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A Summary and Analysis of Edgar Allan Poeâs âThe Tell-Tale Heartâ
By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)
âThe Tell-Tale Heartâ is a Gothic novel in miniature. All of the elements of the Gothic novel are here: the subterranean secret, the Gothic space (scaled down from a full-blown castle to a single room), the gruesome crime â even the hovering between the supernatural and the psychological.
In just five pages, itâs as if Edgar Allan Poe has scaled down the eighteenth-century Gothic novel into a story of just a few thousand words. But what makes this story so unsettling?
Closer analysis reveals that âThe Tell-Tale Heartâ centres on that most troubling of things: the motiveless murder.
First, a brief summary of âThe Tell-Tale Heartâ. An unnamed narrator confesses that he has murdered an old man, apparently because of the old manâs âEvil Eyeâ which drove the narrator to kill him. He then describes how he crept into the old manâs bedroom while he slept and stabbed him, dragging the corpse away and dismembering it, so as to conceal his crime.
He goes to some lengths to cover up all trace of the murder â he even caught his victimâs blood in a tub, so that none was spilt anywhere â and then he takes up three of the floorboards of the chamber, and conceals his victimâs body underneath. But no sooner has he concealed the body than thereâs a knock at the door: itâs the police, having been called out by a neighbour who heard a shriek during the night.
The narrator lets the police officers in to search the premises, and tells them a lie about the old man being away in the country. He keeps his calm while showing them around, until they go and sit down in the room below which the victimâs body is concealed.
The narrator and the police officers talk, but gradually the narrator begins to hear a ringing in his ears, a noise that becomes louder and more insistent. He believes that it is the beating of the dead manâs heart, taunting him from beyond the grave. Eventually, he canât stand it any more, and tells the police to tear up the floorboards, the sound of the old manâs beating heart driving him to confess his crime.
The narrator of âThe Tell-Tale Heartâ is clearly unstable, as the end of the story reveals, but his mental state is questionable right from the start, as the jerky syntax of his narrative suggests:
True! â nervous â very, very dreadfully nervous I had been and am; but why will you say that I am mad? The disease had sharpened my senses â not destroyed â not dulled them. Above all was the sense of hearing acute. I heard all things in the heaven and in the earth. I heard many things in hell. How, then, am I mad? Hearken! and observe how healthily â how calmly I can tell you the whole story.
The multiple dashes, the unusual syntactical arrangement, the exclamation and question marks: all suggest someone who is, at the very least, excitable. His repeated protestations that he is sane and merely subject to âover acuteness of the sensesâ donât fully convince: there is too much in his manner (to say nothing of his baseless murder of the old man) to suggest otherwise.
A motiveless crime?
And indeed, what makes âThe Tell-Tale Heartâ especially chilling â and here we might draw a parallel with another of Poeâs best-known tales, âThe Black Catâ â is that the killer freely confesses that his murder of the old man was a motiveless crime:
I loved the old man. He had never wronged me. He had never given me insult. For his gold I had no desire. I think it was his eye! yes, it was this! He had the eye of a vulture â a pale blue eye, with a film over it. Whenever it fell upon me, my blood ran cold; and so by degrees â very gradually â I made up my mind to take the life of the old man, and thus rid myself of the eye forever.
Murder is never justified, but it is sometimes understandable when a person has been driven to extremes and isnât thinking clearly. But Poeâs narrator didnât even kill the old man for something as cynical as financial gain. Even his proffered motive â the old manâs âEvil Eyeâ â is weak. He has to convince himself that that was why he did it, after the fact : âI think it was his eye! yes, it was this!â (our emphasis).
One can imagine a police detective doing a double-take in the interview room. âYou think it was his eye?â This alone makes it clear that we are dealing with an unhinged mind, somebody who, to borrow from Bob Dylan, âkilled for no reasonâ. Motiveless murderers are often the most unsettling.
Consider the âmotiveless malignityâ of Iago , perhaps Shakespeareâs finest villain, who offers a number of potential motives for wanting to destroy the lives of Othello and Desdemona, and in doing so reveals that he very probably doesnât have a real motive â other than wishing to cause trouble for the hell of it.
Poe and Macbeth
But Othello is not Poeâs main Shakespearean intertext for âThe Tell-Tale Heartâ. Closer analysis of the story reveals that an important precursor-text to âThe Tell-Tale Heartâ, and probable influence on Poe, is William Shakespeareâs Macbeth .
Both texts centre on the murder of an âold manâ; in both cases, the murderer is driven to feel guilt over his crime by being âhauntedâ by his victim from beyond the grave (Banquoâs ghost in Macbeth , the old manâs beating heart in Poeâs story); both Macbeth and Poeâs narrator show signs of being at least a little mentally unstable; in both texts, the murder of the victim is followed by a knocking at the door.
But what makes Poeâs tale especially effective is the way he employs doubling to suggest that it is perfectly natural that the narrator should be paranoid about the sound coming from the floorboards. For before he had murdered the old man, the narrator had imagined his victim âtrying to comfort himselfâ when he heard a noise outside his bedroom:
All in vain; because Death, in approaching him had stalked with his black shadow before him, and enveloped the victim.
