Skip to main content

The Tell-Tale Heart

The Tell-Tale Heart
by Edgar Alan Poe
Image result for the tell-tale heart pdf
Edgar Alan Poe (1809-1849) was one of the finest short writers in the history of English literature. Poe’s fame we see as the master of horror, the father of the detective story. Poe, in fact, wrote nearly short works of fiction. The Tell-Tale Heart is the most famous short stories of Poe. The story is a psychological portrait of a mad narrator who kills a man. It is a horror story. This poem exemplifies Poe’s ability to expose the dark side of humankind. The storyteller says how afraid he was of the old man’s Evil terribly that he gradually determined to kill the old man and get rid of it. It appeared very evil to him and such an evil eye should not last long. He had tried to establish that he was not mad. It was not his madness that drove him to determine to murder the old man. The man was not bad but all the trouble was created by the evil eye. It is the story of domestic violence. This violence was the result of an irrational fear. The story proves that under the psychological pressure the murderer breaks down and confesses his guilt to the police officers. Poe here explores the inner depression of human mind. According to Poe, the writer should aim at creating a single and total psychological effect upon the reader.

It may be melancholy, suspense, or horror. Poe took writing to be a moral task that worked not through teaching lessons, but in stimulating his reader’s mental, emotional or spiritual faculties. Poe is master in telling story. He is the precursor/pioneer of modern psychological writing, the defective story. Human nature is a delicate balance of good and evil. The narrator committed the murder of the old man very cleverly. It was very cunningly done. No bloodstain was there. He was very cautious about it. The door was knocked and it was opened. Three policemen entered. A neighbor heard a scream and reported to the police. Three police officers wanted to search the house. The narrator told that he screamed in dream and the old man was out of the country. He took them all over the house and finally to the old man’s chamber. All his resources were safe and secure. The officers found nothing wrong with him. But fear crept into the heart of the narrator. The psychological pressure was too much for him. The presence of the policemen created immense psychological pressure on the killer. The story turns into a “Tale of Conscience”. The story reaches the climax with the unexpected confusion of the killer of the old man. It is not merely a Tale of Conscience” but also a psychological thriller. It is an unexpected climax of the story. When policemen could not find anything wrong, under terrific psychological pressure the killer admitted that he had committed the murder.    

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Clear Light of Day by Anita Desai

Clear Light of Day (Novel) Clear Light of Day is one of Anita Desai’s most outstanding novels and may be regarded as one of the masterpiece in the field of Indo-Anglican fiction. The novel indicates the realistic pictures of family life. Ani ta Desai was born in 1937 of a German mother and a Bengali father. Clear Light of Day tells the story of a Hindu family living in a rented house in old Delhi. The house belongs to a rich Muslim landlord, whose name is Hyder Ali , Mr. and Mrs. Das live in this house with their four children --- Raja, Bim, Tara and Baba. Raja, Bim, Tara and Baba in this novel are the victims of an unpleasant, meaningless, hopeless, melancholy atmosphere of childhood. They spend their childhood in a home, which smells of disease and decay. The parents are busy with their own affairs, and do not make an effort themselves about the needs of their children. The kind of unhappy situation creates fear, insecurity, distrust and anxiety as the children grow up. Mr...
Post a Comment
Read more

Mother by Maxim Gorky

                                                                   Mother                                                                              By Maxim Gorky Maxim Gorky's Mother is the landmark in the history of English literature. Although this book was written ten years before the establishment of Soviet power in Russia, we count it the first stone laid in the foundations of Soviet Literature. Mother was first published in Russia in 1907. When Gorky wrote it, he was a mature craftsman, fully aware of his historical mission. During the Russian revolution of 1905 that is, two years before, Mother came out in Russi...
Post a Comment
Read more

Paradise Lost (Book I & II) Epic

Paradise Lost (Book I & II) Epic Paradise Lost is an outstanding epic in the history of English literature. John Milton has composed it in 1665. The main characters of this epic are God, Adam, Eve and Satan. The fall of the Satan and his followers from the heaven to hell because of disobedience to God is the main theme of this epic. The Satan declares war against the God. So, The God threw him and his followers into the burning hell. Adam had to face untold misery because of the activities of Satan. The Satan misleads Adam and Eve to eat the forbidden fruit. They eat food misguided by Satan and disobeying the order of God. So they commit sin. They are sent to the earth. The Satan comes to the earth and further starts misleading the human beings against the God. Satan appears as the embodiment of deceit, jealousy, revenge and pride.  Milton introduces Satan –the infernal serpent. Satan raises “an impious war” against God. As a result Satan was thrown from heaven by Go...
Post a Comment
Read more