The Tell-Tale Heart

The four repeated words or phrases in "The Tell-Tale Heart" are "steadily, steadily," "stealthily, stealthily," "ha! ha!," and "louder! louder! louder! louder!" The repetition of "to feel" emphasizes...

The narrator's perception of his murder is the worst aspect of the death scene in Edgar Allan Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart." The narrator sees his murder as a pleasurable act, which upsets the reader.

The dominant impression created is one of madness and paranoia. The narrator's insistence on his sanity, despite his erratic behavior and obsessive actions, highlights his unstable mental state. His...

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...