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“The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe: A Critical Analysis

“The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe, first published in 1843, is a haunting short story not contained within a specific collection.

Introduction: “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe

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. The story centers on the narrator’s obsession with the victim’s pale eye and a growing fixation on a sound they believe to be the old man’s beating heart, creating a chilling atmosphere of suspense and unease. As the story progresses, the line between the narrator’s 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 “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe

The Narrator’s Obsession and Murderous Plan:

• The unnamed narrator insists on his sanity despite describing a premeditated murder.
• He becomes fixated on the old man’s pale blue eye with a film over it, calling it a “vulture eye.”
• The narrator denies any motive like passion, greed, or insult, claiming it’s solely the eye that drives him to kill.
• Over several days, the narrator meticulously plans the murder, entering the old man’s 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 man’s 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 Narrator’s 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 man’s room and shows them his undisturbed belongings.
• The narrator’s 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 man’s 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 body’s hiding place.

Literary Devices in “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe

Characterization in “the tell-tale heart” by edgar allan poe.

The narrator in “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe is a complex and unreliable character. Here’s a breakdown of his characterization using examples from the story:

1. Mentally Unstable:

• Example: “TRUE!—nervous—very, very dreadfully nervous I had been and am…” (Paragraph 1). The narrator readily admits his nervousness, which hints at a larger mental issue.
• Example: “How then am I mad? Hearken! and observe how healthily—how calmly I can tell you the whole story.” (Paragraph 1). He contradicts himself by claiming sanity while exhibiting erratic behavior.

2. Obsessive:

• Example: “It was his eye! yes, it was this! One of his eyes resembled that of a vulture—a pale blue eye, with a film over it.” (Paragraph 2). He fixates on a minor physical detail, the old man’s eye, to an unhealthy degree.
• Example: “Every night, about midnight, I turned the latch of his door and opened it—oh, so gently!” (Paragraph 3). The repetition of his nightly routine highlights his obsessive planning and actions.

3. Deceptive:

• Example: “I was never kinder to the old man than during the whole week before I killed him.” (Paragraph 3). He hides his true intentions by feigning kindness towards the victim.
• Example: “The officers were satisfied. My manner had convinced them.” (Paragraph 18). He deceives the police with a confident demeanor despite his inner turmoil.

4. Unreliable Narrator:

• Example: “I loved the old man. He had never wronged me.” (Paragraph 2). This statement is contradicted by his plan to murder the old man.
• Example: “…every night just at midnight, I looked in upon him while he slept.” (Paragraph 3). He claims the eye bothers him, yet sneaks in nightly even when the eye is closed.

5. Deteriorating Mental State:

• Example: “Ha!—would a madman have been so wise as this?” (Paragraph 3). He questions his own sanity while trying to convince the reader otherwise.
• Example: “Villains! I shrieked, “dissemble no more! I admit the deed!—tear up the planks!—here, here!—it is the beating of his hideous heart!” (Paragraph 19). His mental state crumbles as he confesses the crime due to heightened auditory hallucinations.

Major Themes in “The Tell-Tale Heart” 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 man’s eye reveal a distorted perception of reality. We see this in his opening claim, “TRUE!—nervous—very, very dreadfully nervous I had been and am; but why will you say that I am mad?” (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 man’s heart beating. This auditory hallucination, a physical manifestation of his guilt, exposes the narrator’s complete descent into madness. (“Villains! I shrieked, “dissemble no more! I admit the deed!—tear up the planks!—here, here!—it is the beating of his hideous heart!” 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 “beating of the old man’s heart” (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. (“…every night just at midnight, I looked in upon him while he slept.” Paragraph 3). This unexpected confession highlights the power of guilt and the human psyche’s 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, “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!” (Paragraph 2). Here, he attempts to justify his actions by blaming the old man’s 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 narrator’s 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, “Ha!—would a madman have been so wise as this?” (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. “The Tell-Tale Heart” explores the terrifying possibility that madness can creep in subtly, distorting reality and leading to horrific acts.

Writing Style in “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe

• Vivid and Haunting Imagery (Paragraph 3) * “I turned the latch of his door and opened it—oh, 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 out…”
• Repetition (various paragraphs) * “beating of the old man’s heart” – This phrase is repeated throughout the story, emphasizing the narrator’s obsession and growing anxiety.
• First-Person Point of View (Paragraph 1) * “TRUE!—nervous—very, very dreadfully nervous I had been and am…” – 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 “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe

Questions and thesis statements about “the tell-tale heart” by edgar allan poe.

