Edgar Allan Poe Theme Of Insanity

Throughout history, writers of all eras and cultures have frightened us, chilled our very hearts with their works. After all, fear is universal, and each and every one of us have felt this in our life time. However, Edgar Allan Poe was by far one of the best at bewildering a reader’s mind. His tales of horror, the evil that lurks within society and the macabre make us feel as if what we have just read could actually happen. As for Poe, he lived his own horrors; he had known loss all too well, death seemed to follow him like a shadow, and he experienced many other misfortunes. Thus, these experiences, along with his coveted and boundless imagination, gave him quite the competitive edge in his works. In the story of “The Tell-Tale Heart,” Edgar Allan Poe perfectly depicts the inner workings of insanity within the mind of the narrator using the tale’s themes, uncomfortable imagery, and overall ghastly tone.
First, he uses two themes; the powerful effects of insanity, and guilt. The main character of the story begins to feel his own madness arise, yet all throughout his telling of the story, he claims he is quite the opposite of mad. As the narrator, the main character himself, begins to recall for us the chilling details within this tale, he challenges, “How, then, am I mad? Hearken! and observe how healthily—how calmly I can tell you the whole story.” (The …show more content…
Containing its realistic themes, vivid imagery, and macabre tones, this is a haunting piece indeed that proves Poe is one of the best at leaving his readers shocked and petrified through his tenuous grasp of language and his ability to paint as dark and horrific a picture for us as he desires. It is writers like Poe who are remembered as the masters of horror, and few other writers have touched us and pulled us into the horror filled stories better than Poe