Use Of Syntax In The Tell Tale Heart

Brenda Zai
Ms. Todd
ENG4UBa
18/09/15
Into the Mind of a Killer
Edgar Allan Poe utilizes a wide range of methods to entice the reader into his piece, “The Tell-Tale Heart”. The storyline follows the events of a murder of an old man, in the perspective of the killer who claims he is mentally stable. The writer uses syntax, focusing on sentence length, and tone to emphasize that the narrator is not truly stable, thus not being a reliable perspective.
At the beginning of the piece, Poe’s character begins by attempting to reassure the reader that his mental state is not disturbed but perfectly stable. The narrator explains, “The disease has sharpened my five senses- not destroyed- not dulled them”, (Poe, paragraph 1). Poe effectively uses short sentence structure to create a

passage with a corrective tone. The character immediately begins to take the predetermined negative connotation of mental illness and twist it to convince the reader his own mental conflict is a positive asset and not the reason for his actions.

Normally, an individual who is mentally stable does not experience obligation to defend their mental state. This suggests to the reader that the narrator is already desperately seeking for validation which conveys a characteristic of someone who is not sane. Poe’s piece ordinarily uses eloquent and descriptive sentences to set the scene for the reader. However, among these lengthy sentences, the writer cleverly places rushed and abrupt syntax that solidifies the narrator’s mental conflict. When searching for justification of his harmful actions, the narrator states, “There was no real hatred. I loved the old man. He had never done me any wrong” (Poe, paragraph 2). This passage demonstrates the narrator’s desperation to prove righteousness to his flaws with Poe’s use of short sentence syntax. By doing so, Poe uses these sentences as stress points to emphasize the anxiety of the character. Poe chooses brief structure for this passage rather than combining them into one to exemplify directness and demonstrate to the reader the unique perception of the narrator. This suggests to the reader that the

narrator is distraught and is unable to explain his actions, thus depicting the character as one who is unable to understand and justify his own actions. Similarly, Poe establishes the character’s unreliability with further use of short sentence syntax and coupling this method with exclamation. As the story progresses, the narrator seeks the answer for his actions, “For his gold I had no desire. I think it was his eye! Yes, it was this!” (Poe, paragraph 2). Poe effectively uses consecutive exclamatory sentences to depict the character’s excitement for his rationale. By making an abrupt transition from long, descriptive sentences to the choppy exclamatory sentences, Poe is able to emphasize the narrator’s mental conflict and imply that the character is deliberating his rationale as he expresses himself. The exclamatory tone conveys to the reader an erratic mindset while intensely attempting to defend himself and his actions. In these ways Poe utilizes syntax, primarily sentence length and exclamatory phrases to solidify the undependable depiction of the character to the reader.
Tone is a key aspect to a narrative; Poe utilizes this method to convey the character’s unsound state of mind to the reader. When describing the event of harming the old man the narrator expresses, “But you should have seen me. You should have seen how wisely I proceeded- with what care- with planning I went to work! I was never kinder to the old man than during the whole week before I killed him”, (Poe, paragraph 3). During this passage, the narrator takes pride upon his care and kindness towards the old man during the horrendous event. The character justifies his actions as positive by describing his humane approach to the murder. Poe’s establishment of an unsettling tone allows the reader to largely notice the narrator’s fickle perception of murder, thus suggesting they do not have a trustworthy perspective. Likewise, the narrator goes into further detail of the event of the murder, “[...] I turned the knob of his door and opened it- oh, so gently! [...] I moved it slowly- very, very slowly, so that I might not disturb the old man’s sleep”, (Poe, paragraph 3). When recalling the occurrence, the narrator’s choice of diction expresses a calm tone throughout the passage. This particular use of tone leaves the impression on the reader that the character lacks sanity because of his abnormally calm perspective on a murder, an event with a strong negative connotation to the majority of the sane population. By utilizing tone effectively Poe is able to establish the belief that the narrator endures mental conflict, resulting in an unreliable perspective.
The thoughtful use of syntax, particularly sentence length and use of exclamation, and tone in the piece “The Tell-Tale Heart”, Poe is able to depict the narrator as an individual who has a twisted viewpoint of the murder. By doing so, the reader is able to progress with the narrator’s inner conflict, ultimately enriching the reader’s perspective of a character lacking sanity.