In the short story Tell Tale Heart, Edgar Allan Poe uses his excellent writing to create multiple

forms of suspense in the heart racing scene where the narrator watches and plans to kill the old
man and rid himself of the vivid eye. One example of this is when Poe makes the narrator
repeat his actions over and over by making him watch the old man every night after he has
planned to kill him, waiting for the right opportunity. Poe wrote,So you see he would have been
a very profound old man, indeed, to suspect that every night, just at twelve, I looked upon him
while he slept(84). Repeating the narrator's actions creates suspense because by doing so Poe
makes it hard to tell what will happen next and when. Thus Poe is creating suspense by using
the fear of the unknown which leaves the audience guessing and holding their breath. Another
technique Poe uses is when he makes the narrator use extremely vivid details to describe the
narrator accidentally waking the old man up on the night he kills him. Poe writes,Presently I
heard a slight groan, and I knew it was the groan of mortal terror. It was not a groan of pain or
grief-oh,no!-it was the low, stifled sound that arises from the bottom of the soul when
overcharged with awe. I knew the sound well. Many a night, just at midnight, when all the world
slept, it has welled up from my own bosom, deepening, with its dreadful echo, the terrors that
distracted me. I say I knew it well(84). To describe a situation with that much detail draws the
reader deeper into the story, keeping them on their toes. It makes the situation almost realistic
and makes the story hard to put down. It creates suspense by making you want to know what
happens next and making it realistic. Therefore Poe uses describing things in vivid details and
repeating characters action as vital building blocks to create suspense in Tell Tale Heart.