“…Because Death, in approaching him, had stalked with his black shadow before him, and enveloped the victim.” This very spooky, chilling and descriptive quote is from the story Tell Tale Heart by the famously eerie poet and writer, Edgar Allen Poe. Tell Tale Heart is about a man who drives himself crazy over a light blue eye belonging to an innocent old man. The deranged man also claims he can hear the old man’s beating heart. Even after he has rid himself of what he calls "Evil Eye", the beating of the old man’s artery pounds in the lunatic’s head, driving him so crazy that he admits his horrific deed to the cops. Poe includes captivating imagery, a spine-chilling climax, and a shocking surprise ending in the mysterious short story.
One of the reasons Edgar Allen Poe is such an amazing writer is because in all his stories he interjects detailed imagery that makes you feel a part of the story. One of the many example of this in Tell Tale Heart is “He had the eye of a vulture- a pale blue eye, with a film over it.” (Poe 625) This quote portrays exactly how the Evil Eye looks like to the madman. It makes you feel as if you are actually the one staring into the icy oculus. Another example, illustrating how the dead old man looked, was “He was stone, stone dead.“ (Poe 628) Poe uses the word ‘stone’ to describe the body, because a stone looks cold, and not moving. Edgar Allen Poe has the wonderful ability to pull you into the story.
In Tell Tale Heart, the intriguing climax has you not wanting to put the book down. “The old man’s hour had come!,” (Poe 628) the lunatic states. This quote makes you wonder how something as simple as an eye could drive someone crazy. It also keeps you thinking about what’s going to happen next. “His eye would trouble me no more!” The climax surprises you, and keeps you on the edge. It will make you wonder about what the crazy man was thinking while deciding to kill the poor old man.
The climax leads right into the shocking surprise ending. “In an instant, I dragged him to the floor, and pulled the heavy bed over him.” After the crazy man has rid himself of the vulture eye, he hides the poor old man underneath his bed. It's disturbing to think that the old man had no idea that he was going to lose his life that night just because of his eye. “Villains! I shrieked, Dissemble me no more! I admit the deed- tear up the planks! - here, here! - It is the beating of his hideous heart!” (Poe 628) This is the last quote of the story, where the crazy man is sitting in the room where the corpse is, talking to the cops. The cops don’t suspect anything, meanwhile the lunatic is going crazy because he claims that he can hear the beating of the dead man’s heart ringing in his ears. After a while, he can’t take it anymore, and tells the police of what he’s done. The cops were probably not expecting that, and the reader of this story wouldn't either.
Overall, this is a very spooky but interesting tale, that will leave you feeling somewhat melancholy. However, Edgar Allen Poe’s use of descriptive imagery, and including a frightening climax and surprising ending, this story will leave you on the edge of your seat, and possibly wanting to read more of his stories and poems.
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