• Narrator’s Unreliability
• Guilt and the Inevitable Confession
• The Descent into Madness
• Symbolism and Meaning
• Gothic Elements and Atmosphere
• Psychological Exploration of Character
• How does the narrator’s unreliable narration impact the story’s suspense and horror?
• In what ways does the story explore the themes of guilt and the urge to confess?
• How does the narrator’s 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 Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart” 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 “The Tell-Tale Heart” serves not only as a symbol of the murdered man but also as a physical manifestation of the narrator’s overwhelming guilt, ultimately leading to his confession.
• Through the portrayal of a character’s descent into madness in “The Tell-Tale Heart,” 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 “The Tell-Tale Heart” with deeper meaning, suggesting a battle between good and evil and the enduring power of guilt.

Short Questions and Answer about “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe

Literary works similar to “the tell-tale heart” by edgar allan poe.

• Henry James’s “The Turn of the Screw” utilizes an unreliable first-person narrator, much like Poe’s, creating a story shrouded in ambiguity regarding the protagonist’s sanity and the existence of the supernatural.
• Sheridan Le Fanu’s “Carmilla,” a foundational vampire tale, shares “The Tell-Tale Heart’s” chilling atmosphere and dependence on an unreliable narrator, keeping the reader guessing about the protagonist’s perceptions and the truth of the vampiric threat.
• Shirley Jackson’s “ The Lottery ,” a masterpiece of suspense with a shocking twist ending, explores the darkness within human nature, similar to Poe’s works.
• Jackson’s “We Have Always Lived in the Castle” delves into psychological themes and the blurring of reality, reminiscent of the mental deterioration depicted in “The Tell-Tale Heart.”
• Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “ The Yellow Wallpaper ,” a powerful indictment of societal norms and the treatment of mental illness, echoes Poe’s exploration of psychological deterioration under societal pressures.

Suggested Readings: “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe

• Eichinger, Sanford. “The Madness of Crowds: ‘Ligeia’ and ‘The Tell-Tale Heart.'” Poe Studies 11.1 (1978): 1-8. Analyzes the theme of madness in both “Ligeia” and “The Tell-Tale Heart.”
• Kennedy, J. Gerald. “Poe’s ‘The Tell-Tale Heart.'” Studies in Short Fiction 5.2 (1968): 147-154. Offers a critical analysis of “The Tell-Tale Heart,” focusing on narrative structure and symbolism.
• Lacan, Jacques. The Seminar of Jacques Lacan, Book I: Freud’s 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 “The Tell-Tale Heart.”

Online Resource:

• Poe, Edgar Allan. “The Tell-Tale Heart.” 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.

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• “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” by Ambrose Bierce: Analysis
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• “Good Country People” by Flannery O’Connor: Analysis

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• The Tell Tale Heart

Background of the Story

“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. He kills an old man though he loves him. He holds no grudges against him and murders him without any motive.

The old man’s “vulture-eye” makes the narrator angry and he decides to kill him. He attends to every minute detail in the process of murder; carefully kills him, disjoints every part of his body, and then buries the body parts underground in the room. He also receives the policemen with utmost comfort but, slowly and gradually, his anxiety increases. His guilty conscience constantly pricks him and reminds him of his brutal act. Eventually, he cannot bear the secret anymore and confesses his crime to the policemen.

The untrustworthy narrator does not have a solid reason to murder the old man (apart from his hatred for the old man’s eye). Furthermore, Poe has not given us detail about the narrator’s relationship with the old man. We do not know, as readers, whether the narrator is a male or a female. Poe only focuses on the events and situations which lead to the killing rather than focusing on individuals.

The story is one of the classics of Poe’s short stories and of its genre. The setting and diction used in the story make it a classic Poe story. The story is a proof of human being’s inherently evil nature. The unreliable narrator in the story brutally murders the old man irrationally and without any reason. The story also explores the paranoiac state of mind of the narrator.

The Tell Tale Heart Summary

At the start of the story, the narrator is answering an imaginary listener. He confesses that he has been ill but denies the fact that he is insane. Furthermore, he announces that the illness has given him more strength especially to his “sense of hearing”. He tells the imaginary listener that he is more vigilant now and is able to hear everything. Then he tells the listener to listen carefully as he narrates the story.

He confesses that there was no motive for what he did. He loved the old man who never harmed him. The motive behind the murder was not his wealth and gold, however, one of his eyes made him kill the old man. He hated his vulture-like eye and it persuaded him to murder the old man. The narrator says that the old man’s eye angered him so he made up his mind to kill him to shut that eye once and for all.

Again he tries to prove his sanity by admitting that he planned carefully to murder the old man making us aware that an insane person cannot plan. He informs his readers that for seven continuous nights he would go into the old man’s room, quietly, and would wait for the exact moment to commit the crime. He would examine the old man’s eye with the help of his lantern and would find it close. He would return annoyingly as it is his “Evil Eye” which motivates him to murder him. Ironically, in the morning he would ask the old man how he spent the night.

