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1TheTell-TaleHeartPublished1843IABOUTTHEAUTHOREdgarPoewasbornonJanuary19,1809,inBoston,Massachusetts,thesonofindigentactors.Atagethree,whenhisparentsdied,PoewastakeninbyJohnAllan,amerchantfromRichmond,Virginia.HeattendedaprivateschoolinEnglandwherehelivedwiththeAllansbetween1815and1820.AfterreturningtoAmerica,hecontinuedprivateschoolinguntil1826,whenheenteredtheUniversityofVirginia.However,hewasforcedtoleaveafterlessthanayearbecauseofgamblingdebtswhichJohnAllanrefusedtopay.Afterquarrelingwithhisguardian,PoewenttoBostonwhere,underanassumedname,hejoinedthearmy.Afewmonthslater,attheageof18,hisfirstcollectionofpoems,privatelyfinanced,waspublished.In1829,afterthedeathofJohnAllan'swife,Poewasdischargedfromthearmy.Hereconciledwithhisguardian,andreceivedanappointmenttoWestPoint.However,becauseAllenwouldnotsupporthimadequately(andbecausehedidnotlikemilitarylife)hepurposelyneglectedhisdutiestogethimselfdismissedfromtheacademy.PoethenwenttoBaltimore,whereheresidedwithhisimpoverishedauntandheryoungdaughter,Virginia.In1832hebeganhiscareerasawriterofbizarreandromanticshortstoriesbypublishing'Metzengerstein,'ataleaboutfeudingfamiliesandsupernaturalrevenge.However,hisfirstrealsuccesscamethefollowingyearwhenhis'MS.FoundinaBottle,'aneerietaleaboutashipwreckandghostlyseamen,wona$50prizefromaBaltimorenewspaper.Moreimportantly,itwonhimrecognitionandledtoapositionasaneditoronamonthlymagazinepublishedinRichmond.In1836,PoemarriedhiscousinVirginia,whowasnotquite14yearsoldatthetime,andin1837,aftertheendofhiseditorship,heandhischildbrideandhermothermovedtoPhiladelphia.Poesoonpublishedtheonlynovel-lengthfictionheeverwrote,TheNarrativeofArthurGordonPym,aramblingadventureyarnfilledwithmutinyatsea,shipwreck,cannibalism,fierceSouthSeanatives,andavoyagetotheSouthPole.Between1838and1849,theyearhedied,PoewasatthecenterofmagazinepublishinginAmerica,servingastheeditorofseveraljournalsandwritingreviews,criticalarticles,stories,andmiscellaneouspieceswhichwonhimadmirationforhiscriticalacumen.Hismostfamousworks—includinggothichorrorstoriessuchas'TheFalloftheHouseofUsher'and'Ligeia,'detectivestories,suchas'MurdersintheRueMorgue'and'ThePurloinedLetter,'andtalesofobsessionsuchas'TheBlackCat'and'TheTell-TaleHeart'—allwerepublishedduringthisperiod.Healsoearnedgreatfameandwideacclaimwithpoemssuchas'TheRaven.'IIOVERVIEW'TheTell-TaleHeart'isoneofanumberofPoestoriesthatfocusonanobsessedprotagonist/narrator.Indeed,whatholdsthestorytogetherandholdstheattentionofthereaderisthesingle-mindedvoiceofthemadmanwho,evenashedenieshismadness,tellsastorythatconfirmsit.Poe'suseofafirst-personnarratorobsessivelyrecountingapasteventisanimportantelementinhiscontributiontotheshortstoryformasahighlyunifiedaestheticentity.Poe'stheorythateveryelementinashortprosestoryshouldcontributetoitsoveralleffectisexemplifiedbythefactthattheprotagonist/narratorisobsessivelyconcernedwithhisirrationaldesiretokilltheold2manbecauseoftheoldman'seyeandbyhisrationalmethodofproceeding.Poe'sstoriesareoftencharacterizedbyapsychologicalmaniaheldincheckbytherationalcontrolofthenarrativestructureofthestoryitself.Thenarratorinsiststhathislogicalplottokilltheoldmanandthecalmwayhetellsthestoryareevidenceofhissanity.ThisreflectsPoe'sprimarynarrativemethod.IIISETTINGAsisusuallythecasewithfirst-personnarratives,therearemultiplesettingstothestory.Theactionoftherecountedtaletakesplaceinthehousethenarratorshareswiththeoldman.Atthesametime,thenarratoristellingthestoryfromeitheraprisonoraninsaneasylumwherehehasbeenincarcerated.Butevenmoreimportantly,thesettingisactuallyinsidetheobsessedmindofthenarratorhimself,forthecrucialclimacticeventofthestory—hishearingthebeatingofthedeadman'sheart—takeplacesolelywithinhisowntorturedimagination.IVTHEMESANDCHARACTERSAlthoughtherearetwocharactersinvolvedinthestory—anoldmanandtheyoungermanwholiveswithhim—itisreallyaboutasinglecharacter.Anexaminationofthenatureofthenarrator'sobsessionshowshowPoesetsupthisstoryaboutasplitpsyche.Thenarratorinsiststhathelovestheoldman,hasnopersonalanimositytowardhim,doesnotwanthismoney,andhasnotbeeninjuredbyhim.Instead,hesayshewishestokilltheoldmanbecauseofhiseye!Althoughthereisnowaytounderstandthisobsession,thereadermustdeterminethemethodandmeaningofthemadness.ForPoe,thereisnosuchthingasmeaninglessmadnessinfiction.Tounderstandwhattheoldman'seyemeanstothenarrator,itisnecessarytoexaminetherelevanceofotherthemesandideas.Besidesthethemeofthe'eye,'therearetwoprimarymotifs:theideaoftime,andtheidentificationofthenarratorwiththeoldman.Thenarratorsaysatvariouspointsinthestorythatheknowswhattheoldmanisfeelingasheliesaloneinbed,forhehimselfhasfeltthesamethings.Hesaysthemoantheoldmanmakesdoesnotcomefrompainorgrief,butfrommortalterrorthatarisesfromthebottomofthesouloverchargedwithawe.'Manyanight,justatmidnight,whenalltheworldslept,ithaswelledupfrommyownbosom,deepeningwithitsdreadfulecho,theterrorthatdistractedme.'Thenarrator'sownterrorandaweisrelatedtohisobsessionwithtime.Heassociatesthecentralimageofthebeatingoftheheartwiththebeatingofaclock;hesaystheoldmanl