But of course this is really the narrator projecting his own unease around sounds; and it thus foreshadows his later paranoia over the supposed sound coming from under the floorboards â the sound that will drive him to confess to his crime.
But along with the âmotivelessâ nature of the narratorâs crime, the other aspect of âThe Tell-Tale Heartâ which makes it such a powerful analysis of the nature of crime and guilt is the slight ambiguity hovering over that sound which taunts the narrator at the end of the story.
An ambiguous tale
It seems most likely that the sound exists only in his head, since the policemen are apparently oblivious to it as they continue to chat away calmly to the narrator. (This is the one real weak point in Poeâs story: once theyâve searched the premises they appear to hang around to make small talk with the narrator. Havenât they got more important things to do? Unless the narrator isnât as calm at this point as he believes, and they suspect foul play and are trying to get him to reveal something incriminatingâŚ)
But we cannot be entirely sure. Even if the sound is supernatural in origin â and Poe was obviously a master of the supernatural, as several of his other best stories attest â it may be that his victim is making his ghostly heartbeat heard only to the narrator, burrowing away deep within his mind.
But on balance weâre tempted to think that Poe, along with Dickens around the same time (compare the studied analysis of the murderer Jonas Chuzzlewitâs mind as he flees the scene), is pioneering a new kind of approach to the âghost storyâ here â one in which the âghostâ is no more than a hallucination or phantom of the characterâs mind.
Although such ambiguity had been used to good effect by Shakespeare, in the ghost story it is Poe, in such stories as âThe Tell-Tale Heartâ, who used this ambiguous plot detail to offer a deeper, more unsettling analysis of the nature of conscience.
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6 thoughts on “A Summary and Analysis of Edgar Allan Poeâs âThe Tell-Tale Heartâ”
Wonderful article! When I studied Poe in college my premise for one of my best papers centered on whether or not the murderer was sane or insane and even used “Methinks he protests too much” at the end. I believe I could’ve written several papers on this short story alone with several different topics. Again, wonderful article.
Thank you! Good Hamlet allusion too – one of the triumphs of Poe’s story, I think, is the instability of his narrator. Glad you enjoyed our analysis :)
Ahhhhh…and now here you have brought forth one of my most beloved tale tellers. Poe has influenced not only my own tales but my early life as well. Terrific analysis! The ambiguous nature of the conscience brought to fever pitch. :)
Thank you! It’s one of the real gems among Poe’s tales – and as you say, he’s a great tale-teller so there are quite a few to choose from :)
I’ve wondered if the heartbeat was the narrator’s own, since he was in a state of agitation and excitement while talking to the policemen. In any case, it’s a great story, and this is an interesting analysis.
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- Annotated Full Text
- Literary Period: Gothic
- Publication Date: 1843
- Flesch-Kincaid Level: 5
- Approx. Reading Time: 10 minutes
- The Tell-Tale Heart
First published in 1843 in The Pioneer, âThe Tell-Tale Heartâ features many of the signature elements of an Edgar Allan Poe short story: a dark gothic setting, an unhinged narrator, and a tense plot. The unity of these elements creates an emotional response in readers that is further elicited through tone, word choice, conflict, etc. The tale begins in the middle of the narrative as Poeâs unnamed narrator begins explaining himself to an undisclosed audience, creating a conspiratorial, confessional tone that pulls readers in. Poeâs narrator describes the steps he took to murder a helpless old man, driven only by his hatred of the old manâs eye. The sentences are choppy, the frequent repetition and self-interruption indicative of the narratorâs unhinged mental condition. As the methods of the crime are revealed, readers enter into a study in madness, witnessing the narratorâs hallucinations and ultimately encountering his delusions firsthand when he reveals the body beneath the floorboards.
Table of Contents
- Character Analysis
- Historical Context
- Literary Devices
Study Guide
- Edgar Allan Poe Biography
Teaching Resources
- The Tell-Tale Heart Metaphor Activity
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âThe Tell-Tale Heartâ by Edgar Allan Poe: A Critical Analysis
âThe Tell-Tale Heartâ by Edgar Allan Poe, first published in 1843, is a haunting short story not contained within a specific collection.
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Introduction: âThe Tell-Tale Heartâ by Edgar Allan Poe
Table of Contents
âThe Tell-Tale Heartâ by Edgar Allan Poe, first published in 1843, is a haunting short story not contained within a specific collection. Itâs a psychological thriller narrated by an unnamed character who insists on their sanity despite describing a meticulously planned murder. The story centers on the narratorâs obsession with the victimâs pale eye and a growing fixation on a sound they believe to be the old manâs beating heart, creating a chilling atmosphere of suspense and unease. As the story progresses, the line between the narratorâs perceived sanity and their deteriorating mental state blurs, leaving the reader to question the truth and grapple with the themes of guilt and madness.