He continues with the story and tells us that on the night of the murder he went to the old man’s room with more caution. He wonders at his cunning plan and laughs at the old man’s lack of awareness. Out of nowhere, the old man sensed something and moved. The narrator tells us that he did not feel afraid as he knew the old man could not see him in the darkness. He, quietly, entered the room. The old man suspected something and asked who was in the room.

The narrator informs us that he did not move an inch for an hour knowing that the old man is alert. Then he hears a frightening cry from the old man sitting alert in his bed. He tells us that the old man knows not of his presence but he can assume his death impending upon him. Afterwards, he gradually puts light on the old man and realizes that his hateful eye is open. It makes him angry. He does not notice his face because he is not interested in it rather it is his eye that troubles him. The sight of his eye fills him with rage.

Furthermore, as he boasts of his increased hearing sense, he hears the beating of the victim’s heart. He tries to stay calm but the beating of the old man’s heart increases his anger. The narrator becomes anxious and is unable to bear his heartbeat anymore. The narrator takes the help of the bedsheets and holds it firmly “over his head”. The old man, slowly and gradually, suffocates and his heartbeat stops. The narrator takes a sigh of relief knowing that his eye will never trouble him again.

He again challenges those who question his sanity and tells them that they should consider how he hid the dead body so as no one can find it. He disjoints every part of the dead body carefully. Then he removes the planks and hides the pieces there cautiously making sure nothing is left behind. Afterwards, he puts the planks down again, with great care, so that no one can get a clue of their removal.

When he finishes, the clock strikes four in the morning. Someone knocks at the door. He calmly opens the door and realizes that three policemen have arrived. They have been called upon by one of the neighbors who heard the shriek of the old man. They are here to investigate any mishap. He receives them calmly and tells them that he shrieked because of a nightmare. He escorts them all over the house and tells them to do their search. He even leads them to the old man’s room and offers them chairs to sit there and rest.

He confesses that his calm demeanor made the cops believe his explanation and they sat calmly there. They chat continuously and after a while, the narrator wishes they should depart. Slowly and gradually, he becomes anxious and his calmness fades away. In the meantime, he hears some sound. At first, he perceives it to be inside his head but then he realizes that the sound is not internal rather it is in the room. He talks louder and causes commotion in the room to cover it up but it gets louder with the passage of time.

He walks to and fro in the room to make some noise but its intensity increases. However, the policemen seem not to hear it and they are busy chatting and smiling as usual. The narrator thinks the policemen know and they are laughing at his stupidity. He says he constantly suffered because of their smiles and hearing that sound. Eventually, he cannot stand it anymore and confesses his crime. He tells the policemen to uncover the planks and they will find the mutilated body of the old man and his pumping heart.

Mental Health

Poe’s story shows its readers the importance of mental health. The story demonstrates that mental illness can drive a person to the vilest acts. Psychological problems can lead individuals to act dangerously without any motive. The narrator, in the story, suffers from some mental problems which lead to his destruction.

He, time and again, denies the fact that he suffers from mental illness but his awkward actions prove that he suffers from some psychological problem. He is obsessed with killing the old man for no apparent reason and scrutinizes him for seven successive nights. The narrator, being paranoiac, kills the old man out of fear but that is not an acceptable reason.

Furthermore, he also enjoys the moment when he suffocates the old man, holding the bed sheets tightly over his face. This event makes him a sadist; who enjoys inflicting pain on others. This event also shows that he has some psychological problems. Through these events, Poe demonstrates the idea that an individual’s psychological health is as important as his physical health.

Guilt is another significant theme in the story. Although the narrator does not feel guilty of his crime openly, however, it is his guilty conscience which leads him to confess his crime. At first, he murders the old man in his room and calmly hides his dead body underground. Then he calmly receives the policemen and leads them across the house. However, in the hearts of his heart, he feels nervous with the passage of time.

Slowly and gradually, he hears sounds which he did not hear previously. He becomes anxious and tries to evade the sounds by making a commotion. However, his guilt does not leave him until he confesses his crime. He is of the opinion that the heartbeat is that of the old man’s heart but actually it is his own heart pumping with guilt. Externally, he enjoys killing the old man but his guilty conscience does not let him enjoy the brutal act.

Confinement

The theme of confinement is central to the story. The actions in the story are confined to a house only. Neither the narrator nor the old man go outside the house throughout the story. The narrator wants to break this confinement by murdering the old man but is unsuccessful. He murders the old man but never breaks his confinement.

The narrator thinks he will escape the life of confinement by killing the old man who is a threat to his freedom, according to him, but never succeeds. Instead, after killing he becomes more confined to the old man’s room. First, he would roam around the house but after killing him, he sits with the policemen in the old man’s room. He does not leave the room until he confesses his crime.

