The Tell-Tale Heart
by Edgar Allan Poe
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See Also
- Theory of Short Fiction (Critical Survey of Short Fiction, Second Revised Edition)
- Edgar Allan Poe (Dictionary of World Biography: The 19th Century)
- Edgar Allan Poe (Critical Survey of Mystery & Detective Fiction, Revised Edition)
- Edgar Allan Poe (Critical Survey of Short Fiction, Second Revised Edition)
- Edgar Allan Poe (Critical Survey of Poetry: American Poets)
- Edgar Allan Poe (Cyclopedia of World Authors, Fourth Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Edgar Allan Poe
- First Published: 1843
- Type of Work: Short fiction
- Type of Plot: Horror
- Setting: An American village
- Characters: The narrator, The old man
- Genres: Psychological fiction, Short fiction, Mystery and detective literature, Gothic fiction, Horror literature
- Subjects: Murder or homicide, Self, Mental illness, Obsession, Cruelty, Life and death, Clocks or watches, Time, Horror, Mortality, Demoniac possession, Sound, Evil, Eye, Heart
- Locales: United States, North America
The Story:
A man insists that he is not mad. In spite of being dreadfully nervous, he also insists that his senses, especially his hearing, have been heightened rather than destroyed. He claims that the calm and healthy way he will tell the following story is evidence of his sanity.
He admits that he cannot say when the idea to kill the old man had come into his mind. He says he had no reason, nor passion, for killing him; the old man had never harmed or insulted him. He did not want his money. He says he loved the old man. He thinks he killed him because of the old...
(The entire page is 2247 words.)
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