The Tell-Tale Heart

The Tell-Tale Heart

by Edgar Alan Poe

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.