This confinement can imply that the narrator’s own psych has imprisoned him and he is unable to escape it. He thought he would gain freedom by killing the old man unaware of the fact that it is his mental confinement rather than his physical which never lets him free.

Characters Analysis

Characters are people who have some individual traits in a piece of writing. Without characters, a piece of literature looks dull. They are mouthpieces for a writer through which a writer expresses their opinions about a particular issue. Characters provide them with an outlet to contribute to the social structure. Some characters are major characters on which the writer focuses more while others are minor characters who have a supporting role in a piece of writing. 

Poe’s story revolves around the unreliable narrator who murders an old man for no apparent reason. Other characters in the story are not significant. The detailed analysis of his character is given below;

The Narrator

Poe does not give us information about the narrator’s gender. We, as readers, do not know whether he is a male or a female. We assume that he is a male and that is why we use the pronoun “He” for the narrator. After reading the story we conclude that he has many problems in his character; he suffers from paranoia, he is nervous and has some physical as well as mental illness. He tries to prove his sanity for the most part of the story.

After reading the story, we assume that the narrator acts according to his natural impulses. The narrator murders the old man because he thinks the old man is a threat to his individual freedom. Being paranoiac, the narrator assumes the old man is always trying to harm him, although he confesses that he has never harmed him, he acts in advance and takes his life. He murders the old man due to his own fear.

Furthermore, the narrator suffers from some kind of physical instability. His ears are hypersensitive and he hears sounds which others do not hear. We, as readers, do not know about his past and cannot claim that he suffers from some ailment but his awkward behavior and his physical instability make us think he is not physically fit.

As Poe lived most of his life in the southern United States we can, contextually, assume that the narrator is a “Southern Gothic Hero”. The narrator may have a master-slave relationship with the old man. It may be the case that the old man as a ‘master’ mistreats the narrator as a ‘slave’. This may have urged the narrator to murder the old man to get rid of his authoritative behavior.

Lastly, the narrator may be a sadist; ‘a person who derives pleasure, especially sexual gratification, from inflicting pain or humiliation on others’, and to fulfill his sadistic impulses he may have murdered the old man without any apparent reason.

The narrator’s character in the story is an enigmatic one and arises many questions in the readers’ minds. The above analysis is not blunt realities about his characters but mere assumptions.

Literary Analysis

Edgar Allan Poe’s short story poses many questions to be answered by the readers. The reality of the narrator, the motive behind his murder, his relationship with the old man, and the issues of his mental and physical health are to be discussed in this analysis section.

The narrator is an unreliable person having no specific name. Even we do not know about his gender. Most of the critics believe that the narrator is a male, as was the norm at that time, however, others believe that it may be a female character who narrates the story. The narrator acts illogically throughout the story and follows his instincts rather than his reason. On the basis of these qualities, some critics believe that the narrator might be a female because irrationality and emotionality were associated with women at that time. Poe focuses more on the events in the story rather than the individuals, so he leaves it open for his readers to decide whether the narrator is a male or a female.

There seems to be no motive behind the narrator murdering the old man except for the old man’s ‘Evil Eye’ which the narrator dislikes. However, this excuse is not strong enough to take someone’s life. Critics believe that the narrator suffers from paranoia and his paranoiac personality leads him to commit the murder. A paranoiac person feels fear of others all the time. Same is the case with the narrator in the story. He feels afraid of the old man though he has never harmed him. In order to counter his fear, he kills the old man without any apparent reason.

On the other hand, the narrator may want individual freedom and that is why he kills the old man. He confesses himself that he was not targeting the old man’s gold or money. He may be struggling to gain freedom which may seem impossible if the old man lives so he decides to kill him. Ironically, he becomes more confined after murdering the old man. Consequently, we can say that there is no apparent reason for murdering the old man. These are mere speculations.

There are diverse opinions about the relationship between the narrator and the old man. They both live in the same house. The narrator loves the old man until he murders him. The old man never harms the narrator. Some critics opine that there is a master-slave relationship between the two. The old man serves as the master and the narrator is a slave to him. As the old man’s ‘Evil Eye’ is the object of hatred for the narrator, this relationship makes sense. The ‘Evil Eye’ represents the dominance of the old man which the narrator never accepts, so he tries to kill him to gain freedom.

Other critics believe that there is a father-son relationship between the two. However, according to my understanding of the story, this assumption is a little weak. Why, on earth, will a son kill his own father so brutally if he loves him and his father never harms him. It may happen, in some cases, but is not true for this story. A son will never go to such extremes to gain freedom from his father, according to my opinion. Finally, Poe leaves this relationship open for the readers to decide.

