students in pairs. Tell them to
imagine that Jupiter, the servant, has agreed to be
interviewed by a popular newspaper. Ask the students
to think of the questions that the journalist would
want to ask him. You might need to prompt them by
making a few suggestions such as How long have you
been working for Mr Legrand? Did he tell you what you
were looking for? Were you scared when you climbed the
tree etc. After a few minutes, get the pairs to act out
the interview. Invite one or two pairs to perform their
interview in front of the whole class.
8 Role play: Put the students into groups of four.
Tell them to imagine that they are to appear on a
television programme in order to discuss the story
The Gold-Bug as someone wants to make it into a
film. Allocate the following roles: Student A is the
television presenter and organiser of the debate
he or she must keep order and remain impartial;
Student B is the president of the Edgar Allen Poe
fan club and thinks that the story is wonderful and
will make an excellent film; Student C thinks that
the story is terrible and finds fault with everything;
Student D thinks the story is interesting but doesnt
think it is realistic enough. Give the student ten
minutes or so to prepare for their roles and then have
each group discuss the story for at least a further ten
minutes. It is Student As job to make sure each of the
participants speaks for their fair share of the time.
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The Fall of the House of Usher
Before reading
9 Discuss: Ask the students to think of a place they
have been in which they felt anxious or afraid. If
they cant think of a place, ask them to think about
a film they have seen. Give them a few minutes to
write down a few notes about the place and how it
made them feel. Then put the students into groups
of three or four and tell them to tell each other about
their experiences. Each group chooses the scariest
experience and one of them presents it to the rest of
the class.
After reading
10 Pair work: On page 25, the narrator says Although,
as boys, we had been the best of friends, I really knew
little about Roderick Usher. Working individually,
each student thinks of a friend they had when they
were younger and that they havent seen for a long
time (if they are too young to have such a friend, they
should invent one). They write down a few details
describing the friend and prepare to recount one or
two anecdotes about what they did together. After
about ten minutes, put the students into pairs and tell
them to ask and answer questions about each others
friend.
11 Role play: When Roderick Usher tells him how he
feels that the house is a living creature, the narrator
admits that I did not know what answer to make
to my friend. Working in pairs, tell the students to
imagine they are in the narrators shoes what would
they have said to Usher if he had said the same things
to them? Give them a few minutes to prepare and
then get one student from each pair to change places
with a student from another pair. These new pairs
now imagine a conversation between Usher and the
narrator. After ten minutes the pairs practise the
conversation. Finally, call upon some of the pairs to
act out their dialogue in front of the whole class.
12 Discuss: Ask the students to write down one or two
sentences describing their opinion of the story
Did you find the story interesting / boring / difficult /
complicated / obvious / etc? Why? After five or ten
minutes, ask one of the students to read out one of
their sentences. Then ask another student to react to
their opinion. Keep the debate going around the class
for as long as the students are interested.
The Red Death
After reading
13 Draw: The story makes much of the effect that light
and colour can have on the atmosphere of a room.
Put the students into group of three and ask them to
think about how they might redesign the classroom
they are working in order to change the atmosphere
(for the better). They should think of the colours and
fabrics used for the walls, the curtains, the furniture,
the decorations, etc. Give the students fifteen minutes
to come up with their ideas and then ask each group
to present their design to the rest of the class. Tell
them they should be prepared to say why they think
the changes would make the classroom better.
14 Discuss: Write the following question on the board:
What would you have done if you were in Prince
Prosperos shoes? Working individually for five minutes,
the students write down their ideas. Then put the
students into groups of four or five and have them
discuss the question together for a further ten minutes
they must decide whether they would have reacted
in the same way as Prospero or not. Finally, call upon
each of the groups to explain their decision to the rest
of the class.
15 Write: Working individually or in pairs, the students
imagine that they have received a letter from Prince
Prospero asking them to join him inside his castle.
They must decide whether or not to accept the
invitation and to write a letter in reply to the prince
to explain their decision.
The Barrel of Amontillado
After reading
16 Role play: Put students in pairs and have them act
out the dialogue between Montresor and Fortunato
on pages 3839. They should start at My dear
Fortunato and end at he cannot tell a Spanish
from an Italian wine. Ask two or three of the pairs to
act out the dialogue in front of the whole class.
17 Discuss: Write the following question on the board:
What did Fortunato do to Montresor to make him hate
him so much? With the students working individually,
give them five minutes or so to jot down their ideas.
Then put them into groups of four and tell them to
exchange and compare their ideas. After a further ten
minutes, invite each group to present their views to
the whole class.
