The Tell Tale Heart, an arabesque styled short story written by Edgar Allan Poe, uses short story conventions to create an enthralling narrative through emphasis of the melodramatic emotions of a murderer who, ironically, claims he is not mad. Through the successful use of genre and narrative perspective along with structural and linguistic techniques such as repetition, irony and hyphenated speech, Poe’s, The Tell Tale Heart, becomes a story that positons the reader into being inquisitive about the sanity of the protagonist and whether the recount they are being told is reliable. Through the use stylistic features, Poe immediately creates a sense of unease in the reader, by stating that the protagonist is “…nervous – very, very dreadfully …show more content…
nervous” which indicates that the story is fitting to an arabesque genre. By using first person narrative perspective, Poe is able to easily indicate how reliable the narrator is, almost leaving the reader to make their own judgement. The genre is further suggested by the use of the words “nervous…cautious…[and]sagacity.”. The genre contradicts the original idea that could have perceived from the title. The word ‘heart’ often refers to a romantic story, yet upon reading the first paragraph it is clear that the short story is not of a romantic genre. The reader is then lead to look for what the title really refers to. The word ‘Heart’ in the title refers to the beating heart of ‘the old man’ which even after he is murdered, drives the narrator to confess his crime thus making it The Tell Tale Heart. Poe does not follow the general structural form of a short story, instead, the climax is at the end. The structure of the story is planned efficiently to captivate the reader throughout. In the orientation, the protagonist explains how because of the ‘old mans’ “eye of a vulture... [making] [his] blood [run] cold…” he “made up [his] mind to take the life of the old man…” By the end of the second paragraph, the reader is already drawn into finding out whether the murder happens or not. The rising action which is over “…[a] whole week” of him “…[thrusting] in his head.” into the room is built up over 8 paragraphs, this causes the reader to become impatient however urges them to keep going. The resolution, or what at first seems to be the climax, is where the murder actually occurs. Here, the narrator feels at ease which conveys through to the reader who now is almost annoyed by the simplicity of what so far seems to be the climax. Finally comes the most intense part of the story, where the heart becomes the tell-tale heart, the climax. Following this structure, along with the use of linguistic techniques, allows for the reader to be extremely captivated by the short story. Poe created intrigue within the reader by efficacious use of linguistic techniques such as repetition, dramatic irony and hyphenated speech.
It is recognised that by using repetition, Poe highlights the obsessive behaviour of the protagonist. The narrator repeats things such as his actions continuously. This is most recognisable during the building of rising action, the ‘deed’, “…I thrust in my head… you would have laughed to see how cunningly I thrust it in… it took me an hour to place in my whole head…” and also when describing how he entered the room on the eighth night “… steadily, steadily…stealthily, stealthily -… wide, wide open…” The unusual attention given to the protagonist’s movements also indicate a strong sense of irony as it seems as though he was proud with how cunning he was with the murder. After he commits the murder, he states that “…if you [still] think [that he is] mad, you will think no longer when [he] describe[s] the wise precautions [he] took...” And then begins explaining how he “…dissembled the corpse.” The use of dramatic irony is a direct indication to the sanity of the protagonist, as the things he describes are both immoral and unethical. Another successfully used technique was hyphenated speech, as the story intensified towards the end, Poe’s use of hyphenated speech increased, which in concept made the dialogue and thought processes seem further distorted resulting in a clear indication to the insanity of the
protagonist. Edgar Allan Poe immediately distorts the original conception within the reader’s mind even after the first sentence, with excelling use of short story conventions, unique structural component and linguistic techniques such as repetition, irony and hyphenated speech, Poe positions the reader throughout the whole story to constantly being inquisitive about both the sanity and also the reliability of the narrator’s recount.
The “Tell-Tale Heart” is a short story written by Edgar Allan Poe and serves as a testament to Poe’s ability to convey mental disability in an entertaining way. The story revolves around the unnamed narrator and old man, and the narrator’s desire to kill the old man for reasons that seem unexplainable and insane. After taking a more critical approach, it is evident that Poe’s story is a psychological tale of inner turmoil.