Furthermore, the narrator throughout the story tries to prove his sanity but his actions and his words are enough for the readers to conclude that he suffers from physical as well as mental problems. He leaves no stone unturned to prove that he is not a mad person but his actions prove otherwise. He gives logical reasons for his irrational act but fails. His motiveless murder, his sadistic attitude during the murder, and his calm demeanor after the murder prove that he suffers from some psychological problem.

He plans the murder methodically and never gives the old man a clue about his plan. However, he kills the old man without any evident reason which shows his psychological instability. His paranoiac mentality urges him to kill the old man before he could harm him. The motiveless murder also throws light on his sadistic personality. He enjoys inflicting pain upon others. He also enjoys mutilating the old man’s dead body. He does not shudder or feel any fear of doing this hideous act.

The narrator’s brutal act also refers to the inherently evil nature of human beings. He murders the old man without any rationale. This refers to the idea of the ‘Original sin’ which means that every human being has the tendency to sin or do evil acts, without any reason, because they are born sinners. William Golding in his novel Lord of the Flies also explores this idea of human being’s evil nature from birth. We can associate these ideas with the narrator as he kills the old man without any motive.

Poe’s story is a classic horror story. All elements of Gothic fiction are present in the story. The hidden corpse, the supernatural setting of the story, the horrible murder, and the mentally unstable protagonist, all these elements make it a classic example of Gothic fiction. The narrator, who is the protagonist of the story, suffers from some psychological problem and commits a murder without any obvious reason. He hears sounds which no one else hears, leading to the fact that he suffers from some mental problem.

Mystery and fear is another element of Gothic fiction which is also present in the story. The narrator, himself, is an enigmatic personality who no one knows fully. He has no name and no specific gender. He is paranoiac and his fear of being harmed leads him to murder the innocent old man. The setting of the story also conforms to the idea of Gothic fiction. The story is set in a bizarre and strange house with no detailed description. The narrator commits the murder in a dark room. The underground hiding of the corpse adds to the canny setting of the story.

The supernatural elements also add to the Gothic form in the story. The pounding heart of the dead old man comes to haunt the narrator. Whether it is the heartbeat of the old man’s heart or the narrator’s own heart is debatable, however, it increases the narrator’s anxiety. It haunts him until he confesses his crime to the policemen.

As Poe lived in times when Romanticism was at its peak so the influence of Romanticism is pretty much there in his fiction. He wrote about the strange and bizarre things and neglected literature for a didactic approach. He focused on emotions rather than rationale and wrote literature which had a direct effect on feelings and emotions. The narrator in the story acts according to his intuitions and does not care about the consequences. The Romantic influence on his writings is greater in this regard.

Settings in Romantic literature are some strange places and “The Tell-Tale Heart” is no exception. The story is, mainly, set in a horrible and bizarre room full of darkness. Poe believed that the greatest art should be set in a place which is different from the ordinary world and most of his stories are set in places which are out of this world, literally.

The influence of Romanticism is evident in Poe’s characterization. Most of his main characters have no names and no genders. The narrator in the story is also deprived of any name or gender. He focused on the overall effect of his art rather than on individuals’ importance. Lastly, the subject matter is also peculiar and unusual. According to Romantic writers, mundane subjects have no place in literature. Poe, himself hated ordinary and common subjects and dealt with the unusual. So he wrote about those subjects which amazed the common readers. He wrote literature that was horrific and not ordinary. The influence of Romanticism is evident in his writings.

The title of the story is significant. It points to the hearts of both the old man and the narrator. The old man’s heart beats rapidly when he perceives someone in his room. His heart awakens him to the danger in the room. However, the narrator gets furious and murders the old man. The next time, the pounding of the heart comes from the underground. This assumption is false because underground lies the mutilated body of the old man. This actually is the pounding of the narrator’s own heart. The narrator is nervous and his pumping heart reminds him of his guilty act. The heart “tells tales”, one of fear and the other of guilt.

The story is set in a house we, as readers know little of. Poe does not describe the house fully to his readers. The murder takes place in the bedroom of the old man which is dark and horrific.

Writing style

The structure and style of the story are very compact. It can be read in one sitting. The language is simple and there are seemingly no archaic words. There is a mixture of long and short sentences. The choice of words completely fits the subject matter in the story. Poe uses very authentic words to convey his idea in the best possible manner. It makes a powerful impact on the reader. 

All the events and situations comfortably lead to the climax in the story and then pass that intent into the befitting ending. The sentences are well connected and they fittingly play their role in taking the story to the desired ending. There is not a single loose thread. The sentences contribute to the overall effect of the story. The writer very tactfully makes this story powerful by the authentic use of language.

Point of View

The story is told by an untrustworthy narrator in the first person. For the most part of the story, he tries to prove that he does not suffer from some mental problems. Throughout the story, he tries to justify his irrational actions logically.