Main Events in âThe Tell-Tale Heartâ by Edgar Allan Poe
The Narratorâs Obsession and Murderous Plan:
- The unnamed narrator insists on his sanity despite describing a premeditated murder.
- He becomes fixated on the old manâs pale blue eye with a film over it, calling it a âvulture eye.â
- The narrator denies any motive like passion, greed, or insult, claiming itâs solely the eye that drives him to kill.
- Over several days, the narrator meticulously plans the murder, entering the old manâs room each night to find him asleep.
The Murder and Hiding the Evidence:
- On the eighth night, the narrator accidentally startles the old man awake but manages to keep him still in the dark.
- The narrator describes a growing sense of triumph as he prepares to commit the murder.
- He becomes fixated on a low beating sound, which he believes is the old manâs terrified heart growing louder.
- In a frenzy, the narrator throws open the lantern and murders the old man.
- After the murder, the narrator displays a chilling calmness as he dismembers the body with meticulous care.
- He hides the body parts under the floorboards, confident no human eye could detect anything wrong.
Police Investigation and the Narratorâs Descent:
- The police arrive to investigate a scream heard by a neighbor, arousing suspicion.
- The narrator remains confident and welcomes the officers, inviting them to search the entire house.
- He even leads them to the old manâs room and shows them his undisturbed belongings.
- The narratorâs confidence grows as the officers seem satisfied with his explanations.
- However, the narrator begins to feel increasingly anxious and believes he hears the beating of the old manâs heart growing louder.
- His attempts to appear calm and talkative fail as the sound intensifies in his own mind.
- Driven to the brink, the narrator accuses the officers of mocking him and confesses to the murder, revealing the bodyâs hiding place.
Literary Devices in âThe Tell-Tale Heartâ by Edgar Allan Poe
âTRUE!ânervousâvery, very dreadfully nervous I had been and am; but why will you say that I am mad?â | The narrator insists on his sanity despite describing disturbing thoughts and actions. | |
âIt grew louderâlouderâlouder! And still the men chatted pleasantly, and smiled.â | The phrase âbeating of the old manâs heartâ is repeated, emphasizing the narratorâs obsession and growing anxiety. | |
âOne of his eyes resembled that of a vultureâa pale blue eye, with a film over it.â | The âvulture eyeâ symbolizes the narratorâs fear and obsession. Itâs a physical detail that represents a larger psychological torment. | |
âI was never kinder to the old man than during the whole week before I killed him.â | The narratorâs meticulous planning and deceptive kindness foreshadow the eventual breakdown of his sanity. | |
âI turned the latch of his door and opened itâoh, so gently! And then, when I had made an opening sufficient for my head, I put in a dark lantern, all closed, closed, so that no light shone outâŚâ | Descriptions of darkness, silence, and the lanternâs glow create a dark and suspenseful atmosphere. | |
âThe disease had sharpened my sensesânot destroyedânot dulled them.â | The narrator claims his senses are heightened by his illness, but his perception is distorted. | |
âAbove all was the sense of hearing acute. I heard all things in the heaven and in the earth. I heard many things in hell.â | The narrator exaggerates his hearing abilities, hinting at his mental instability. | |
âwhy will you say that I am madâ | The use of âwâ sounds creates a sense of urgency and agitation. | |
ânevertheless the old man diedâ | The repetition of short âeâ sounds creates a sense of finality and horror. | |
ââŚand so by degreesâvery graduallyâI made up my mind to take the life of the old manâŚâ | The repeated phrase emphasizes the narratorâs calculated planning of the murder. | |
Oxymoron | âI loved the old man. He had never wronged me.â | The narrator claims to love the man he plans and commits murder on, creating a contradiction. |
âHow then am I mad?â | The question is not meant to be answered but to challenge the readerâs perception of the narratorâs sanity. | |
âThe officers were satisfied. My manner had convinced them.â | The officers remain oblivious to the truth despite the narratorâs increasingly frantic behavior. | |
âVillains! I shrieked, âdissemble no more! I admit the deed!âtear up the planks!âhere, here!âit is the beating of his hideous heart!â | The moment the narrator confesses the murder is the storyâs climax. | |
Suspense | ââŚevery night, just at midnight, I looked in upon him while he slept.â | Poe builds suspense by keeping the reader guessing about the narratorâs motivations and the eventual outcome. |
Characterization in âThe Tell-Tale Heartâ by Edgar Allan Poe
The narrator in âThe Tell-Tale Heartâ by Edgar Allan Poe is a complex and unreliable character. Hereâs a breakdown of his characterization using examples from the story:
1. Mentally Unstable:
- Example: âTRUE!ânervousâvery, very dreadfully nervous I had been and amâŚâ (Paragraph 1). The narrator readily admits his nervousness, which hints at a larger mental issue.
- Example: âHow then am I mad? Hearken! and observe how healthilyâhow calmly I can tell you the whole story.â (Paragraph 1). He contradicts himself by claiming sanity while exhibiting erratic behavior.
