The Tell-Tale Heart Summary

From E-notes
In Edgar Allan Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart," the narrator attempts to prove his own sanity in the
wake of having murdered an old man.

 The unreliable narrator explains that he loved the old man very much, but was disturbed
by the old man's "evil eye," which he alleges drove him to murder.
 After killing the old man, the narrator chops up his body and hides it beneath the
floorboards.
 The police arrive after a neighbor reports having heard a scream, and the narrator begins
to hear the old man's heart beating beneath the floor. Disturbed, he admits his crime to the police.

Introduction

‘‘The Tell-Tale Heart’’ was first published in 1843 in the Boston Pioneer, and revised into its
current form for an 1845 edition of The Broadway Journal. Like ‘‘The Black Cat,’’ it is a murder
story told by the acknowledged killer himself. Here, however, the narrator’s stated purpose is not
confession but the desire to prove his ‘‘sanity.’’