Reflect on the title: The Tell Tale Heart

A story with this title could be about someone coming clean from a crime. Perhaps their heart is beating fast due to the feeling of guilt; this sensation could convince them to come clean about their crime.

Interpreting it in a lighter way, it may be that someone is confessing their love to someone else, thus the ‘Tell Tale Heart’.

The Unreliable Gothic Narrarator

The narrarator is established in many ways as unreliable, such as when the narrarator says the old man’s heart was still beating even after they killed him. Edgar Allen Poe’s use of an unreliable narrarator is done to prove the character’s mental instability. Much of the unreliable storytelling from the narrarator actually comes from their denial of their own mental instability, since they are trying to prove to not just the reader, but also themself that they are not crazy. For example, they explained the murder of the old man was justified because of the man’s evil ‘vulture’ eye.

Research

• It is possible that the vulture eye serves as symbolism for the old man’s power over the narrarator; the old man could be a father figure or the narrarator could be their servant.
• published January 1843
• Inspired by a murder in 1830, Salem, Massachusetts, where a wealthy 83-year-old shipmaster and trader was murdered and it was suspected that his neice was the murderer.

The Setting

The setting in which the events take place is in the old man’s house. It is very dark considering that the old man was unable to see the narrarator hiding in his room. Evidence of this is the quote “his room was as black as pitch with the thick darkness”. It is mentioned that the bedroom is so dark because the old man keeps the shutters tightly shut through a fear of robbers. This can lead us to believe that the house is likely in a high-crime urban area.

Common elements of the Gothic setting in the novel

One theme of the gothic setting is elements of death/decay. One time this element is used in the novel is when describing the old man’s “vulture eye” since vultures, being scavengers, can symbolize forthcoming death.

Another gothic setting used in Edgar Allen Poe’s novel is madness. The main character in this poem is described to be in denial of their own insanity, spending most of the story trying to prove their sanity and ironically in doing so admit to commiting murder.

Furthermore, one element of a gothic setting used by Poe is mystery. This is shown by how the narrarator describes the murder of the old man with shocking detail, yet leaves the reader with many unanswered questions to ponder.