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Tell Tale Heart Imagery

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Edgar Allan Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart" is an apprehensive short story telling the murder of a man while conveying the madness of the narrator. The story starts with the protagonist frantically declaring they are not mad, continuing to describe his intention of murder, to free himself from the evil eye the old man possesses. The narrator tells his plot for murder as he meekly enters the old man's room at night but cannot continue with his plan because his eye is closed. After eight repetitive nights, he impulsively kills the old man. When the police showed up to investigate, a loud noise was heard from the house late last night. The killer goes into a mentally deranged state which causes him to break his story and maniacally confess to the …show more content…

The main types of imagery used in the story are sight and sound. The "eye of a vulture" is the first description of the old man, with a metaphor following to illustrate the physical effect he feels when the eye looks at him. The protagonist claims he loves the old man and says the reason for his killing is the evil eye he possesses. As his insanity increases, the killer's paranoia overloads his senses. Throughout the story's beginning, there is a lack of sound as the plot of murder advances to build the reader's anticipation. The murder begins when a noise occurs as his "finger slid on a piece of metal and made a noise," following the waking of the old man, the narrator hears the "scream of human terror," which is the shift to the story's climax. As the killer turns the lock gently to be silent, walking "slowly, very slowly, so that I might not interfere with the old man's sleep." After the killing, the sounds become softer as the narrator's emotions settle and his confidence boosts. The police question the killer, and as he declares his cover, there is a ringing building as time passes. The ringing sound and heartbeat grow as the narrator becomes increasingly uncomfortable with paranoia. The use of imagery in this short story, visually and auditorily, is to display the narrator's insanity and creates an unsettling effect for the

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He even believes the neighbors might hear the noise due to how extreme the volume of the thud is. This prompted him to execute his plan of getting rid of the pale blue evil eye of the shrieking old man. After dismembering the old man and tucking him into the floorboards of the home, the cops show up to investigate a shriek the neighbors heard. The guilt swallows the narrator and once again he is certain that he is hearing the old man’s heartbeat again, but this time from within the floorboards. The heartbeat started out as a soft ringing but as the minutes went by, it grew louder and more intense.

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