First-Person Narration In The Tell-Tale Heart By Edgar Allen Poe

‘The Tell-Tale Heart’ is an American classic of the Gothic fiction, first published in 1843 by Edgar Allen Poe. Poe combines his own lifetime experience of bereavement, human despair and troubled human relationships into one disturbing, yet engaging first-person narrative told by an unreliable narrator. Poe’s use of first-person narration is essential to enlightening the audience as the narrative exemplifies an internal monologue of the disturbing mentality of a man who claims to be “sane.” Throughout the short story, Poe manages to keep the audience fixated on the narrative through the many extensive literary devices, as well as the use of punctuation and dialogue to provide suspense. Thus, Poe’s combination of visual imagery and auditory …show more content…
The first paragraph exemplifies the tension and anxiety in the narrator’s character, as he states “TRUE! – nervous – very…dreadfully nervous.” Poe uses first-person narration to allow the audience to experience the mental instability and breakdown of the narrator, in order to create a suspenseful introduction to a character that is very meticulous, but malicious. The unreliable narrator begins to convince the audience that he is not “mad” but rather “nervous,” as he asks the audience “Why will you say that I am mad?” Through using second-person pronouns, Poe makes the audience feel closer and included as the narrator only speaks in second-person when he tries to change our perception towards him of being a “madmen.” This further suggests that, according to the narrator, being nervous is more acceptable than coming off as mad and delusional. The adjective “mad” and “nervous” both imply a foible in the characters state of mind, being that he is over-sensitive and emotionally instable. At this point, the readers could feel deep concern towards the narrator as he unwillingly portrays himself as hysterical and ironically states “how calmly I can tell you…the…story.” The narrator continues to justify his sanity by telling the story in a …show more content…
Each time the narrator enters the Old man’s room or becomes nervous, repetition is used to emphasise his meticulous action as well as the caution he takes when committing an evil deed. This is clearly exposed when the narrator “thrust” his head in the Old man’s door “slowly – very, very slowly.” Poe’s constant repetition throughout the short-story could make the readers feel on edge and hesitant that the narrator is very vigilant at what he does but also very peculiar and spiteful. Poe continues to keep the audience on edge, as he reflects on the theme of precaution through how “steadily, steadily” yet “stealthily, stealthily” the narrator creeps about and how a precautious profile forms the characteristics of a sagacious and cunning human. Moreover, Poe includes narrative voice to further involve the audience in the way the story unfolds. The unreliability of the narrator makes the narrative more compelling, as his attitude and emotions go hand-in-hand with the “disease” that “had sharpened my senses” and made his “hearing acute.” This suggests that the narrator could possibly inhabit schizophrenia or paranoia, also hinted by the fact that he has constant fluctuates in his tone of voice. The narrators “disease” causes the symptoms of mixed emotions, being that he claims to both love the old man, yet despise him. The narrator changes his tone rapidly