Answer the following comprehension questions based on Edgar Allan Poe's Gothic masterpiece "The Oval Portrait": a. Where did the wounded narrator and his valet Pedro seek shelter for the night? b. How did the narrator discover the magnificent oval portrait of the young woman? c. What profound physiological and emotional effect did the painting produce upon the narrator? d. How is the young bride in the portrait described in the companion volume found by the narrator? e. Why did the bride dread her husband's art, viewing it as her only rival? f. What terrifying realization strikes the obsessed painter as he places the final brushstroke upon the canvas?

Critically analyze Edgar Allan Poe's philosophical critique of artistic creation in "The Oval Portrait": a. Examine the concept of "aesthetic vampirism"—the idea that immortalizing art requires consuming or sacrificing the living subject. b. Discuss the role of the frame narrative structure in establishing Gothic suspense and psychological ambiguity.