2. Obsessive:
- Example: âIt was his eye! yes, it was this! One of his eyes resembled that of a vultureâa pale blue eye, with a film over it.â (Paragraph 2). He fixates on a minor physical detail, the old manâs eye, to an unhealthy degree.
- Example: âEvery night, about midnight, I turned the latch of his door and opened itâoh, so gently!â (Paragraph 3). The repetition of his nightly routine highlights his obsessive planning and actions.
3. Deceptive:
- Example: âI was never kinder to the old man than during the whole week before I killed him.â (Paragraph 3). He hides his true intentions by feigning kindness towards the victim.
- Example: âThe officers were satisfied. My manner had convinced them.â (Paragraph 18). He deceives the police with a confident demeanor despite his inner turmoil.
4. Unreliable Narrator:
- Example: âI loved the old man. He had never wronged me.â (Paragraph 2). This statement is contradicted by his plan to murder the old man.
- Example: ââŚevery night just at midnight, I looked in upon him while he slept.â (Paragraph 3). He claims the eye bothers him, yet sneaks in nightly even when the eye is closed.
5. Deteriorating Mental State:
- Example: âHa!âwould a madman have been so wise as this?â (Paragraph 3). He questions his own sanity while trying to convince the reader otherwise.
- Example: âVillains! I shrieked, âdissemble no more! I admit the deed!âtear up the planks!âhere, here!âit is the beating of his hideous heart!â (Paragraph 19). His mental state crumbles as he confesses the crime due to heightened auditory hallucinations.
Major Themes in âThe Tell-Tale Heartâ by Edgar Allan Poe
- Unreliable Narration and the Descent into Madness: The story unfolds through the eyes of an unnamed narrator who insists on his sanity despite exhibiting clear signs of mental instability. His justifications for the murder and his obsession with the old manâs eye reveal a distorted perception of reality. We see this in his opening claim, âTRUE!ânervousâvery, very dreadfully nervous I had been and am; but why will you say that I am mad?â (Paragraph 1). Here, he acknowledges his nervousness but denies madness, setting the stage for his unreliable narration. As the story progresses, his actions become increasingly erratic, culminating in his delusional belief that he hears the dead manâs heart beating. This auditory hallucination, a physical manifestation of his guilt, exposes the narratorâs complete descent into madness. (âVillains! I shrieked, âdissemble no more! I admit the deed!âtear up the planks!âhere, here!âit is the beating of his hideous heart!â Paragraph 19).
- The Power of Guilt and the Inevitability of Confession: The narrator meticulously plans and commits the murder, believing he can escape punishment. However, guilt gnaws at him, intensifying his anxieties and distorting his senses. His seemingly flawless plan crumbles under the weight of his conscience. The repetition of the phrase âbeating of the old manâs heartâ (various paragraphs) emphasizes the growing obsession with this imagined sound, a constant reminder of his crime. Despite his attempts to maintain composure during the police visit, his guilt manifests as a heightened sense of hearing, ultimately leading him to confess. (ââŚevery night just at midnight, I looked in upon him while he slept.â Paragraph 3). This unexpected confession highlights the power of guilt and the human psycheâs inability to suppress the truth for long.
- The Duality of Human Nature: The narrator wrestles with a conflict between good and evil. He claims to love the old man yet meticulously plans his murder. This internal struggle reflects the potential for darkness that exists within everyone. We see this duality in his statement, âI loved the old man. He had never wronged me. He had never given me insult. For his gold I had no desire. I think it was his eye! yes, it was this!â (Paragraph 2). Here, he attempts to justify his actions by blaming the old manâs eye, but the reader is left to question the true motives behind the murder. The story explores the idea that even the most seemingly ordinary person can harbor violent impulses.
- The Thin Line Between Sanity and Madness: The narratorâs deteriorating mental state blurs the line between sanity and madness. His meticulous planning suggests a calculated mind, yet his obsession and hallucinations point towards a fractured psyche. The story raises questions about the nature of madness and how easily it can take hold. We see this blurring in his self-reflection, âHa!âwould a madman have been so wise as this?â (Paragraph 3). He questions his own sanity while trying to convince the reader otherwise, leaving the reader to wonder if he was ever truly sane to begin with. âThe Tell-Tale Heartâ explores the terrifying possibility that madness can creep in subtly, distorting reality and leading to horrific acts.
Writing Style in âThe Tell-Tale Heartâ by Edgar Allan Poe
- Vivid and Haunting Imagery (Paragraph 3) * âI turned the latch of his door and opened itâoh, so gently! And then, when I had made an opening sufficient for my head, I put in a dark lantern, all closed, closed, so that no light shone outâŚâ
- Repetition (various paragraphs) * âbeating of the old manâs heartâ â This phrase is repeated throughout the story, emphasizing the narratorâs obsession and growing anxiety.
- First-Person Point of View (Paragraph 1) * âTRUE!ânervousâvery, very dreadfully nervous I had been and amâŚâ â The story unfolds through the eyes of the unnamed narrator, placing the reader directly in his thoughts and deteriorating mental state.
