Suspense In The Tell-Tale Heart By Edgar Allen Poe

“The Tell-Tale Heart” Summary What would you do if you had a eye that never left you alone, day or night? That is what the narrator had to deal with in The Tell Tale Heart by Edgar Allen Poe. In The story takes place in the house of the elderly man. In the story, the main character the Narrator wants to get rid of the man’s decrepit eye. The Narrator also would like to eradicate the sound of the deceased man’s heart. Nevertheless he is momentarily paused by the anguish he feels for the elderly man, he will later murder. In the same manner he would like to cease the sound of the departed man’s heart. The reason for hearing the late man’s heart is because the Narrator had gone psychotic and mad. Another reason the hearing of the dead man’s heart
Poe explains how the elderly man’s eye was nostalgic and eerie to the narrator. The reader can essentially can visualize the elderly man’s eye, with the description by Poe. This gives the reader the feeling of suspense, because it shows them the disturbing image of what the deranged Narrator was seeing. The author also builds suspense by the use of repetition. For example “I moved it slowly- very, very slowly, so that I might not disturb the old man’s sleep”(Poe 90). Poe repeats this statement to give the reader the feeling of suspense. Secondly Poe does this for us as the readers to clearly see through what is happening. In addition Poe uses more repetition when saying “But the heart beating grew louder and louder”(Poe 92). The readers can hear a heartbeat going from faint to boisterous within seconds. By using the repetition of “louder and louder” the reader is given a clear image of the hearing of the heart. To summarize suspense is the sense of growing tension, fear, and excitement felt by the reader. Also Poe uses three strategies to create suspense by vivid words, a character's abhorrence, and perpetual