“The Black Cat” by Edgar Allan Poe
Thinking notes – first read
Annotation – second read
Reading rigorous text
A well-annotated text will accomplish all of the following:
•clearly identify where in the text important ideas and information are located
•express the main ideas of a text
What is annotation?
•trace the development of ideas/arguments or SUSPENSE throughout a text
•introduce a few of the reader’s thoughts and reactions
and annotations will……..
Anxiety or apprehension resulting from an uncertain, undecided, or mysterious situation
Master of suspense
Suspense
Advancing or developing something at a particular rate or tempo.
What happens to the cat(s) in the story?
Pacing
This is pretty self-explanatory
How does the narrator’s violent nature cause trouble for everyone including himself?
Dangerous action
A literary device in which the author gives clues as to what will happen later.
For example: The narrator is awaiting execution at the beginning of the story. What does this tell us?
Foreshadowing
Make this chartSuspenseful Moment
DangerousAction
Pacing Foreshadowing
Five examples of a suspenseful moment in story
Identify each example as dangerous, pacing or foreshadowing
In the correct box, analyze the suspense
Make a chart with four columns and five rows. The columns should be labeled
◦ Suspenseful Moment◦ Dangerous Action◦ Pacing◦ Foreshadowing
Find five suspenseful moments in the story and fill in the first column
Decide if each moment is either dangerous action, pacing or foreshadowing
In the proper square, write a short analysis
Directions – In your journal
In your journal write a short response about your analysis of suspense.
These questions may help you if you are having trouble:◦ How does Poe use foreshadowing to create
suspense?◦ How does the dangerous actions of the narrator
establish an ominous mood?◦ How does knowing the narrator is awaiting
execution as the story beings make it more or less suspenseful?
Directions