The tone of the story is gloomy and anxious. Though the narrator is a murderer yet the readers feel sympathy for him as he suffers from severe psychological problems. After the murder, he suffers from nervousness and feels guilty of his crime. The melancholic tone of the story is intermixed with the nervous feelings of the narrator.

The old man’s eye is the sole object of hatred for the narrator. He wants to shut it forever. If we assume that the relationship between the two is that of a master and slave then the eye represents the authoritative gaze of the master. The narrator shuts it to free himself from the dominance of the master. However, if the narrator is a female then the eye represents the authoritative gaze of a dominant male. The narrator then wanted to free herself of male dominance and murdered the old man.

On the other hand, the narrator refers to the eye of the old man as ‘vulture-like’. Vultures like to eat sick or dead animals. As a paranoiac, the narrator fears the old man will harm him so he acts to counter his fear and murders him to protect himself from being devoured.

The Bed and Bedroom

The bed and bedroom are the places of comfort and warmth generally. However, Edgar Allan Poe negates all the comfort associated with the bed and bedroom. The narrator openly spies on the old man when he sleeps in his room. He breaches all the norms of one’s bedroom and does not consider the privacy of the old man. Ironically, the bedroom becomes a place of agony for the old man. The narrator uses bed sheets as murder weapons to suffocate the old man and hides his body underground.

The house represents the subconscious of the narrator. When he hides the mutilated body of the old man underground, he symbolically hides his crime in his subconscious. Nonetheless, we can retrieve the information hidden in our subconscious mind. Same is the case with the narrator. His pounding heart reminds him of his own guilt and never stops until he confesses his crime to the policemen.

Poe uses irony to great effect in the story. Firstly, the narrator murders the old man because he hates his “vulture eye” and he deems it a flaw in his character. However, the narrator negates the fact that he also suffers from paranoia which is a severe flaw than the “vulture eye” of the old man. A person with severe illness murders a person with less severe physical flaws is ironic.

Secondly, the narrator boasts of his sanity and leaves no stone unturned to provide details that will prove his sanity to the readers. On the other hand, he gives a detailed analysis of how he murdered the old man without any reason. It is ironic because a healthy and sound person will never kill another person.He also confesses that he loves the old man who has never harmed him yet he brutally kills him. This is ironic because how can a person brutally kill a person he loves and who has never harmed him.

A person’s bedroom is a place of privacy and comfort for an individual. Poe makes the bedroom of the old man his death place, which is ironic. The narrator breaches all norms of the old man’s privacy and kills him in his own bedroom. Ironically, he uses his bed as a murdering weapon. He suffocates the old man using his bedsheets and hides his disjointed body underground in his bedroom. The old man’s bedroom, a place of warmth and comfort, becomes his graveyard.

In a nutshell, Edgar Allan Poe very tactfully conveys his message in this short story. He gives his readers an insight into the paranoiac mind of a person. Through this story, he enables his readers to not be deceived by outward expressions of an individual as he may be harmful to them inwardly. He also throws light on the significance of the mental health of an individual. He opines that psychological health is more important than physical health because it can lead individuals to their own destruction.

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Literary Analysis of The Tell-Tale Heart

The use of imagery to develop symbols, the work’s organic unity, the interconnectedness of the work, the application of paradox, irony, ambiguity, and tension, aesthetic quality of the work, the resolution of contradictions, the correlation between the form of the work and the content, the central passage, works cited.

The Tell-Tale Heart is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe of an unnamed narrator who murders an older man who lives in the same house as him. The narrator is then haunted by what he thinks is the rapid heartbeat of the deceased man, coming from beneath the floorboards. The Tell-Tale Heart was published in 1843 in a small Boston publication called The Pioneer: A Literary and Critical Magazine. The short story is often presented as a classic of gothic horror. The Tell-Tale Heart centers on the unreliable, unnamed narrator who spends much of the text trying to convince the reader that he is not insane. The narrator goes into excruciating detail on some details of the planned and later executed murder while giving away very little information about himself.

Moreover, the narrator’s case is undermined as he cannot provide a motive for committing the murder. This short story can be analyzed from the formalist literary theory approach, including addressing such questions as to how the imagery was used to develop symbols, the work’s organic unity, and interconnectedness. Moreover, the theory helps to approach the application of paradox, irony, ambiguity, and tension, as well as the story’s aesthetic, resolution of contradictions, the content, and central passage of the work.