Literary Theories and Interpretation of âThe Tell-Tale Heartâ by Edgar Allan Poe
The story explores the narratorâs repressed desires and unconscious conflicts. The âvulture eyeâ could symbolize a castration anxiety or a repressed Oedipal complex, fueling the narratorâs murderous rage. | * The narratorâs fixation on the old manâs eye, a single, pale blue eye, might represent a symbol of something he fears or finds threatening. (Paragraph 2) * The act of murder could be seen as a violent release of these repressed emotions. | |
The story delves into the complexities of the human psyche, depicting the descent of a mentally unstable narrator into madness. | * The narrator exhibits signs of paranoia, obsession, and a distorted perception of reality. (Paragraph 1) * His meticulous planning and growing guilt highlight the psychological toll of the crime. | |
The story incorporates classic gothic elements like a dark and suspenseful atmosphere, a focus on death and decay, and an exploration of the macabre. | * The setting of an old house, the dead of night, and the focus on a beating heart create a sense of unease and horror. (Paragraph 3) * The narratorâs descent into madness and the presence of a potentially supernatural element (the sound of the heartbeat) contribute to the gothic atmosphere. | |
The story uses various symbols to represent deeper meanings. The âvulture eyeâ could symbolize death, fear, or a sense of guilt. The beating heart could represent the narratorâs conscience or the lingering presence of the victim. | * The âvulture eyeâ becomes an obsession for the narrator, driving him to commit murder. (Paragraph 2) * The relentless sound of the beating heart, even after the murder, could be interpreted as the embodiment of the narratorâs guilt. (Paragraph 18) | |
The story hinges on the unreliable narration of a disturbed mind. The reader is left to question the truth of the events based on the narratorâs distorted perception and self-serving justifications. | * The narrator claims sanity while exhibiting clear signs of mental illness. (Paragraph 1) * His justifications for the murder and his actions throughout the story raise doubts about his reliability. |
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Questions and Thesis Statements about âThe Tell-Tale Heartâ by Edgar Allan Poe
- Narratorâs Unreliability
- Guilt and the Inevitable Confession
- The Descent into Madness
- Symbolism and Meaning
- Gothic Elements and Atmosphere
- Psychological Exploration of Character
- How does the narratorâs unreliable narration impact the storyâs suspense and horror?
- In what ways does the story explore the themes of guilt and the urge to confess?
- How does the narratorâs mental state deteriorate throughout the story?
- What are the symbolic meanings of the vulture eye, the darkness, and the beating heart?
- How do classic gothic elements contribute to the overall atmosphere of dread and unease?
- To what extent does the story offer a realistic portrayal of a troubled mind?
Thesis Statements
- Edgar Allan Poeâs âThe Tell-Tale Heartâ utilizes an unreliable narrator to create a chilling atmosphere of suspense and expose the inevitable breakdown of a guilt-ridden conscience.
- The relentless sound of the beating heart in âThe Tell-Tale Heartâ serves not only as a symbol of the murdered man but also as a physical manifestation of the narratorâs overwhelming guilt, ultimately leading to his confession.
- Through the portrayal of a characterâs descent into madness in âThe Tell-Tale Heart,â Poe explores the terrifying possibility of how seemingly ordinary individuals can harbor violent impulses and ultimately succumb to their own distorted perceptions.
- By employing symbolic elements like the vulture eye and the beating heart, Poe imbues âThe Tell-Tale Heartâ with deeper meaning, suggesting a battle between good and evil and the enduring power of guilt.
Short Questions and Answer about âThe Tell-Tale Heartâ by Edgar Allan Poe
The unnamed narrator in âThe Tell-Tale Heartâ employs first-person perspective, placing the reader directly within his disturbed thoughts. However, his claims of sanity are undermined by his erratic behavior, obsessive focus on the old manâs eye, and self-serving justifications for the murder. This creates a narrative voice that is both captivating and unreliable, leaving the reader to question the truthfulness of the events described. (Paragraph 1, 2) | ||
The narrator offers a seemingly trivial reason for the murder â the old manâs âvulture eye.â This explanation, however, lacks depth and raises suspicion. The storyâs ambiguity suggests the possibility of deeper psychological issues or repressed urges driving the narratorâs actions. (Paragraph 2) | ||
Guilt manifests not just through the narratorâs internal monologue but also through a powerful auditory hallucination â the relentless pounding of the old manâs heart. This imagined sound intensifies as the story progresses, transforming from a figment of his imagination to a physical manifestation of his guilt, ultimately leading to his dramatic confession. (Various Paragraphs) | ||
The story unfolds entirely within the confines of an old house, shrouded in darkness. This claustrophobic setting reflects the narratorâs deteriorating mental state and amplifies the overall sense of dread and suspense. The darkness serves as a metaphor for the narratorâs descent into madness, while the house itself becomes a symbol of his trapped conscience. (Paragraph 3) |
Literary Works Similar to âThe Tell-Tale Heartâ by Edgar Allan Poe
- Henry Jamesâs âThe Turn of the Screwâ utilizes an unreliable first-person narrator, much like Poeâs, creating a story shrouded in ambiguity regarding the protagonistâs sanity and the existence of the supernatural.
