The Tell Tale Heart Narrator

The Narrative Style & Structure of "The Tell-Tale Center"

"The Tell-Tale Heart," by Edgar Allan Poe, was published in 1843. Co-ordinate to The Poetry Foundation, Poe is regarded every bit "the architect of the modernistic short story," and this masterful tale of psychological horror is one of "his best and best-known works." The story's effectiveness relies in large office on its narrative structure and way, both of which piece of work to reveal the narrator'southward diseased state of heed.

Unreliable First-Person Narrator

The tale is told in the first person past the confessed murderer of an former man, and equally the tale progresses, the reader quickly notices that all may not be equally it seems with the narrator. From the very first paragraph, in fact, it is apparent that the voice in which the story is told is an unusual i, characterized by stops and starts, direct addresses to the reader, and an exaggerated and highly wrought style. The emotionally charged narrative hints to the reader that the narrator's version of events may not exist wholly reliable.

Narrator's Obsession Determines Narrative Structure

When the tale begins, the main activeness -- that is, the murder and dismemberment of the old man -- has already taken place. While the reader is probable to be caught up in the horrific tale being revealed to him, the narrator's focus seems to be very different, and the pace and structure of the narrative reflect that focus. Concerned primarily with convincing his listener of his level-headedness and sanity and the reasonableness of his actions, the story's narrator circles effectually the chief result, emphasizing not and then much what happened but how it happened.

Driven by Emotion

Since the story is, more than anything, about the narrator'due south emotional state, the nearly important moment is not the murder of the old man. The murder itself is given short shrift by the narrator, taking only one sentence to attain: "In an instant I dragged him to the floor, and pulled the heavy bed over him." Rather, the existent climax of the story occurs when the narrator'south perception of the sound of the old man's heart pushes him closer and closer to panic, finally causing him to confess.

Panic, Derangement, Disorder

Like the narrative construction, the narrative style of the story reflects the disordered, "nervous" state of the narrator'southward heed. "Why will you say that I am mad?" the narrator demands of his listener. Stylistically, the narrator'due south heavy use of assertion points, dashes, repeated questions and assertions of his own sanity serves to raise the emotional impact on the reader, pushing the reader toward an understanding of the narrator's troubled mind.