Preview
Copywork
About This Passage
Poe halts the action to weigh a tiny accident, inverting his syntax ('Fortunate, indeed, was it') and pivoting on a dash to the grand idea that a whole 'destiny' hung on a falling bottle. Copying it teaches the em-dash, inverted word order, and how a writer can lift a trivial detail to the level of fate.
It was at this period that he heard the crash occasioned by the bottle which I had thrown down. Fortunate, indeed, was it that the incident occurred—for, upon this incident, trivial as it appears, the...
Full copywork activity with handwriting lines available in the complete study guide.
Discussion Questions
Narration Prompt
Summarize how Augustus reaches his trapped friend in this chapter, then name the turning point that matters most. What makes that moment the hinge of the chapter, and which details before and after it help you defend your choice?
Discussion Questions
- Cut off from his trapped friend, Augustus fashions a pen from a toothpick, writes on a forged letter, and uses his own blood for ink. How does Poe use this improvised, bloody note to dramatize the extremity of Augustus's situation, and why might so makeshift a message carry more force than a clearer one would? Use details from the chapter.
- Dirk Peters restores the lost dog Tiger to Augustus and supplies him with food and water, yet his manner remains 'capricious, and even grotesque.' Why might Poe make Augustus's chief benefactor a man whose moods and looks inspire alarm, and what does that ambiguity ask of the reader? Use details from the chapter.
+ 3 more questions in the complete study guide
Vocabulary Builder
Item 1
Uncertain; open to more than one interpretation.
Item 2
Giving intense, often sensual, pleasure.
Item 3
Devoted supporters of a party or cause.
+ 5 more vocabulary words in the complete study guide
Critical Thinking
+ 6 more questions in the complete study guide
Get the complete study guide — free
Sign up and get your first book with every chapter included. Copywork, discussion questions, vocabulary, and critical thinking.
Sign up free