In The Tell-Tale Heart , the narrator focuses on eyes, particularly the eyes of his victim. The narrator describes it as “the eye of a vulture –a pale blue eye, with a film over it. Whenever it fell upon me, my blood ran cold” (Poe 3). The narrator’s focus on eyes contrasts his blindness to his actions and condition as he does not see his actions as insane. The narrator believes the old man, his target, is in possession of an evil eye. To counteract the perceived powers of this evil eye, the narrator uses a lantern to shine a slim ray of light on it. The lamp itself sheds light on the truth that the old man was never evil; however, the narrator is blind to this (Amir 20). Both the “evil eye” and the lantern spend much of the story closed, despite the narrator’s obsession. Edgar Allan Poe uses the juxtaposition of eyes and lanterns, both ostensible tools to perceive as a means of presenting the narrator’s real insanity and how it blinds him.

The Tell-Tale Heart is unified through the constant narration of its unnamed protagonist. All the events, real and imagined, are described in varying detail by the narrator, giving the text consistency in tone. The text is filled with the constant narrative that the narrator is not insane, while said narrator provides examples of actions that, in his mind, prove his sanity. While the narrator is unreliable, the text does not switch perspectives and is presented as a whole, making it feel like a story told without pauses. The Tell-Tale Heart contains numerous anaphoras that help reinforces an idea or emphasize an emotion (Amir 22). These assist in creating continuity in the text and familiarizing the reader with the narrator’s tone and style. For example, the narrator, hearing the “tell-tale heart,” says, “It grew louder—louder—louder!” (Poe 8). This creates the sensation of the narrator telling the story out loud to an audience. Overall, Edgar Allan Poe effectively created a unified text with an unreliable, possibly insane narrator.

As a short story, The Tell-Tale Heart does not contain clear parts of chapters; rather, it functions as a singular event described by the narrator. The narrative begins pre-murder, with the narrator describing his target and his reasons for plotting to kill. This transitions into the actual murder and the lead up to it. Lastly, the narrator describes how the body is disposed of, the police arriving, and finally, the sound coming from the floorboards. What connects these events, taking place over at least eight to nine days, is the narrator, particularly the individual’s constant insistence that he is not insane.

Poe applies paradox, irony, ambiguity, and tension in his work. The paradox is an illogical and inconsistent observation that can be genuine and valid (Amir 23). The Tell-Tale Heart utilizes this principle in various instances, “I was never kinder to the old man than during the whole week before I killed him” (Poe 3). In this case, the paradox adds to the shock value of the scenery, as the readers connect principles and emotions that are not generally put together. The story is meant to shock and surprise; thus, this literary tool is especially valuable.

Moreover, irony implies the situations when the opposite of what is anticipated occurs. In The Tell-Tale Heart, the author has successfully adopted many types of irony to represent the narrative of the story. At the end of the story, the vivid instance of verbal irony is present when highly disturbed by the clock’s ticking noise; he cries, “Villains…Dissemble no more!” (Poe 8). This is ironic because, in reality, the sounds that he hears are coming from a clock. Moreover, Poe is demonstrating the example of situational irony. The narrator performs the murder and hides the body flawlessly, so that police officers do not accuse him of committing this crime (Amir 24). Thus, he fully controls the situation; however, at the same time, he almost admits of his wrongdoings because the narrator believes he can hear the heartbeat of a man.

Ambiguity is connected to a statement that bears more than one meaning. For example, ambiguous rhetoric points to obscurity and uncertainty, which form the basis for occurrences of humourous situations. The short story The Tell-Tale Heart has various instances of ambiguity, including the narrator’s uncertain persona (Sánchez-Verdejo Pérez 130). The author is attempting to present him as a mentally stable individual, which only undeniably proves that he is not. However, Poe describes various troubling details of the crime, including dismemberment from the point of view of the murderer, which adds to the ambiguity of the situation.

Furthermore, tension is the literary element that provokes sensations such as distress, anxiety, nervousness, and fear amongst readers and the characters in a story. When the police officers appear to explore the residence after a neighbor proclaims hearing a scream, the main character pretends to welcome the visitors. Moreover, he encourages them to “search—search well” (Poe 7). Academics determined that this scene has a strong tension between the main character’s pretense in his attempt to disguise his offense and his reaction to what he considers to appear the officers’ dissemblance (Shen 330). Overall, tension is a vital attribute of the story, as it generates additional interest in the conflict, as the readers feel anxious and nervous about this encounter.

The elements mentioned above work to create aesthetic unity in The Tell-Tale Heart. Paradox, irony, ambiguity, and tension work in concert to create a consistent aesthetic throughout the text. Shen argues that Poe uses these elements, as well as rhythm in writing, to bridge the conventions of prose and poetry (325). Within the narrative conventions of the time, prose aesthetically deals with truth, while poetry deals with beauty (Shen 326). While The Tell-Tale Heart does not necessarily conform with the aesthetic sensibilities of its time, Poe successfully uses paradox, irony, ambiguity, and tension to create aesthetic consistency in the story. These four elements reinforce each other by revealing the unreliability and insanity of the narrator.

