E.A. POE’S “THE MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH”
I. Choose the correct answer:
1. Prince Prospero invited his friends to his castle because
a. he wanted them to admire his magnificent home and his excellent taste.
b. he had planned a special masked ball to celebrate the building of the castle.
c. he thought that they would be safe from illness in the castle.
d. none of these reasons.

2. When the stranger arrived at the masked ball,
a. the guests were horrified.
b. the guests were very happy.
c. everyone agreed that his costume was by far the best.
d. all the other guests continued dancing and laughing.

3. In Prince Prospero’s castle,
a. all the rooms were black.
b. all the rooms were red as blood.
c. all the rooms were purple.
d. one room was blue, another was purple, another was green, another was black, …

4. When they pulled off the mask of the stranger,
a. the stranger was dead.
b. the stranger was a beautiful woman.
c. the stranger was a sick person.
d. there was no one inside.

5. At the end of the story,
a. all the people died.
b. the seven rooms were filled with blood.
c. there was nothing but Darkness, Decay and the Red Death.
d. all of the above.

II. WRITING: Use the sentences from the previous exercise as the starting point to write a summary of this story.
III. TALES OF HORROR AND TALES OF RATIOCINATION: Would you consider “The Masque of the Red Death” a tale of horror or a tale of ratiocination? Why?

E. A. POE’S “THE PIT AND THE PENDULUM”
I. Complete the sentences with the following words.
deep pit / dungeon / French army / Inquisition / juice from the meat / leather strap / light / loaf of bread / robe / trumpets
1. The narrator knew that he was not in a condemned cell because all the condemned cells in Toledo had some ______________________ .
2. When the narrator first measured his ____________________, he miscalculated the size of the room.
3. He measured the room by tearing off the bottom of his ____________________ and putting it on the floor at right angles to the wall.
4. When the prisoner woke up, he found a ______________________ next to him.
5. As the prisoner fell, he discovered a ________________________ in the middle of the cell.
6. Later, the prisoner was securely tied by a _______________________.
7. The narrator realised that the ________________________ intended the pendulum to cut through his body.
8. The narrator rubbed the leather strap with some of the ________________________.
9. At the end of the story, the narrator heard _________________________.
10. The ________________________ has entered in Toledo.

II. WRITING: Use the sentences from the previous exercise as the starting point to write a summary of this story.
III. TALES OF HORROR AND TALES OF RATIOCINATION: Would you consider this short story as a tale of horror or a tale of ratiocination? Why?