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Copywork
About This Passage
At the heart of the horror Poe has his narrator pause to insist on his method: he reports 'minutely' and 'precisely as they appeared,' staking the tale's authority on exact, eyewitness fidelity. Copying it teaches the deliberate repetition ('I relate... I relate') and the parenthetical 'it must be understood,' and shows how a writer of the fantastic borrows the voice of sworn testimony.
I relate these things and circumstances minutely, and I relate them, it must be understood, precisely as they appeared to us.
Full copywork activity with handwriting lines available in the complete study guide.
Discussion Questions
Narration Prompt
Retell this chapter in order: how the starving friends sight a brig and are overwhelmed, how a figure aboard seems to beckon, how a nameless stench warns them, how they discover the whole crew dead and the 'smiling' man only a corpse, and how the death-ship drifts away with their hope. Then name the moment you find most decisive and defend your choice.
Discussion Questions
- At the sight of the brig, Peters dances and raves, Parker weeps, and the narrator stands frozen and dumb. What do these three different reactions suggest about the men at this point in the voyage, and why might Poe give one moment of hope three such different faces? Use details from the chapter.
- A figure at the bow nods, smiles, and seems to beckon, and Augustus, Peters, and the narrator give thanks for a rescue they feel certain of. Explain what leads the men to read a swaying corpse as a living rescuer, and what in the chapter best accounts for the error. Use details from the chapter.
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Vocabulary Builder
Item 1
Led or persuaded to a feeling or action.
Item 2
Boastful, extravagant speeches or bragging.
Item 3
A guess made from slight evidence.
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Critical Thinking
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