illustration of a human heart lying on black floorboards

The Tell-Tale Heart

by Edgar Allan Poe

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The Tell-Tale Heart Questions on Pacing

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The Tell-Tale Heart

Edgar Allan Poe builds tension in "The Tell-Tale Heart" through the use of first-person narration, detailed descriptions of the protagonist’s obsessive thoughts, and a rhythmic, repetitive language...

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The Tell-Tale Heart

The pacing of "The Tell-Tale Heart" mirrors a human heartbeat, starting slowly as the narrator appears calm and gradually quickening as tension builds. This deliberate pacing by Poe enhances the...

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The Tell-Tale Heart

In the final forty lines of "The Tell-Tale Heart," Edgar Allan Poe uses stylistic devices like repetition, short sentences, and alliteration to heighten tension and convey the narrator's increasing...

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