18 Pair work: Put the students in pairs and tell them
to imagine the conversation that takes place between
Montresor and Lady Fortunato later on the day of
the murder. Lady Fortunato is worried about her
husband as he has not returned home and she
wonders if Montresor has any idea where he is.
Go around the class while they are preparing and
give help on vocabulary if necessary. Once they have
written the dialogue, the students practice it out loud
in pairs. Finally, ask some of the pairs to play out
their dialogue in front of the whole class.
19 Debate: Is it ever justifiable to seek revenge? Divide
the class into two equally-sized groups. Tell them that
they are going to have a debate on the above question.
Write the following statement on the board: This
house believes that it is never justifiable to seek
revenge. Regardless of their personal views, allocate to
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one half of the class the role of arguing in favour of
the statement, and to the other half, allocate the role
of arguing against the statement. Give the groups
enough time to prepare their arguments and to elect
two spokespersons. Then proceed with the debate,
with the two speakers in favour going first. At the end
of the debate have the class vote on the question.
The Whirlpool
After reading
20 Draw: Tell the students to re-read the description on
pages 43 and 44 of the coastline of Lofoden and the
two islands Put the students into pairs, and ask them
to draw and label a simple map of the area, including
the two islands. Call on volunteers to draw their map
on the board and to present it orally to the rest of the
class. Ask the rest of the class if they agree that the
map is a good representation of the scene.
21 Discuss: Ask the students to think about the scariest
journey they have ever made. It might be, as in the
story, a journey made at sea, or it might be a journey
by plane or on land. Give the student five of ten
minutes to jot down a few details concerning the
journey and then put them in groups of four or five
and get them to tell each other their stories. Have
each group decide which was the scariest journey and
to recount it to the rest of the class.
The Pit and the Pendulum
After reading
22 Role play: Put the students in pairs. Tell them to
imagine they are television journalists. They are going
to interview the prisoner after he escapes death at the
end of the story. They can ask a maximum of eight
questions. Tell the students to prepare a list of
questions they would like to ask. After a few minutes,
get the students to act out the interview with one
member of each pair playing the journalist and the
other playing the prisoner. Tell them to practice it
a few times and then to switch roles. Finally ask
different pairs to perform their interview in front of
the whole class.
The Stolen Letter
After reading
23 Discuss: Write the following question on the board:
Have you ever looked everywhere for something only to
find it right under your nose? Give the students five
minutes to jot down their answers. Then put the
students in groups of four and have them recount
their anecdotes to each other. Call for volunteers from
each group to tell their story to the whole class.
24 Role play: Write the following question on the board:
How do you think the policeman felt when Dupin gave
him the letter? Working with the whole class, conduct
a short discussion around this question. Write up
some of the students suggestions. After five or ten
minutes, put the students in pairs. Student A takes
the role of the policeman, Student B takes the role
of Dupin. Tell the students to imagine that the
policeman goes to visit Mr Dupin again some time
after the end of the story. He wants to tell Dupin
about how he felt when he gave him the letter and to
ask him how he found it. In their pairs, the students
write a dialogue and then practise it. Finally, invite
some of the pairs to perform their dialogue in front
of the whole class.
25 Discuss: Ask students what they think about the
character of Dupin. Put them in small groups. To
help them tell them to answer the following questions
Is Dupin a good person or a bad person? What do you
think of the way he behaved towards the policeman? Do
you admire his cleverness? Do you think he is deceitful?
Metzengerstein
After reading
26 Discuss: Talk about opinions of the story. Have the
students jot down one or two sentences about their
reaction to the story. Did they enjoy it? Why/Why not?
After a few minutes, put the students in small groups
and have them share and justify their preferences.
The Murders in the Rue Morgue
After reading
27 Debate: In the story, no one seems to blame the sailor
for the behaviour of the orangutan. Divide the class
into two equally-sized groups. Tell them that they are
going to have a debate on the issue of the keeping of
dangerous animals. Write the following statement on
the board: This house believes that the owner of animal
that injures or kills a person should be prosecuted.
Regardless of their personal views, allocate to one
half of the class the role of arguing in favour of the
proposition, and to the other half, allocate the role
of arguing against the proposition. Give the groups
enough time to prepare their arguments and to elect
two spokespersons. Then proceed with the debate,
with the two speakers in favour going first. At the end
of the debate have the class vote on the question.
Vocabulary activities
For the Word List and vocabulary activities, go to
www.penguinreaders.com.