The oval portrait

Understanding the text

Answer these questions.

a. Where did the narrator and his servant make forcible entrance?

The narrator and his servant made a forcible entrance in a desolate Chateau which was located in the Apennines of central Italy.

b. Which special picture did the narrator notice in the room?

The narrator noticed an oval-shaped picture of a young girl in the room.

c. Describe the portrait that the narrator saw in the room.

The portrait was in an oval-shaped frame. It revealed the head and shoulders of the young woman. The arms, the bosom, and even the ends of the radiant hair dissolved untraceably into the unclear yet deep shadow which formed the background of the whole.

d. What is the relationship between the portrait painter and its subject?

The relationship between the portrait painter and its subject is of Husband and wife.

Reference to the context

a. What is the central theme of the story? Who is the woman depicted in the oval portrait?

b. "The Oval Portrait" is a short horror story by Edgar Allan Poe involving the disturbing circumstances surrounding a portrait in a chateau. Elaborate.

c. "The Oval Portrait" suggests that the woman’s beauty condemns her to death. Discuss.

d. Discuss the story as a frame narrative (a story within a story).

e. The story is told in a descriptive style, with plenty of imagery and symbolism. Which images and symbols do you find in the story?

f. What does the expression “She was dead!” mean?

Reference beyond the text

a. Do you think there is life in art?

b. As a thing of art nothing could be more admirable than the painting itself. Explain.

c. A more intense look at the painting reveals the illusion. Have you noticed any such painting?