"The Tell-Tale Heart" by Edgar Allan Poe is a masterpiece of horror writing. The pacing is a key element to the sensation of horror experienced by the reader. The very first lines suggest that something horrible has happened, but the narrator only gradually reveals the details of the events, building slowly to the final climax.
The first literary technique used to create the tone of horror is the use of an unreliable first-person narrator. Through first-person narration, the author invites the reader to experience the unsettled emotions of the narrator. The narrator's extensive comments on his own state of mind make readers aware that something is not quite right. Although the narrator insists on his sanity, that very insistence, along with his description of himself as nervous and his eerily acute sensitivity to sound, create a sense that the narrator is deranged, and the reader is invited into a descent into madness inside the mind of the narrator. The disintegration of the narrator's mind is as much an element of horror as the actual events.
Another important technique is foreshadowing. The reader is presented with various hints that the story will have a dreadful and macabre ending, but the details are only gradually revealed, building horror and suspense until the dramatic ending.
Finally, Poe is a master of using adjectives and descriptive details to manipulate the mood of the story. The description of the old man's eye is a particularly effective detail, as is the self-description of the stealthy and malicious behavior of the narrator.
Edgar Allan Poe uses great characterization, and descriptive word choices in his short story "The Tell-Tale Heart," both of which contribute to the tone of horror and terror. The narrator of the tale is clearly obsessed and slightly deranged; through using such a creepy and evil narrator, who is so frank about his insidious plans, the entire story is cast with a feeling of horror. He admits openly that he had nothing against the old man except for his eye. He finds joy in in the pursuit. For example, consider this passage:
"To think that there I was, opening the door, little by little, and he not even to dream of my secret deeds or thoughts. I fairly chuckled at the idea"
He gloats in his plans, which casts a tone of horror over the story. The way that he claims that he isn't mad, and then describes his awful deed in such minute detail is also very terrifying. His patience, his glee at not being discovered, his manipulation of his poor victim--all of these things add to a really great character that aids in making the tone horrifying.
Poe also uses such great word choices and descriptions in order to create a feeling of horror. For example, the old man's eye was "a pale blue eye with a film over it," which is a creepy image. He uses great punctuation and repetition to describe how the narrator basically stalks the old man. He...
See This Answer Now
Start your 48-hour free trial to unlock this answer and thousands more. Enjoy eNotes ad-free and cancel anytime.
Already a member? Log in here.
says things like, "patiently, oh how patiently," and "--very, very slowly," "oh cautiously--oh so cautiously" and "--oh so gently." All of these things increase the suspense. The description of the old man's heart fading, the brutal description of how he got rid of the body--all of Poe's descriptions and word choices aid in creating a tone of horror.
I hope that those thoughts helped; good luck!
Edgar Allan Poe sets the eerie tone of his classic horror short story, "The Tell-Tale Heart," from the opening sentences. The narrator admits that he is mad immediately, although he tries to convince the reader that he is sane, establishing that the story will bring some sort of unnatural actions. Poe uses words such as "nervous," "dreadfully," "hell," and "mad"--in the first paragraph alone--to help set the mood of horror. Most of the story is set late at night and in darkness, symbols of both evil and death. By the third paragraph, the narrator establishes that he has already killed the old man, and Poe draws the reader in and proposes the unanswered questions about how the murder will happen and whether the killer will get away with it. Other references, such as "the vulture eye" and the imagined loudness of the old man's heart combined with the painstaking steps that the murderer takes before finally making his move, add to the building terror. By the time he kills the old man, the reader can only wonder what will happen next. But Poe merely continues to build one horrible act upon another, first with the matter-of-fact description of the dismemberment, followed by the burial beneath his floor. Just when the reader wonders if this--like "The Cask of Amontillado"--will feature a perfect crime, a knock on the door reveals the police, investigating a scream in the night. The combined madness, nervousness and guilty conscience reveals that the killer's act is not so perfect.
Explain how Poe develops the creepy tone and builds the suspense in "The Tell-Tale Heart."
In the short story "The Tell-Tale Heart" Edgar Allen Poe takes the reader on a journey of macabre suspense as he shows the murderer plotting his dreadful and evil plan. Part of the way in which Poe does this so well is in the narration. The narrator does not speak normally, but very, very scarily - he does not seem normal. For a start, he gabbles, talking so fast that we can barely read his words. This is a sign of mania and shows the brain working faster and faster in a crazed way. This has the effect of unnerving the reader, making him wonder where the story is going. The narrator shares his dreadful secrets about lying in wait, spying and about his hatred. When he pounces the language is sudden and sharp - a great contrast to the unnaturally dead calm of the waiting game that precedes it. These contrasts show the seesaw effect of psychotic type behavior and build suspense.
Explain how Poe develops the creepy tone and builds the suspense in "The Tell-Tale Heart."
Poe wastes little time in setting the mood in his famed short story, "The Tell-Tale Heart." From the opening sentences, he assaults the reader with an atmospheric barrage of evil thoughts and ideas. Dreadful nervousness, madness, supernatural senses and murder are just a few of the ideas presented in the first two paragraphs. He grabs the reader's interest immediately and continues to build the tension as his narrator tells the rest of his story. When the murder is finally committed, Poe does not stop there. The dismemberment of the body only magnifies the horror of the act, leaving the reader wondering what can happen next. But unlike the narrator of Poe's other short story of macabre murder, "The Cask of Amontillado," the killer in "The Tell-Tale Heart" has not covered all of his bases: His crime is not perfect; screams have been heard and police have come to investigate. More tension arises and the narrator's nervousness increases until he does the unthinkable: He cracks and reveals all.