The subject of “The Tell-Tale Heart“ is insane fear, dramatically presented through the use of a first person narrative. By narrowing the focus of the story so that all of the action is seen through the character of the insane man himself, Poe gives us a shocking glimpse into the warped mind of a murderer driven by abnormal fear to the planning and execution of a hideous crime.
The opening sentence establishes the tone of the story. The murderer is speaking, trying to prove that he is not mad, although the reader is quickly made aware of his insanity. The emphasis upon his acute hearing “I heard all things in heaven and in the earth. I heard many things in hell.”
9
foreshadows the end of the story.
By careful use of metaphor and simile, and words and phrases of death, such as “the mournful influence of the unperceived shadow,” the author builds a mood of fear, each detail adding to the suspense. The action takes place at midnight, and is repeated nightly for several days until finally the “vulture eye” is open, and the crime is committed after the fear has mounted to an unendurable pitch. The horror of the murder is accented by the murderer’s complete lack of remorse, as he recounts with detached calmness the details of disposing of the body. The “evil eye” had been extinguished, so the murderer asks himself, as he opens the door to the investigating officers, “what do I fear?”
Once again the suspense mounts as fear builds up, beginning with a ringing in the narrator’s ears, increasing to a low, dull, quick, sound—a repetition of his experience just before he murdered the old man. In his agony of terror, he confesses the crime, for he believes it to be “the beating of his hideous heart.”
The story ends abruptly, with his shouted confession “tear up the planks: here, here:” Anything after this would have spoiled the dramatic effect of the climax toward which everything in the story has been directed.
(Refer to the Lesson Plan for more details)