The Role Of Suspense In Edgar Allen Poe's The Tell-Tale Heart

Have you ever read a story that is so disturbing and realistic that it is hard to believe that it is actually fictitious? Well, you need not look any further than Edgar Allen Poe’s, The Tell-Tale Heart; in fact, noise isn’t the only way that you are kept in suspense as you navigate through the ominous story. Edgar Allen Poe uses time, repetition, noises/setting, and imagery to effectively create a spooky and disturbing atmosphere in his works. Poe is the master at manipulating emotions and creating realistic scenes; however, how does he implement these devices into his story?
Throughout the entire story, Poe uses time in various ways to help create a spooky atmosphere and move the story along. For example, by stating that “a watch’s minute hand moves faster than did mine” he is showing that time is going by exceedingly slow. Nonetheless, he demonstrated that time was moving rapidly by stating that “The night waned, and I worked hastily, but in silence.” Overall, these changes in pace
help to add energy and alarm in the faster sections and suspense and mystery in the slower sections.
Another feature that adds to the overall spooky atmosphere by adding emphasis to the story is repetition. There are numerous examples of repetition scattered throughout One case is “I undid the lantern cautiously- oh, so cautiously, cautiously...” It really helps the reader to form an image in their head by emphasizing that he acted with extreme caution. Another example is “nervous--very, very dreadfully nervous,” which emphasizes how nervous the narrator was as he planned out and executed the murder. Repetition helps the reader comprehend the importance of whatever is being stated by the narrator.
Likewise, Poe also utilizes noise as a means of creating a spooky atmosphere. For example, creaking hinges are typically associated with horror films and tend to make the reader want to know who is behind the door. One of the reasons why he may have used this phrase is because it is a slow action that is typically associated with old neglected houses. Another noise that could trigger an emotional response is the word “shrieked," which is commonly associated with being attacked and murdered. Perhaps the most ghastly noise was “the groan of mortal terror,” which makes the reader anxious to know what happens next, and it shows that the old man is terrified. The use of such onomatopoeia helps to captivate the reader and make them feel engrossed in the story.
The final thing he utilizes is descriptive language; for example, by calling the eye disgusting, comparing to that of a vulture, and describing it as “dull blue, with a hideous veil over it that chilled the very marrow.” Poe creates a more detailed image of what the eye looks like. Likewise, he makes the death sound disgusting by mentioning that there was a “dreadful silence.” Using imagery and descriptive language, Poe uses a variety of descriptive phrases to assist the reader in mentally forming a more vivid image.
Ultimately, we can conclude that Edgar Allan Poe wrote his eloquent stories by using time, repetition, noises/setting, and imagery to engross the reader in suspense and establish an atmosphere of both disturbing and spooky character.
He uses time to show how sometimes the narrator was still and unmoving, while at other times the spectacle is a blur. He uses repetition to draw the moment out, and create an emphasis on that particular scene. He uses noise/setting to create eerie sounds that tap into your irrational fear and get you more involved into the story. These are only a few of the mediums he utilized in order to create disturbingly realistic stories. Some of his works seem to be too realistic to be mentally fabricated without actually witnessing a heinous murder such as those mentioned in many of his works. It starts to make you ponder the possibilities concerning how he may have contrived such disturbing stories. It makes you wonder if Poe’s stories are genuinely
fictitious.