Item description

Gothic fiction, fantasy, and horror are genres that appeal to many high school readers, and H.P. Lovecraft checks all the boxes. Promote active literary engagement with this bundle of reading comprehension quizzes and close reading analysis activities covering a variety of Lovecraft’s short stories: “The Outsider,” “The Beast in the Cave,” “The Tomb,” “The Cats of Ulthar,” “The Hound,” and “The Moon Bog.” Answer keys and copies of public domain narratives are provided. Materials are delivered in printable Word Document and PDF formats. A breakdown of content follows.

“The Outsider” by H.P. Lovecraft. This short story features flourished language, an aspirational narrator, and a surprise ending that humanizes a non-human protagonist. With the resources provided, students will:

• Respond clearly, concisely, and accurately to concrete and analytical questioning
• Locate textual evidence in support of claims
• Analyze the symbolic meaning of an object
• Apply knowledge of literary devices including situational irony and foreshadowing, articulating how they are applied while citing evidence in support of claims
• Explore character motivations
• Analyze the author’s craft with emphasis on unique phrasing, sentence structures, and sensory language

“The Beast in the Cave” by H.P. Lovecraft. This short story features a potentially deadly setting, a protagonist with a deteriorating psychological state, a mysterious being, and a twist ending. With the resources provided, students will:

• Articulate what the text states explicitly and implicitly
• Use context clues to determine the state in which the story is set
• Isolate the statement that best describes the narrator among several options
• Apply knowledge of various literary devices including onomatopoeia, oxymoron, foreshadowing,
• Isolate a false statement about a particular passage from among several truths
• Make logical inferences about the narrator’s self-image
• Define complex words as they are used in the text
• Explore how the protagonist thinks, behaves, and interacts with others
• Discern the intended effect of the author’s diction (for example, why the author used a phrase like occult manner and why the author repeatedly uses variations of the word labyrinth)
• Examine the deeper meaning behind the narrator’s use of a euphemistic phrase
• Analyze sentence structures to determine how they contribute to the reader’s experience
• Explain how the narrator becomes a dynamic character
• Justify ideas and claims with relevant textual evidence
• Write ideas with clarity, accuracy, and precision

“The Tomb” by H.P. Lovecraft. This short story features elements such as a padlocked mausoleum, necromancy, and an institutionalized narrator who slept in empty caskets—calling to mind the works of Edgar Allan Poe and making the narrative a fitting read during the Halloween season. With the resources provided, students will:

• Identify what the text states explicitly and implicitly
• Make logical inferences about the author’s inspiration
• Examine how the protagonist is introduced
• Explore the functions of given paragraphs
• Examine cause-and-effect relationships
• Discern the intended effect of the author’s diction
• Define complex words and phrases as they are used in the text
• Examine the connotative significance of words or phrases
• Apply knowledge of various literary devices including personification and onomatopoeia
• Draw parallels between the narrator and the mythical figure Theseus
• Articulate how a particular paragraph contributes to character development
• Explore the symbolic importance of incidents and objects including the extinguishing of light and a lightning bolt
• Examine the nature of the relationship between the narrator and his family
• Explain an example of situational irony in the context of a given paragraph
• Consider the role of an unreliable narrator in the context of the plot
• Justify responses with reasoned thinking and relevant textual evidence
• Write ideas with clarity, accuracy, and precision

“The Cats of Ulthar” by H.P. Lovecraft. This short story features savage neighbors, an avenging curse, and flesh-eating felines—making it an especially chilling choice for the Halloween season. With the resources provided, students will:

• Discern a key purpose of the mythological allusions delivered in the exposition
• Draw parallels between the author’s choices and knowledge of cat-related proverbs
• Explore the antagonistic characterization of the community’s old couple
• Examine the narrator’s feelings toward the people of Ulthar
• Explore the greater significance of imagery from a mythological perspective
• Investigate the author’s decision to name a key character after an Egyptian figure
• Discern the functions of several paragraphs
• Apply knowledge of a variety of literary devices including personification, irony, inversion, and onomatopoeia
• Make logical inferences about the author’s decision to include two seemingly insignificant details
• Identify and explain a significant example of foreshadowing in the story
• Argue whether the people of Ulthar are better or worse off for having gone through their experiences
• Support claims and ideas with reasoned thinking and relevant textual evidence
• Write ideas with clarity, accuracy, and precision

“The Hound” by H.P. Lovecraft. This short story features grave robbery, ghostly voices, an object of supernatural significance, and a demonic creature—making it an especially creepy and suitable choice for the Halloween season. With the resources provided, students will:

• Identify what the text states explicitly and implicitly
• Provide an objective summary of the plot
• Analyze the intended effect of Poe’s descriptive language
• Analyze the author’s technique to explain whether a suggested revision would be appropriate
• Make logical inferences about characterization
• Articulate how setting influences character actions
• Determine the intended effect(s) of simile
• Apply knowledge of situational irony to the text
• Apply knowledge of anaphora to the text
• Apply knowledge of consonance to the text
• Isolate examples of inversion in a given excerpt
• Identify textual evidence in support of claims
• Define complex vocabulary and phrasing in context
• Write with clarity, logic, and precision

“The Moon Bog” by H.P. Lovecraft. This short story features a seemingly deserted village, cautionary legends, beckoning voices, and the discovery of an underwater city. With the resources provided, students will:

• Articulate what the text states explicitly and implicitly
• Analyze context clues and draw logical inferences about character mindsets and motivations
• Apply knowledge of various literary devices including foreshadowing, situational irony, and dramatic irony
• Define complex words as they are used in the text by taking into consideration denotative and connotative meanings
• Support responses with relevant textual evidence
• Write ideas with clarity, accuracy, and precision