An In-depth Analysis of Edgar Allan Poe's The Tell-Tale Heart

This essay provides a detailed analysis of Edgar Allan Poe's short story, "The Tell-Tale Heart." It explores the narrative perspective, focusing on the first-person account of a man who commits murder and the psychological impact of the crime. The essay delves into the story's themes, including madness, guilt, and the unreliable nature of the narrator. It examines Poe's use of rhetorical devices, such as ethos, pathos, and logos, to convey the narrator's mental state and the story's disturbing effect on the reader. The analysis also references scholarly sources to support its arguments, providing a comprehensive understanding of the story's literary and psychological dimensions. The essay further highlights the narrator's attempts to convince the reader of his sanity, despite the evident irrationality of his actions, and how this contributes to the story's overall impact.

Running head: THE TELL-TALE HEART BY EDGAR ALLAN POE
The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1THE TELL-TALE HEART BY EDGAR ALLAN POE
Edgar Allan Poe is popularly known for the manifestation of critical analysis in the
poems and short stories written by him. The short story of “The Tell-Tale Heart” is narrated by
Edgar Allan Poe in a first person narrative where Poe is seen trying to probe deep in the psyche
of the character. The author makes use of ethos to describe what is appealing to the story. The
story is about a man who killed an elderly person (Poe). According to the ‘madman’ as described
by Poe in the story, he did not hate the old man; in fact, the old man was a very pleasant person
who had never hurt him. The only issue that irked the ‘madman’ was the eyes of the old man; he
described those eyes to be like the ‘eyes of a vulture’ (Poe).
The way in which the ‘madman’ murdered the old man was explained by the author in a
vivid and horrific manner. The author uses pathos to show how meaningless the murder was;
“There was no reason for what I did” (Poe). He stated that it was only the eyes of the old man
which annoyed him. This shows the extent of mental instability of the ‘madman’ (Amir).
The ‘madman’ however continued to defend himself by stating that he was not unstable;
he had absolute mental clarity while he performed the horrendous crime. The author uses logos
to reveal how exactly the crime was committed. After killing the old man, the ‘madman’ cut his
body into pieces so as to destroy all evidence of his crime (Poe). It took a lot of cold-blooded
calculation to carry out this task. He thus believed that ‘a madman cannot plan’ (Poe). When the
police came to enquire about the old man, the ‘madman’ spend his day trying to convince the
police that he did not commit the crime. He even went so far as to make the police sit on the bed
of the old man where he was murdered (Poe).

2THE TELL-TALE HEART BY EDGAR ALLAN POE
However, towards the end of the story, the author takes the readers on a nerve-wrecking
twist (Gale). The ‘madman’ felt so guilty about his crime that his mind could not handle the
pressure any longer. The more time he spend talking to the police, the more suffocated he felt
with the whole situation (Gale). This part of the story is what keeps the readers on the edge of
their seats. The ‘madman’ who professed his mental stability in the entire story, lost control of
his mind as he started to hallucinate (Gale). Eventually blurted out that it was in fact he who had
committed the crime.
Analyzing the story from a rhetorical point of view, every time the ‘madman’ asked the
readers if they thought he was mentally unstable, he himself tried to convince them that he was
not. It was as rhetorical in nature because anyone reading the story would already have a strong
confirmation of the mental illness of the ‘madman’; the reason for hatred towards the old man,
the way he killed him, his initial behavior with the police (Beauchamp). The story has an
disturbing impact on the readers.

3THE TELL-TALE HEART BY EDGAR ALLAN POE
References:
Amir, Shamaila. "Stylistic Analysis of the Short Story “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan
Poe." Angloamericanae Journal 3.1 (2018): 18-25.
Beauchamp, Amber. "" The Tell-Tale Heart": A Reflection of the Insanity Defense." (2018).
Gale, Cengage Learning. A Study Guide for Edgar Allan Poe's" Tell-Tale Heart". Gale, Cengage
Learning, 2016.
Poe, Edgar Allan. The Tell-Tale Heart. Edgar Allan Poe, 2014.