Edgar Allen Poe is known for his dark yet comedic approach toward the his theme of his stories. Likewise, Poe’s themes have gathered many fans due to his impression of reasoning in his stories. The author uses thinking and reasoning to portray the theme. Poe’s unique diction comprehends with the theme of the story. Poe has a brilliant way of taking gothic tales of mystery, and terror, and mixing them with variations of a romantic tale by shifting emphasis from, surface suspense and plot pattern to his symbolic play in language and various meanings of words.
Utilizing adverbs such as “tremulous” to amplify “shake” and “violently” to amplify “move” create a perceivable image of interaction; here, the violent move is not truly an actual motion, rather, it is a physical manifestation of the intangible mental shock that the narrator experiences. However, it is important to note that, to the narrator, the most physically shocking and moving thing in this interaction was not the “finger” of this stranger, but the tone, the intangible abstraction of the “solemn admonition” in the “low whisper”. This abstraction had the electrical current of a “galvanic battery” to “shock” the non-physical soul of the protagonist. The complexity of this excerpt is seen through the multiple dependent clauses, lists of adjectives, and conjunctions; this complex and “serious” style is what Allen Tate, in his essay found in “Modern Criticism”, believes “makes the reading of more than one story an almost insuperable task” (Foster 389). However, this failed criticism does not truly comment on the Poe’s style, but rather, comments on the reader’s interpretation. This style doesn’t create an insuperable task of reading, but rather creates a gradually intensifying sense of Poe’s methodical complexity that incentivizes the reader to keep reading, while providing specific ambiguities through indirect concretizations like the aforementioned “shock” to
In Edgar Allen Poe’s classic short story, “The Tell-Tale Heart,” an impression of apprehension is established through the fear-induced monologue of an unknown narrator. Right from the beginning of this short story, Poe prepares the reader for a horrific tale by way of the narrator admitting to the audience that he has, “made up my mind to take the life of the old man” (41). The narrator not only admits to this heinous crime, he proclaims that he had done so out of complete ‘sanity’ and proceeds to inform the audience, “and observe how healthily --how calmly I can tell you the whole story” (41), as he feels this will justify his atrocious crime. The narrator’s assurance of sanity is swiftly demolished as their mania takes control of the way they explain their actions. This obvious foreshadowing forces the audience to surpass the dreadful details and look for the remarkable facets of Poe’s short story allowing the setting of the
The Tell-Tale Heart: An Analysis In Edgar Allan Poe’s short-story, “The Tell-Tale Heart,” the storyteller tries to convince the reader that he is not mad. At the very beginning of the story, he asks, "...why will you say I am mad? " When the storyteller tells his story, it's obvious why. He attempts to tell his story in a calm manner, but occasionally jumps into a frenzied rant.
In the article, “The Question of Poe’s Narrators” James W. Gargano discusses the criticize in “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allen Poe and tries to help the readers understand why Poe writes the way he does and identifies some of the quotes in his work. According, to Gargano, other authors view’s Poe’s work as “cheap or embarrassing Gothic Style” (177). The author is saying that Poe’s work makes the reader look at themselves not only the work. The author explores three main points. Some author thinks that Poe’s life is reflected in a lot of his work, uses dramatic language to show his style in work, and explains how Poe’s work manipulates his readers to understand.
Edgar Allan Poe primarily authored stories dealing with Gothic literature; the stories were often quite dreary. Poe possessed a very sorrowful view of the world and he expressed this throughout his literary works. His goal was to leave an impression with every detail that he included in his stories. Although Poe’s stories seem very wretched and lackluster they all convey a certain idea. A trademark of Poe’s is his use of very long complex sentences. For instance, in his work The Fall of the House of Usher, Poe tried to ensure that every detail was as relevant as possible by integrating a wide variety of emotion. In the third paragraph, of page two hundred ninety-seven, Poe wrote, “Feeble gleams of encrimsoned light made their way through the trellised panes, and served to render sufficiently distinct the more prominent objects around…” This sentence illustrates the descriptiveness and complexity that Edgar Allan Poe’s works consisted of. The tormented cognizance of Poe led him to use a very gloomy diction throughout his writing. Edgar Allan Poe’s use of symbols and the way he conveyed his writing expr...
