Blog #5: Literary Analysis: The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allen Poe
The Tell-Tale Heart written by Edgar Allen Poe is considered by many to be a classic example of poetry from the late and great poet. In the next few paragraphs, I will demonstrate knowledge of the short story by analyzing its literary aspects.
To begin we shall start with that of the theme. The story takes place with that of an old man and his servant, the servant is talking in the first-person attempting to proclaim his sanity as he killed his master because of his “evil eye.” With this in mind, the theme is that of despite how cunning and deceitful one thinks they can be, guilt can eat away at someone until they give in to a moral wrongdoing. A continual symbol to go with the theme is that of the watch.
Next, we shall discuss setting. While the time of this piece is not explicitly stated, it can be inferred that around the same time as Poe’s time due to the use an oil lantern by the killer. The story takes place inside a house with the killer in question talking to the reader about a tale, presumably to cell mates, police or perhaps a courtroom with the killer proclaiming over and over again that his actions were not one of evil, the eye forced murder out of him and that by his actions to rid of the eye were sane. This invokes a sense of mystery or fear in the reader as they hear a story by what seems to be a man who has lost his mind.
Following setting, comes plot. The story begins with the storytelling, action rises as the killer turns to discussion of his master’s evil eye, and the hatred he has for it and the need to rid of it. The story then involves two minor conflicts in that the killer’s ability to wriggle his body into his master's room just enough to shine a beam of light on the eye and the other in that he awakes him unexpectedly due to a creak. The major conflict of this story is one of internal as the killer thinks of what to do in this moment of being found out, next, it explodes into climax with the killer quickly and efficiently ending the life of his master. After doing this, the action slows down, the killer disposes of the body beneath the floorboards and a neighbor that a yelp sent for the police who came to question the noise. All would have went well as the police trusted the killer’s demeanor and alibi, the story is resolved when the guilt overtakes the killer and he confesses his crime.
As stated prior, this story takes place in the first person. Plenty of examples show the killer pleading his case to the reader to acknowledge his own sanity, “observe how healthily --how calmly I can tell you the whole story,” and in his confession, “dissemble no more! I admit the deed!”
We shall next go into the characterization of the main character, the killer. He is Flat while also dynamic. At the start of the story, he prefaces it in saying that he is “nervous,” but not “mad.” Something that he continues to go back to the entire story, never truly learning from his own errors that he could in fact be mad. He is dynamic for some of the same reasons, in the beginning, the reader has no idea what this person has done or why they have to explain why they are not mad, however as the story progresses, we see that of a man who is delusional. A calm storyteller slowing devolving into a shouting, scared belter of sounds about only of he could hear. This indirect characterization of the killer’s speech to the reader shows that he is not as clear of mind and body as he thinks. In addition, no real reason are given as to motive for the killing, it is in the killer’s thoughts that we hear that the eye is evil, but it is unclear why, it is only a fixation of the man, “it was open --wide, wide open --and I grew furious as I gazed upon it.” The actions of his master seem to also explain how he is not as calm as he seems, on the eighth day of stalking him, the killer awoke him unexpectedly, but in the way that he awoke seemed that he was in fear of his life even before knowing what the situation was, alluding to the possibility that the master did not trust the killer as much in the coming days before his death, “presently I heard a slight groan, and I knew it was the groan of mortal terror.”
This story is very ironic in its presentation. The killer of this story claims his sanity while also laughing at his dismemberment of his victim’s body, “no blood-spot whatever. I had been too wary for that. A tub had caught all --ha! Ha!” Another example of irony, while not verbal but situational comes in where the killer becomes overconfident in his crimes and instead of taking his good fortune of their lack of suspicion, he invites them stay longer, “I brought chairs into the room, and desired them here to rest from their fatigues.” He could have pulled off the crime without being arrested but allowed his guilt to fester when in presence of the police thus allowing his capture.
One of the biggest symbols in this book is the watch. Of course, one of the basic functions of a watch is showing the time,but what it also represents is the life of the old man coming to a close and the killer’s guilt and keeping of a calm head. Much like the beating of the heart that made the killer lose it, the ticking of the watch is akin to the killer’s sanity slowly dwindling. This symbol supports the theme because even if the killer had kept his head when the police were questioning him, it was only a matter of time where he would give himself up out of guilt knowing that he did wrong. He was against the eye and the eye alone, not the old man.
In ending, this story would be enjoyed by many who enjoy mysteries or suspense. It is well written from the beginning when it begs the question as to why this person is telling this story, it evokes a sense of wonder and fear as someone has to prove to you why they are not mad, when it should be clear from the get go. However, it is a short story and it does suffer from wrapping up the conclusion rather quickly, those who enjoy a long-drawn out story will not find that here. The week of time that was explained in the story during the stalking of the old man is summed up in a paragraph or two rather than day to day, delving into the loss of sanity of the killer over time rather than in one swift motion.
