Tell Tale Heart Suspense

Edgar Allan Poe writes dark stories filled with horror. He sets his story using suspense and eerie settings which bring his story to life. In one of Poe’s works The Raven the setting is a chamber in a house at midnight. In The Cask of Amontillado the setting is an underground catacomb. Edgar Allan Poe plays with emotions and leaves readers on the edge of their seat. In the story, The Tell Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe setting and plot, the use of suspense, and use of characters that help to strengthen the short story.

Poe’s play on suspense strengthens the dramatic effect of the story. Suspense is shown through Poe’s writing and certain characters quotes and actions. In paragraph fifteen, the murderer says “My head hurt and there was a strange

sound in my ears. I talked more, and faster. The sound became clearer and still they sat and talked” (Poe). The murderer starts to hear a thumping noise come from where he killed the man. The murderer began to feel uneasy and wants the police officers to leave. The murderer although notices the officers did not act any different and act as if they hear no sound. In the quote from paragraph fifteen, suspense is used because the murderer is hearing strange noises where he believes are coming from the same room where he hid the man that he just killed. The murder realizes he is the only one hearing this noise. This quote makes readers start to wonder if this sound is real or all inside the killer's head. Uncertainty is also built because readers, believe the man upstairs is dead. Readers wonder what could possibly be making this noise in this barren house. Another quote showing tension is again shown in paragraph sixteen, “Suddenly I knew that the sound was not in my ears, it was not just inside my head. At that moment I must have become quite white. I talked still faster and louder. And the sound, too, became louder” (Poe). “Louder it became” and “Louder” (Poe). Readers now learn that the murderer is not the only one hearing this noise. The murderer is trying to cover up the sound. In the closing paragraph another quote conveys suspense, “No! They heard! I was certain of it. They knew! Now it was they who were playing a game with me..” “suddenly I could bear it no longer” (Poe). The guilt of the murderer is starting to bear on him. The murderer can no longer take the smiles of the officers. Readers are unsure of what the murderer's guilt will make him do.
Poe uses setting and imagery to intensify and add depth to his story.

The Tell Tale Heart is set in an old house of an elder. Imagery is shown throughout the story. One of the first quotes that shows an example of imagery is, “The darkness is his room was thick and black” (Poe). Poe is using imagery to intensify this chilling setting of the old man's bedroom. Poe uses words like thick so readers can envision just how dark the room is. Another scene about the old man’s bedroom is set by Poe when the deranged man is quoted saying “Every night about twelve o’clock I slowly opened his door. And when the door was opened wide enough I put my hand in, and then my head. In my hand I held a light covered over with a cloth so that no light showed” (Poe). Poe is again trying to emphasize the darkness of the room. The room is often described as dark such as in the quote, “In the quiet night, in the dark silence of the bedroom.. “ (Poe) The author really wants readers to picture the menacing feel of the room. The hands of a clock move more quickly than did my hand” (Poe). From this quote, readers can picture the murderer sneaking into the old man’s room in the late hours of the night. The murderer describes the old man “his eye was like the eye of a vulture” (Poe) and “Only that eye, that hard blue eye, and the blood in my body became like ice” (Poe). The man’s eye was terrifying, compared to an evil thing. Readers can picture this unnerving bird and picture how the old man must look.

Poe uses many different techniques in quotes throughout his story, examples such as “Now he knew that death was standing there” (Poe) and “Dead as a stone” (Poe). These quotes use simile and personification to amplify his story. The dark and scary metaphors, as well as setting, help readers further connect and imagine the story.
Poe uses multiple characters with different personalities to strengthen his story.

The story opens up with readers being introduced to the first character. The first character is introduced with the quote “It’s true! I have been ill, very ill. But why do you say that I have lost control of my mind, why do you say that I am mad?... Indeed the illness only made my mind, my feelings, my senses stronger, more powerful. My sense of hearing especially became more powerful. I could hear sounds I had never heard before. I heard sounds from heaven; and I heard sounds from hell” (Poe)! The character is confessing he is ill. He tells readers that his illness only made him better. Readers are introduced to a complex unordinary character, readers picture a madman which sets foundation for the story. Readers further learn about this character throughout the story. Readers learn he is sneaky, clever, and manipulative readers know this from quotes such as “And every morning I went to his room, and with a warm, friendly voice I asked him how he had slept. He could not guess that every night, just at twelve, I looked in at him as he slept” (Poe). The madman is gaining the old man’s trust in order to take advantage of him. When the officers arrive the murderer does not become frightened and is clever enough to remain calm. This madman plays his character excellently. The next character we are introduced to is the old man. The old man is the victim in this short story. The first scene he is

involved in is when a “low cry of fear escaped the old man” (Poe) when the murderer was in his room. The murderer is quoted saying “Now I knew that he was sitting up in his bed, filled with fear; I knew that he knew I was there. He did not see me there. He could not hear me there. He felt me there. Now he knew that Death was standing there” (Poe). The old man was afraid of who or what was there. He didn’t know what would happen to him. The old man is helpless and vulnerable. The man is terrified of what his fate will be. The next characters introduced are the officers. The officers were clever and took advantage of the murderer's guilt and emotions, “it was they who were playing a game with me” (Poe). These officers changed the fate of the story, they made the murderer feel guilty and confess. Poe uses complex and diverse characters to bring his stories to life.
Poe makes dark and deep stories by using many different strategies. Poe uses creepy settings, complex characters, and suspense to accomplish his work. Poe uses unique strategies to make great unusual stories. The Tell Tale Heart is just one piece of Poe’s many great works of literature.