- Sheridan Le Fanuâs âCarmilla,â a foundational vampire tale, shares âThe Tell-Tale Heartâsâ chilling atmosphere and dependence on an unreliable narrator, keeping the reader guessing about the protagonistâs perceptions and the truth of the vampiric threat.
- Shirley Jacksonâs â The Lottery ,â a masterpiece of suspense with a shocking twist ending, explores the darkness within human nature, similar to Poeâs works.
- Jacksonâs âWe Have Always Lived in the Castleâ delves into psychological themes and the blurring of reality, reminiscent of the mental deterioration depicted in âThe Tell-Tale Heart.â
- Charlotte Perkins Gilmanâs â The Yellow Wallpaper ,â a powerful indictment of societal norms and the treatment of mental illness, echoes Poeâs exploration of psychological deterioration under societal pressures.
Suggested Readings: âThe Tell-Tale Heartâ by Edgar Allan Poe
- Eichinger, Sanford. âThe Madness of Crowds: âLigeiaâ and âThe Tell-Tale Heart.'â Poe Studies 11.1 (1978): 1-8. Analyzes the theme of madness in both âLigeiaâ and âThe Tell-Tale Heart.â
- Kennedy, J. Gerald. âPoeâs âThe Tell-Tale Heart.'â Studies in Short Fiction 5.2 (1968): 147-154. Offers a critical analysis of âThe Tell-Tale Heart,â focusing on narrative structure and symbolism.
- Lacan, Jacques. The Seminar of Jacques Lacan, Book I: Freudâs Papers on Technique 1953-1954 . Edited by Jacques-Alain Miller, translated by Jacques-Alain Miller with Russell Grigg. W.W. Norton & Company, 1988. This influential work by psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan can be applied to analyze the psychological aspects of âThe Tell-Tale Heart.â
Online Resource:
- Poe, Edgar Allan. âThe Tell-Tale Heart.â https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/tell-tale-heart-edgar-allen-poe-american-stories/2634706.html (Accessed March 23, 2024). The full text of the story, a valuable resource for any analysis.
Related posts:
- âThe Use of Forceâ by William Carlos Williams
- âAn Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridgeâ by Ambrose Bierce: Analysis
- âCivil Peaceâ by Chinua Achebe: Analysis
- âGood Country Peopleâ by Flannery OâConnor: Analysis
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The Tell Tale Heart
Background of the story, the tell tale heart summary, mental health, confinement, characters analysis, the narrator, literary analysis, writing style, point of view, the bed and bedroom, more from edgar allan poe, short stories.
The Tell-Tale Heart
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Why does the narrator commit murder according to them? What is your explanation for the crime?
If you had to represent the narrator in court, what kind of defense would you propose?
Why do you think the narrator kept hearing the heartbeat even after the old manâs death? Why does the story emphasize the heartbeat over any other element of the murder? Do you think it was otherworldly, a hallucination, or something else? Explain your reasoning.
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The Tell-Tale Heart (1843) Essay
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Introduction
Character analysis, plot summary, internal versus external forces, works cited.
The introductory part will present the The Tell- Tale heart (1843), by Alan Edgar Poe, introducing the main characters viz. the narrator and the old man. The story opens with the unknown narrator confessing he is restless but not harebrained or insane, as some would want to think.
He narrates his story by defending his sound mind although he has murdered an innocent old man. The narrator lives with the old man; however, he claims that his supposedly housemate has an evil blue eye that evokes fear in him (the narrator). At this point, the narrator is not trustworthy because he does not even understand himself; he does not know whether he is psychologically sick or he is just another murderer.
This section tackles the main characters of the story and as aforementioned, the narrator and the old man are the only central characters in the story. The narrator is untrustworthy, self-righteous and a rigid person who leaves no space for learning.
He believes he is sane despite the fact that he kills the old man for no apparent reason. His sanctimonious overtones infringe is trustworthiness. On the other hand, the old man is just a victim of malice or covered insanity.
The plot summary will outline the flow of the story where once more the narrator plays the central role. As the story opens, the narrator insinuates he is insane by declaring he has a story to tell; however, the story is a defense to guard his sanity. Therefore, the events of this section will focus on the narrator as he puts forward his claims of sanity.
However, to understand where all the sanity ânoisesâ are coming from, this section will flashback to the one event that seems to infringe the narratorâs insanity; the murder of the old man. Again, the narratorâs trustworthiness is compromised for by defending his actions, he unknowingly exposes his unreliability.
The overriding theme in this story is the theme of paranoia. As the story opens, the narrator acknowledges that he is nervous for reasons he does not know. The thin, almost confusing, or blurred line between paranoia and madness comes out clearly. People think paranoia is synonymous to madness and perhaps this explains why the narrator is vehement in defending his sanity.
Paranoia in this context also underscores the blurred line between hate and love according to Benfey (78). Ironically, many a time individuals hurt the closest people in their lives. In this section, the narrator is trustworthy; he loves and needs the old man, yet he kills him.
