The Oval Portrait

All of the following details of the setting contribute to a scene of dark fantasy EXCEPT

• "The chateau...was one of those piles of commingled gloom and grandeur which have so long frowned among the Appenines" (par. 1).

• The room the narrator chooses is "the smallest and least sumptuously furnished apartments" (par. 1).

• A "tall candelabrum...stood by the head of the bed and...fringed curtains of black velvet...enveloped the bed itself" (par. 1).

Because the castle is full of expensive and rich decorations but it was also "lately abandoned" due to some potential tragedy, the story potentially contains support for which Transcendental principle?

• Simplicity

• Civil disobedience

• Optimism

• Oversoul

What is the most accurate description of the narrator's condition?

• "desperately wounded" and perhaps experiencing "delirium"

• "devoutly" and "gloriously" excited by discovering the chateau

• "wild with the ardor of his work"

• smiling on "uncomplainingly" despite his pain

Because of the narrator's potentially delirious condition and his fixated interest in the oval portrait, he is more open or susceptible to believing this strange and impossible story. What Transcendental principle is reflected in his openness?

• Intuition

• Self-reliance

• Civil disobedience

• Positive influence of nature

As soon as the narrator saw the portrait of the woman in the oval portrait in the third paragraph,

• he shut his eyes

• he couldn't stop looking at it

• he noticed that the portrait was broken

• he was scared

The portrait disturbed the narrator because...

• at first, he thought it was an animal

• the portrait was horrible

• the expression on the woman's face was so realistic

• the woman's eyes were magical

How does the narrator find out about the woman in the oval portrait?

• Pedro tells him about her
• He has heard the story before
• He made up the story-it was all a part of a dream
• He finds a book that gives an explanation of the painting

According to paragraph 6, what kind of person was the woman painted in the oval portrait?

• Loving, playful, and happy

• Passionate, studious, and introverted

• Evil and terrible, though beautiful

• Meek and obedient, but bitter

What device does Poe use in paragraph 6 describing the painter as "having already a bride in his Art"?

• Anaphora

• Juxtaposition

• Simile

• Personification

Which option best describes the painter?

• He is an obsessive man who cares about his art more than anything

• He is a caring gentleman who loves his wife and his art

• He is an egotistic workaholic who wants to become famous

• He is a quiet, simple man struggling to support himself and his wife