“The Tell-Tale Heart” is actually an epic poem, which was written by Edgar Allen Poe. An epic poem is similar to a regular poem, except usually much longer, and a little like a short story with a deep meaning. Knowing Edgar Allen Poe’s sick, insane yet genius personality, it’s fair to say that you can really dig into “The Tell-Tale Heart” and come up with a lot of meanings and symbols.
Because this is an epic poem, it is extremely long, and I can only pick apart the richest and juiciest segments of it, like imagery, theme, mood, figurative language and more.Right from the start the poem is unusual. It’s written as if it were being spoken on the spot of the action. The speaker is fumbling with their words, speaking with speed and confidence, but then slowing down in hesitation. For instance when Poe writes “TRUE!—nervous---very, very dreadfully nervous I had been and am; but why will you say that I am mad? The disease had sharpened my sense—not destroyed—not dulled them”, you get the feel that the character in the epic poem is eager, and anxious yet hesitant, and slightly fearful of consequences. He also argues with himself, more signs showing that the character really is mad.
Especially because he clearly states that the old man he was preparing to kill had never wronged him in anyway, it was just- “his eye! Yes, it was this! He had the eye of a vulture – pale blue eye, with a film over it”, that seemed to drive him mad. But was it really just the appearance or something more perhaps?The way Poe describes the eye is strange ,and he uses a strong metaphor. “He had the eye of a vulture”, we all know the evil, stalking stare of a vulture, and one can only assume that there is a deeper reason for the main character wanting to kill the old man besides him just disliking his eyeball’s appearance. When the old man looks at the main character, his “blood ran cold”, almost as if the eye was staring into the main characters soul, and seeing that he was actually evil on the inside.
This would certainly drive the main character to killing the old man, in fear of him knowing how crazy or sadistic the main character is. He probably feels invaded, trespassed, and violated when he stares into the eye of the old man. The only way to stop the feeling is- “to take the life of the old man, and thus rid myself of the eye forever.” He states that the eye “vexes” him, and is what is driving him to kill the old man. He even crept into his room and watched his eye for seven nights.
His choice of diction is quite intriguing, while all the while bizarre. He keeps using the term madman, but is trying to establish that he is NOT a madman, but if we understood it the first time, then the fact that he’s repeating it is for his own sake. He can’t face the fact that he truly has gone mad. He also compares the old man’s blind eye to a vulture eye, which is a strong metaphor because vultures are seen as almost rodent like, eating dead creatures, and eyeballing things in an uncanny manner.The mood the author makes, is dark, eerie, and mysterious. It’s even frightening in some ways, because this poem is about murder.
We probably feel that it is dark and mysterious because of the old man’s room being “pitch black”, and throughout the story it is described as night time. Another way to tell this is by his use of imagery, and also the fact that he’s using a lantern really gives it away.The theme is an expressed in an interesting way that can be interpreted many ways. The best way to describe it is, is guilt, and the author gets this across with the beating heart. It brings feelings of guilt to the main character, of what he has done, and drives him so mad that he confesses what he has done to the police, even though had he not he would have gotten away with murder. He really felt guilt though because the old man was innocent, and couldn’t control the appearance of his blind eye.
Had he been evil, it would have been a completely different scenario.The most commonly used metaphor was the old man’s eye, to that of a vulture eye. A foul bird which plucks and picks away at things that are dying. He used this metaphor twice. However, he only used one simile in his epic poem, when he compared the ray of light to a spider web by saying “Until, at length a simple dim ray, like the thread of the spider, shot from out the crevice and fell upon the vulture eye.” A great simile because it is also a form of imagery.