Throughout “Alone”, Poe uses various poetic devices to captivate his reader. For instance, Poe uses external rhyme throughout the poem, at the end of each pair of lines. Along with the use of rhyming, Poe also uses descriptive imagery. A m...
In Edgar Allan Poe's short story "The Tell-Tale Heart," the author combines vivid symbolism with subtle irony. Although the story runs only four pages, within those few pages many examples of symbolism and irony abound. In short, the symbolism and irony lead to an enormously improved story as compared to a story with the same plot but with these two elements missing.
Edgar Allen Poe was an American Writer who wrote within the genre of horror and science fiction. He was famous for writing psychologically thrilling tales examining the depths of the human psyche. This is true of the Tell-Tale Heart, where Poe presents a character that appears to be mad because of his obsession to an old mans, ‘vulture eye’. Poe had a tragic life from a young age when his parents died. This is often reflected in his stories, showing characters with a mad state of mind, and in the Tell Tale Heart where the narrator plans and executes a murder.
Poe writes “The Tell Tale Heart” from the perspective of the murderer of the old man. When an author creates a situation where the central character tells his own account, the overall impact of the story is heightened. The narrator, in this story, adds to the overall effect of horror by continually stressing to the reader that he or she is not mad, and tries to convince us of that fact by how carefully this brutal crime was planned and executed. The point of view helps communicate that the theme is madness to the audience because from the beginning the narrator uses repetition, onomatopoeias, similes, hyperboles, metaphors and irony.
The short story is generally a study in human terror. Furthermore, the author explains Poe use of a particular style and technique, to not only create the mood of mystery, but to cause the reader to feel sympathy for the narrator. Poe makes a connection between the storyteller and reader with knowledge and literary craftsmanship.
Poe utilizes a gradual change in diction as the poem progresses. Initially, he begins the poem with melancholic diction when the narrator is falling asleep: “while I pondered, weak and weary,” “nodded, nearly napping,” and “of someone gently rapping” (1-4). The utilization of alliteration in these lines supply a song-like rhythm, which is soothing to the reader. This usage of diction conveys a mellow tone. Further into the poem, when the increasingly agitated narrator becomes vexed at the raven, he lashes out at the bird. Here, he states, “Get thee back into the tempest and the Night’s Plutonian shore! / Leave no black plume as a token of that lie thy soul hath spoken! / Leave my loneliness unbroken!--quit the bust above my door! / Take thy beak from out my heart, and take thy form from off my door!” (98-101). Here, his uses archaic words and phrases such as “thee,” “Night’s Plutonian shore,” and “thy soul hath”. This usage of unorthodox language creates a theatrical, dramatic, and climactic effect, which leads to an impassioned tone. By presenting both tones, Poe is able to show the contrast between the two. This transformation from a tone that is mellow to one of frustration and anxiety represents the spiraling downward of the narrator’s mental state.
Poe is known for his melodramatic writing style, but the constant repetition of daunting words is enough to make any reader practically say out loud, “Come on, Poe. Try to be a little subtle, please.”
Poe was a master at creating effect, in most cases one of mystery and gloom, which drove his poems and short fiction. But he also was a storyteller, and like any good storyteller, he forms plots. And with those plots, he forms his moods and effect. Ejxenbaum sums up this idea with, 'The particular attention paid to the unexpected in the finale and, connected with it, a story structured on the basis of a riddle or and error which holds back the significance of the plot mainspring until the very end.'; The effect cannot exist without the plot, and the plot cannot exist without the effect.