“The Tell-Tale Heart”- Edgar Allan Poe

Class Notes from 10/8/20

 The story surrounds itself with the central idea of murder, insanity, mental illness.
 The narrator’s objective is to justify his sanity through insane actions.
 Central Themes: Sometimes those with mental illness are driven to insane actions.
Sometimes those with mental illness possess irrational thoughts. Sometimes those with
mental illness have no control over their actions. Sometimes those with mental illness
give into their malicious thoughts.
 Central Themes: Guilt – Guilt will always come back to you
 Mania, paranoia, obsession – can drive people to madness, and irrational
thoughts/actions.
 Surrounds itself with the topic of mental illness.
o Paranoid/Obsessed with the vulture eye. The only way to rid himself of this
obsession is to do what? Kill the man, thus ridding himself of the vulture eye.
o “the disease had sharpened my senses”
o “The eye would trouble me no more.” To him, this is logical.
o “it haunted me day and night”
o “my blood ran cold and so by degrees very gradually”
o “but the beating grew louder and louder…new anxiety had seized me”
o The narrator’s attempt to justify his SANITY through his detailed, strategic plans
of killing the old man further PROVE his INSANITY.
 What evidence from the text supports his logic?
o A sense of pride: cunning, clever
o The fact that he had a full plan
o When police enter the room, the narrator “smiled for what he had to fear,”
implying that the narrator has nothing to hide.
o “The eye would trouble me no more.”
 Possible Theme: Sometimes those with mental illness can view the world in
abstract/abnormal ways.
 Possible Theme: Mental illness can distort one’s perception of reality.
 The heartbeat that the narrator hears is a reflection/manifestation of what? His anxiety,
his own paranoia, his conscience, his guilt
 He eventually confesses = a reflection of guilt and remorse for his actions. So is the
narrator truly evil if he feels these emotions? Or are his actions driven by his warped
sense of reality?
 His obsession and paranoia become replaced by what? hears the beating heart = guilt,
fearful about being caught
 Is our narrator evil?
 Are his actions premeditated?
o Yes – 8 days peaking and lurking through the doorway of the old man until just
the right moment.
o The precision and patience by which he commits the act.
o He uses this to justify his actions.
 “The Raven”- Edgar Allan Poe
Class Notes from 10/12/20

 THEME: What message is Poe trying to convey regarding grief? Grief can be haunting,
grief can lead to madness, despair, grief can be all-consuming, prolonged depression can
lead to mental instability
 5 Stages of Grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance
 Narrator is grieving over the lost Lenore trying to pass time while reading “weak and
weary”- his mind gets carried away and torments him (via the Raven)
 What is the Raven? Brings more grief to the narrator, Lenore is no longer alive
 Mood
o At first- Melancholy, dreary, slow-paced
o mood shifts when there is knocking at the door, eerie/ scary when he sees
nothing, saying “Lenore” implies HOPE to connect with or to receive a sign from
Lenore, however, there’s no reply = eerie
o The Raven enters - How does the mood shift? The pacing increases, frantic,
tense
o Narrator asks questions, and when the Raven responds repeatedly “Nevermore,”
what does the Raven imply? Nevermore will he be happy, nevermore will he stop
grieving, “his soul will be lifted, nevermore,” nevermore will he see Lenore again.
o What’s the narrator’s reaction? What happens to the narrator? Becomes more
frustrated, gets angry, thoughts become impulsive, irrationally… more damaged
emotionally and mentally/more broken…
 What is the Raven? A metaphor for his grief/ a manifestation of his never-ending grief
 What happens to an individual who cannot reach the stage of acceptance? Remain in a
grieving phase, no happiness, mind shuts down and can only think about their lost loved
one, consumed by grief, need help, hospitalized, self-harm
 Lack of sleep, depression can contribute to mental instability
 When he hears knocking on the door, does he really hear it? And what/whom does he
expect to see? His mind is playing tricks on him. He is looking for a sign – a sign that her
spirit is trying to communicate with him, but there’s nothing
 Still depressed
 If the Raven is not real, what is the Raven? Hallucination
 “The Masque of the Red Death”- Edgar Allan Poe
Class Notes from 10/14/20

 What do you suppose is Poe’s reason for writing this story? Critiquing people who lived
during his time and how they handled (or mishandled) the sickness amongst the people.
Possibly witnessed those with power/wealth act irresponsibly. The Prince dies in the
end (Karma) because he locked people out and let them die. Commentary on the
negligence of the rich towards the poor.
 Theme: People, regardless of status or money, cannot escape death. Those who possess
extreme arrogance and pride, end up having to face the consequences of their actions.
 Hubris: Excessive pride and arrogance that leads to one’s downfall; The prince possesses
hubris.
 Poor vs rich – Thinking because he is rich, he can outsmart/escape/avoid the Red Death.
 The idea of quarantining – being unaware of who you are letting in, assuming that a
given person is safe.
 The Masque of the Red Death symbolism – more than just the disease; the huge
consequence the Prince faces for his negligent actions. If the Prince helped the poor
aside from just his rich, powerful friends, he would not have possibly received the karma
he did. Represents vengeance!
 The idea of vengeance: seeking out punishment, retribution for wrong doings