“The Pit and the Pendulum”
by Edgar Allan Poe

READING GUIDE
Directions: Read the short story for general comprehension. Reread the story, focusing on specific passages. Analysis: Answer the following questions in complete sentences. Restate the question in your answer. Use specific examples (quoted words and phrases) to support your answers.
The term in medias res is a Latin expression for “in the middle of things.” Edgar Allen
Poe begins his story in medias res. What situation is already in progress?


What does the narrator tell the reader about the place in which he finds himself and how he got there? How does this knowledge or lack of knowledge make you feel, as a reader? In other words, what are the effects on the reader of beginning the story in medias res?


What is the effect of telling the story in first-person point of view?


Reread the paragraph beginning, “Amid frequent and thoughtful endeavors to remember,” p. 294. What is it the speaker vaguely remembers happening to him?

Make a list of words and phrases Poe uses that create mystery, suspense, and a sense of foreboding as you read. Write at least five examples other than the ones given. Examples: “the blackness of eternal night encompassed me” (283); “I struggled for breath” (283); “fearful idea drove the blood in torrents upon my heart” (284)


Reread the paragraph beginning with “My outstretched hands...” p. 285; How does Poe create suspense in this passage? (How does he portray the prisoner? What horrific events are foreshadowed?)

What is the prisoner’s mental condition “upon awakening?” (next paragraph) p. 285

Describe the prisoner’s encounter with the pit. How does he narrowly escape it? pp. 285-286

What new horror does the narrator encounter after he survives the pit? p. 287

What “half formed thought of joy” creates in him “hope?” p. 288

What words and phrases does Poe use to create the effect of horror on pages 298-301? Make a list of 8-10 words and phrases.

Explain the hyperbole “I might as well have attempted to arrest an avalanche!” (p. 289, 1st column)

What is the third method of torture the captors use on the narrator? p. 292

What is the significance of the progression of the three tortures? Note the different kinds of horrors of the three forms of torture.

Poe distinguishes between moral (psychological) and physical agonies. Give two examples of each.

What do you think is the most suspenseful moment in the story? Explain your answer.