“For a whole hour I did not move a muscle and in the meantime I did not hear him lie down. He was still sitting up in bed listening, - just as I had done, night after night, hearkening to the death watches in the wall.”
The narrator is waiting for the right opportunity, once again stressing his cautiousness. The narrator did not move a muscle in an hour, obvisously portraying the image of the slow moving pace. The line also tells us it was a planned murder. Another example of him showing us his cunning is:
“When I had waited a long time, very patiently, without hearing him lie down, I resolved to open a little – a very, very little crevice in the lantern. So I opened it – you cannot imagine how stealthily, stealthily – until, at length, a single dim ray, like the thread of a spider.”
Time also goes fast within the story. For example:
“In an instant I dragged him to the floor...” “...I then smiled gaily, to find the deed so far done.”
This is the description of the death of the old man. These are the only details the narrator tells us, implying he’s a perfectionist. We retrieve this view of the narrator because of the swift speed of which he kills the old man. The narrator is also a sadistic person, due to the way he “smiled gaily” after the quick death. Other examples of a quick pace are towards/ at the end.
“‘Villans!’ I shrieked, ‘dissemble no more! I admit the deed! – tear up the planks! – here, here! – it is the beating of his hideous heart.’”
From the final line of the story we have the impression he’s ‘mad’ because of the way he admits the deeds. Short sentences, which are straight to the point, increase the pace of the text. Also, due to the fast pace, it implies he has lost the control, the perfection and intelligence he once had.
Poe uses and mentions time a lot in the story. He changes the pace to achieve the different effects. From the waiting of the old man to sleep to the breakdown of the narrator. The difference paces are varied. This is because if the pace were slow throughout, the story would become tiresome to the reader. If the pace was of a fast speed the reader would not be able to grasp the entire story, miss parts out and even forget segments.
Poe repeats words a great deal in the story. Creating the effect that the narrator is panicking or even to emphasise something. In the following line he uses the repetition to emphasise his confidence and cunning.
“I undid the lantern cautiously – oh, so cautiously – cautiously (for the hinges creaked) – I undid it just so much that a single ray fell upon the vulture eye.”
The narrator is also under the impression that he has planned, and now performing the perfect crime.
“It grew quicker and quicker, and louder and louder every instant.”
The speed of the old mans heartbeat creates a traumatic experience for the narrator – affecting his mind, upsetting to him but the narrator shows us his guilt. Where Poe repeats words, the pace tends to be quicker creating a dramatic scene. As mentioned earlier the narrator seems to be a sadistic character, other evidence of this:
“...he had found all in vain. All in vain; because Death, in approaching him...”
The repetivtive phrase, all in vain, tells us of the narrators joy at the old mans terrified state. He also used a capital ‘D’ in death. This implies he is using the word death as a name, suggesting he is death. The repetition of words and in-depth descriptions show us how precise the narrator is. The commas and dashes indicate an intensity of emotions.
Poe uses noises to create atmosphere in the story. Such noises are the sound of the old mans heart beating louder and louder. The phrase is repeated through our, suggesting that the narrator is becoming guiltier and guiltier. It also implies that the narrator weakness has got the better of him because he then confesses his guilt in committing the brutal murder. Poe uses other phrases to convey the guiltiness of the narrator such as:
“It was a low, dull, quick sound such as a sound as a watch makes enveloped in cotton.”
This is repeated simile further accentuating the narrator’s guilt conscious.
Poe sometimes uses sounds to create the effect of a horror scene:
“…for the hinges creaked…”
Before this the narrator was describing his consciousness, implying the surroundings were silent. Then they hear the hinges creaking reminding the reader of the hellish, horror-type story. Of course, this would make the reader curious of who’s behind the door.
Poe uses evil words in the story such as hell, murdered etc. This is to add and emphasise the fear and terror of the story. It also emphasises the old mans feelings.
“I heard many things in hell.”
This shows us the madness of the narrator and confines his sadistic character. Apart from evil word choices he uses evil phrases. After the narrator viscously murdered the old man...
“... I then smiled gaily.”
At some points of The Tell Tale Heart you are under the impression that the narrator has done it before. This is because he seems so calm and relaxed describing how he killed him. After the death he “deposited” the body. Deposited in this sense would imply a heartless or ruthless person. This is how he makes the death disgusting. Not just by describing the horrific violence...
“... I cut off the head, the arms and then the legs.”
...but by the emotionless way the narrator tell us, as if this was his job or a day-to-day activity.
Throughout the story, he defends himself of madness. He tries doing this by describing the eye (the reason for the death) revoltingly.
“One of his eyes resembled that of a vulture.”
The old man is being described as a greedy, ruthless person. He continues to describe the eye as if it made his blood run cold. This makes the eye sound evil and he tries to construct a valid reason for killing him.
Poe has written the story in a first person narrative, making us apart of the story.
“...but why will you say that I am mad?”
The use of the rhetorical question suggests the narrator is addressing the reader in a dramatic method. He brings us into a conversation and grabs our attention straight away making us want to read on. By addressing the reader it also makes the story more realistic. This question is repeated throughout trying to persuade us to thinking he’s not. He makes us form opinions and answers. Another example of where Poe ‘drags us into the story’ is:
“And now have I told you what you...”
Other reasons for addressing the reader is a plea for us to listen and pay attention.
Poe has the murderer tell us the story. this is mainly for realism, suspense and to hear the unusual, murderers point of view. The story would also create more dramatic impact on the reader. The reader may also feel that the narrator is putting a lot of trust into the reader, because the narrator is describing the death in great depth. Due to the first person narrative we would have more information and details, whilst gaining a better knowledge of how his mind works.
The Tell Tale Heart grips the reader’s imagination, by mysterious and unpredictable behaviour. The reader decides to read on as the narrator shows an intensity of emotions and feelings from one paragraph to the next. At the beginning of the story we see an obsessive man over an old mans eye. From the obsession of the eye we get the feeling of a mentally disturbed or mad man.
Although he may be disturbed, he is a confident, personal person, which suggests a split personality. Towards the end he reveals more information, but we’re still left with questions to ask. The ‘slip’ of information indicates the narrator losing his confidence. Other examples include the continuous crescendo beat of the heart. The narrator finally breaks down due to the paranoia as the police come to the slaughterhouse. Suspense is produced by the array of emotions, and irrational behaviour as the unpredictable story continues.
The Tell Tale Heart shows an excessive man where a vulture eye haunts him. The mysterious obsession with an old mans eye leads to a gruesome death. Then we see the narrator’s sadistic behaviour. The story ends with the narrator breaking down.
The narrator’s unpredictable feelings maintain the reader’s interest and suspense. The Tell Tale Heart compels the reader to read on to find out what’s happening next. The narrator experiences feelings of confidence and joy (possibly because he’s sadistic) on certain occasions but he can soon transform into an adjitated and anxious man. The narrator speaks with a relaxed, confident tone, which can some times turn into arrogance. As the story moves on, we witness the loss of control; he then displays irrational and sinister behaviour.
The Tell Tale Heart - Page