Ironically, the presence of police officers who come to investigate the murder of the old man does not evoke any uneasiness in the narrator. However, the deafening sounds of fear and guilt that haunt the narrator seem to take away his peace. The narrator does not confess the murder because the offices push him; no, he confesses because of guilt and self-conviction.
At this point, the story tries to emphasize that internal forces are stronger than external forces. One can defy and deny external forces like rule of law; however, defying self-conviction is tantamount to committing suicide and the narrator comes out as a trustworthy source of this scenario.
The concluding part of the essay will try to piece together the ideas raised in the story. Running from introduction, though plot summary to themes; this section will give a concise recap of the whole story.
Benfey, Christopher. “Poe and the Unreadable: ‘The Black Cat’ and ‘The Tell-Tale Heart.â New Essays on Poe’s Major Tales . United States: Cambridge University Press, 1993.
Poe, Allan. âThe Tell-Tale Heart.â Electronic Text Center, University of Virginia Library, 1992. Web.
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âJanet Planetâ Review: A Sticky Summer Full of Small Dramas
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Kids are supposed to love summer, but I canât be alone in remembering it as the most vexing season. Itâs hot, and there are mosquitoes and spasms of allergic sneezes, and the predictable, sociable structure of the school year vanishes for what feels like an interminable stretch. When Lacy, the 11-year-old in the playwright Annie Baker âs brilliant âJanet Planet,â calls home from camp to tell her mother, Janet, that if she doesnât come pick her up, sheâll kill herself â I got that, in all its hyperbolic provocation. Sometimes summer is just the worst.
But being 11 is also the worst. âYou know whatâs funny?â Lacy (Zoe Ziegler) asks Janet (Julianne Nicholson) a few weeks later, when sheâs been brought back to the home the two share in western Massachusetts: âEvery moment of my life is hell.â Janet doesnât want to laugh, and gently corrects her. But sheâs also in the throes of her own turmoil, so she gets it. âI donât think it will last, though,â Lacy continues, acknowledging with tween stoicism her spells of hell and happiness.
Lacyâs life is not hell, no matter her solemn belief. Her mother has built a good life for the two of them, even if itâs invaded at times by friends who need help and boyfriends who Lacy knows are bad news. But every day is long and every occurrence is amplified when youâre Lacyâs age. The genius of âJanet Planet,â Bakerâs debut as a feature writer-director, is how flawlessly it renders what itâs like to spend the summer being 11 at your home in the woods, when your mother is your whole world and you wish you could just have her to yourself. You can hear the buzzing bug zapper, feel the sunburn on your skin, scratch your knees on the freshly cut grass and sink into the hazy evening ennui.
Baker, who grew up in Amherst, knows the texture of those Massachusetts summers by heart. She also knows the kinds of people who populate the area, sending Janet and Lacy at one point to a midsummer mystical theatrical presentation, complete with larger-than-life puppetry, after which everyone is implored to take home all the extra zucchini the group grew by accident. âJanet Planetâ is a tiny masterpiece, and itâs so carefully constructed, so loaded with details and emotions and gentle comedy, that itâs impossible to shake once it gets under your skin.
The film is divided into three big sections, centering on three adults who show up in Janetâs life, and thus Lacyâs, in the summer of 1991. First thereâs Wayne (Will Patton), Janetâs boyfriend, who was expecting to have the summer alone with her. Later, thereâs Regina (Sophie Okonedo), who needs a place to stay after leaving a group thatâs part commune, part theater troupe and maybe part cult. Finally, thereâs the leader of that group, Avi (Elias Koteas), who takes an interest in Janet and her spiritual development.
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The Tell Tale Heart is a short story about a nameless narrator who commits murder. The narrator kills an old man who had a blue vulture like eye that made the narrator very uncomfortable. He plans the murder, executes it, and hides the body of the old man in the floorboard. The story falls under the gothic genre (Snodgrass, 2005).
đ¤ The Tell-Tale Heart Essay Prompts The Tell-Tale Heart Point of View Analysis. Poe wrote the novel from the first-person point of view. The protagonist tells the story of a murder while stating that his senses were destroyed by "the disease" but he's still sane. Think why this might be important. Is the mad person's narration reliable?
SOURCE: "A Feminist Rereading of Poe's 'The Tell-Tale Heart,'" Papers on Language and Literature, Vol. 24, No. 3, Summer, 1988, pp. 283-300. [In the following essay, Rajan contends that by using ...
Edgar Allan Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart" is a chilling and macabre short story that has captivated readers for generations. This psychological thriller delves into the mind of an unnamed narrator who becomes obsessed with the pale blue eye of an old man and ultimately commits a heinous act. The story is a fascinating exploration of guilt, madness, and the intricacies of the human mind, making ...
The narrator of "Tell-Tale Heart" thinks we must suspect him of madness again, but we will be dissuaded when we see for ourselves the methodical, patient way that he goes about the murder. For seven nights, he creeps to the old man 's bedroom door, opens the latch, puts an unlit lantern into the room and carefully puts his head in after. Then he opens the shutter of the lantern so that a ...