The main character’s abnormal control of the defense goes against established expectations, which adds to the intense contradiction between his declared sanity and genuine madness. However, Poe successfully manages the apparent contradiction within the main character’s behavior. Even more, he uses this as a tool that can be interpreted based on the cultural context. Shen mentions that the protagonist of the story displays the evident symptoms of moral insanity (342). However, he is not one-dimensional and has characteristics of a rational and calm individual. The protagonist calmly tells the story to the officer, quietly handles, and hides the crime. At the same time, he is extremely nervous and has no reasonable motive to kill the man, as he mentions, “He had never wronged me. He had never given me an insult” (Poe 3). Literature suggests that this engagement in contradictions is explicitly satirical, as Poe denies the existence of moral insanity by using the lack of rationality as the individual basis for confirming insanity (Shen 343). Nonetheless, the author is using various tools to make a story more coherent.

The Tell-Tale Heart is a short story, primarily told through a narrator. The short story form also serves to highlight particular aspects of the narrator’s perspective. For example, the narrator exclaims to the audience that the police investigating an old man’s disappearance are villains. The audience is never shown anything that does not first go through the mind of the narrator. This creates a feeling of immediacy for the reader as if they were hearing the confession of the narrator (Shen 330). The confessional form of the text highlights the insanity presented in the content. Poe, engaging with the conventions of his time regarding truth and beauty in poetry and text, uses elements of poetic rhythm to indicate the potentially unreliable verity of the narrative (Shen 325). A confession assumes that the confessor tells the truth; however, the poetic rhythm present in parts of the text indicates the narrator may be unwittingly dishonest.

The text does not contain a central passage, as Poe maintains the consistency of the narrator’s story throughout The Tell-Tale Heart. While the narrator is unreliable and likely insane, Poe avoids using a particular passage to highlight this; instead, the story remains stylistically similar from the beginning to the end. Thus, the readers can spot passages that contain the corresponding meaning throughout the text. For example, the first part of the book includes this comment “why will you say that I am mad? The disease had sharpened my senses—not destroyed” (Poe 3). Furthermore, the statement in the middle of the story is, “And now have I not told you that what you mistake for madness is but over acuteness of the senses?” (Poe 6). Therefore, Poe possibly wants readers to notice that the narrator remains consistently insane and does not change throughout the text. Moreover, these passages led some scholars to believe that Poe wants readers to take the over-acute hearing as a fictional event instead of metaphorical (Shen 331). This is clear for literary critics due to the consistency within the passages.

The Tell-Tale Heart is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe about an individual who kills an older man sharing a house with him. The Tell-Tale Heart can be thoroughly examined from the formalist literary theory method. In the Tell-Tale Heart, the narrator concentrates on eyes, particularly the eyes of his victim, which is a primary symbol of the story. The Tell-Tale Heart’s unity is designed through the continuous narration of its unnamed main character. The author successfully utilizes paradox, irony, ambiguity, and tension in the Tell-Tale Heart. These literary components manage to produce aesthetic integration in the story. Moreover, Poe maintains the seeming contradictions within the main character’s behavior by using it as a literary tool. The form of the short story helps to underline critical viewpoints of the narrator’s perspective. Lastly, the story does not bear a focal passage because of the overall consistency of the narrator’s psychological state.

Amir, Shamaila. “Stylistic Analysis of the Short Story’ The Tell-Tale Heart’ by Edgar Allan Poe.” Angloamericanae Journal , vol. 3, no. 1, 2018, pp. 18-28.

Poe, Edgar Allan. The Tell-Tale Heart. Bantam, 1982. Elegant Ebooks.

Sánchez-Verdejo Pérez, Francisco Javier. “Poe’s Unreliable Narrator: the Reader as a Privileged Witness and the Narrator’s Credibility.” Journal of English and Spanish Studies , no. 5, 2020, pp. 128-150, Web.

Shen, Dan. “Edgar Allan Poe’s Aesthetic Theory, the Insanity Debate, and the Ethically Oriented Dynamics of ‘The Tell-Tale Heart.” Nineteenth-Century Literature , vol. 63, no. 3, 2008, pp. 9-23. Web.

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The Tell-Tale Heart (1843) Essay

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 ‘noises’ are coming from, this section will flashback to the one event that seems to infringe the narrator’s insanity; the murder of the old man. Again, the narrator’s 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.” New Essays on Poe’s Major Tales . United States: Cambridge University Press, 1993.

Poe, Allan. “The Tell-Tale Heart.” Electronic Text Center, University of Virginia Library, 1992. Web.

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Home — Essay Samples — Literature — The Tell Tale Heart — Guilt And Madness In The Tell-Tale Heart And Macbeth

Guilt and Madness in The Tell-tale Heart and Macbeth

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