Paper instructions:

The assignment is to write an essay based on a close reading of The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe. Close reading is slow reading, a deliberate attempt to detach ourselves from the magical power of story telling and pay attention to language, imagery, allusion, syntax, and form. This paper should consist of choosing a short passage from the short story that is remarkable in some way. The paper should briefly situate the passage in the context of the story and then turn to close attention to the exact words of the passage. Why is this passage significant to the work as a whole? This assignment is an exercise in close reading – an explication of the text’s formal, internal complexity so be sure to discuss the specific details of the passage, not just the ideas in general.