Critical Evaluation. There are two physical settings in Edgar Allan Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart": the house the narrator shares with the old man where the murder takes place and the location ...
The use of an unreliable first-person narrator in Edgar Allan Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart" serves a number of crucial functions. By telling this story from the viewpoint of a deranged major ...
Summary. First, a brief summary of 'The Tell-Tale Heart'. An unnamed narrator confesses that he has murdered an old man, apparently because of the old man's 'Evil Eye' which drove the narrator to kill him. He then describes how he crept into the old man's bedroom while he slept and stabbed him, dragging the corpse away and ...
January 1843. " The Tell-Tale Heart " is a short story by American writer Edgar Allan Poe, first published in 1843. It is told by an unnamed narrator who endeavors to convince the reader of the narrator's sanity while simultaneously describing a murder the narrator committed. The victim was an old man with a filmy pale blue "vulture-eye", as ...
Edgar Allan Poe. First published in 1843 in The Pioneer, "The Tell-Tale Heart" features many of the signature elements of an Edgar Allan Poe short story: a dark gothic setting, an unhinged narrator, and a tense plot. The unity of these elements creates an emotional response in readers that is further elicited through tone, word choice ...
"The Tell-Tale Heart" by Edgar Allan Poe is a renowned short story that delves into the mind of an unnamed narrator who murders an elderly man and is haunted by his own guilt. Published in 1843, this gothic horror tale explores various elements of formalist literary theory, including the use of imagery to develop symbols, the work's organic unity, and its interconnectedness.
The Tale That Is "The Tell-Tale Heart". "The Tell-Tale Heart" is one of the creations of Edgar Allan Poe, known as the man who pioneered detective and solve-a-crime stories (Meyers 1992). The said short story is about an anonymous narrator who seems to prove that he is sane yet exhibits a somewhat contrasting behavior for having ...
The short story The Tell-Tale Heart written by Edgar Allan Poe explores the experiences of a person who is overwhelmed by guilt. The author describes the emotions of a person who has committed a murder. His attempts to conceal the crime occupy a central place in this literary work. Overall, the writer shows that guilt deprives a person of his ...
Table of Contents. "The Tell-Tale Heart" by Edgar Allan Poe, first published in 1843, is a haunting short story not contained within a specific collection. It's a psychological thriller narrated by an unnamed character who insists on their sanity despite describing a meticulously planned murder.
Guilt and Madness in The Tell-tale Heart and Macbeth. 2 pages / 1005 words. There are stages for a human to lose control of themselves and descent into madness. Macbeth is a cautionary tale written by William Shakespeare in 1606. The Tell-Tale Heart is a short horror-fiction written by Edgar Allen Poe in 1843.
SOURCE: "The Tell-Tale Heart," in The Life and Works of Edgar Allan Poe: A Psycho-Analytic Interpretation, Imago Publishing Company, 1949, pp. 491-504. [In the following excerpt, Bonaparte offers ...
Contents. "The Tell-Tale Heart" is a story by Edgar Allan Poe written in 1843. It is about a murderer who tries to persuade his readers of his mental stability while telling the tale of the brutish act. He denies that he suffers from some mental illness and openly boasts of his cleverness and cunning behavior.
The analysis focuses on the main character and narrator of The Tell-Tale Heart. The analysis is conducted from a psychological approach. There are various forms of literary psychological criticism. In this paper, the author uses the Freudian psychological approach to analyse Poe's work. The narrator forms the basis of the tale.
A Tale of Darkness: "The Tell-Tale Heart" is a masterpiece of Gothic literature. Let's journey together through the macabre and mysterious elements that define this story and examine how Poe's writing style amplifies the sense of dread and horror. "The Tell-Tale Heart" Essay Example. Human experiences can be both unique and universal.
Thanks for exploring this SuperSummary Study Guide of "The Tell-Tale Heart" by Edgar Allan Poe. A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student ...
One nineteenth century critic, George Woodberry, simply called it a ''tale of conscience'' in his 1885 study, Edgar Allan Poe. Although ''The Tell-Tale Heart'' did not receive much ...
đ Essay description: Through the combination of the first-person POV and the claustrophobic environment of the old house, Poe manages to render the sense of...
Get a custom Essay on The Tell-Tale Heart (1843) He narrates his story by defending his sound mind although he has murdered an innocent old man. The narrator lives with the old man; however, he claims that his supposedly housemate has an evil blue eye that evokes fear in him (the narrator). At this point, the narrator is not trustworthy because ...
Annie Baker's debut feature film is a tiny masterpiece â a perfect coming-of-age story for both a misfit tween and her mother. By Alissa Wilkinson When you purchase a ticket for an ...
The Narrator in Tell Tale Heart. Edgar Allan Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart" is a classic short story that explores the theme of madness and obsession through the eyes of an unreliable narrator. The narrator's erratic behavior and distorted perception of reality make him a fascinating character to analyze. In this essay, we will examine the role of ...