Dexie Ann R.

Lachica XII STEM B

The Anguish of Guilt – The Tell-Tale Heart by

Edgar Allan Poe November 17, 2020 By gobble25
In the middle of the nineteenth century, Edgar Allan Poe was at his peak of writing
poetry for literary magazines. He had critiqued and written many classic stories such as
“The Raven” and other well-known stories. The stories coming from the mind of Poe
were always dark and riddled with layers of symbolism. Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart”
conveys a symbolic way of showing how one man drives himself farther into insanity
through his own guilt. Furthermore, he uses dark diction to emphasize the
self-destructiveness of guilt and how it can fluctuate the confidence of a man.

Understanding the plot is a key factor in comprehending the meaningfulness of this dark
story. Therefore, a brief summary is due. A nameless man is the caretaker of another
older nameless man. The older man’s eye is extremely bothersome to the caretaker (who
is arguably insane already), so he decides to act on the “vulture eye” and kill the older
man. The man is extremely careful to hide the body so that no one will ever find it.
Eventually, the police arrive at his door because a neighbor heard a scream, so the police
then proceed to search the house and ask the man questions. With his confidence and
adrenaline at an all-time high, the man invites the police to sit down and relax,
convincing them there is nothing wrong. He even decides to literally sit on top of where
he has hidden the dismantled body parts. However, guilt sets in and the man apparently
hears the heart beating underneath him, which drives him crazy until he finally
confesses his sins. This story has many underlying meanings to it; however, the most
prominent symbolisms to focus on are guilt and insanity. There is ambiguity in Poe’s
intended meaning of the story, sparking arguments from many readers such as, whether
the man was insane before or after the killing, if the man could hear the heart beating,
and what the eye truly represents.

Through killing the man, there were pros and cons for the caretaker. On the bright side,
the man does not have to bear the mental harm that the older man’s eye provides to the
caretaker. However, the consequence is that there is now a secret bomb that has been
planted within the man’s psyche: guilt. This guilt is not relevant to the man at first due
to the adrenaline rushing and the overwhelming feeling of relief that he feels due to no
longer having to be tortured by the eye. There is not a definite indicator within the story
that shows he is starting to question his actions; however, he unconsciously feels the
effects of his prior actions. For instance, the man begins hearing the heartbeat of the
dead. Once this begins, we can see his true form come out within the story through how
Poe used diction and word choice. The story is in first-person perspective, so the reader
is seeing the story through the narrator’s eyes, allowing the reader to see a disconnect
between the narrator’s perception and what is probably really happening. This is when
we can truly see his perspective and watch him drive himself into confession. As said
before, there are arguments about whether he is crazy before the kill or after; however, it
is definite that, as he is sitting on top of the body, he has become crazy at this point in
time.

Poe uses many subtle literary elements to broadcast a point through his writing. When
the narrator meets two policemen, Poe’s depiction of his reaction reveals the man’s
insanity, arrogance, and true flaws. The narrator says,

I smiled, —for what had I to fear? I bade the gentlemen welcome. The shriek, I said, was
my own in a dream. The old man, I mentioned, was absent in the country. I took my
visitors all over the house. I bade them search—search well. I led them, at length, to his
chamber. I showed them his treasures, secure, undisturbed. In the enthusiasm of my
confidence, I brought chairs into the room, and desired them here to rest from their
fatigues, while I myself, in the wild audacity of my perfect triumph, placed my own seat
upon the very spot beneath which reposed the corpse of the victim. (Poe 7)

This is when the narrator was extremely cocky and calm about his actions. The
narrator’s invitation to the officers to “search-search well” (Poe 7) reveals his secret
desires for the officers to actually find the body. He does not know it yet, but the guilt is
building inside him, and his arrogance is, in a way, a manifestation of his guilt. Through
this, there is a certain underlying emotion that he wants the officers to find the body. If
he wanted to get away with it, he would have let the officers do their search then leave.
But instead, he invites them to talk and sit down literally on top of the body. So, this can
lead to an underlying desire to be caught. Another thing to look at is the underlying
meaning of specific words as well. Poe uses the word “repose” which implies the one
who is resting will eventually get back up. This can be referred to when the heart
metaphorically starts beating again. Another word Poe used is “enthusiasm” which from
the etymology of said word, can be referred to the Greek word entheos which means:
“divinely inspired, possessed by a god”. This enthusiasm could be that he’s possessed by
his guilt into sitting above the body, leading to his confession and arrest. Not only are
there meanings in the emotion that he puts into the story, but there are literally hidden
meanings in individual words throughout.

“The Tell-Tale Heart” is filled with many symbolisms and hidden meanings such as how
the heart beating is the guilt building inside the narrator. Edgar Allan Poe truly poured
his heart (no pun intended) and soul into this piece to show the struggles of mental
health. From this, we can truly see how guilt can engulf a man and lead him to
self-destruction.

Source:
https://engl105fa2020sec079.web.unc.edu/2020/11/the-anguish-of-guilt-the-tell-tale-heart-by-e
dgar-allan-poe/
1. The critique/reaction paper had judgement and evaluated the components that
were needed to be addressed in the poem. The critic also describes the author’s
(Edgar Allan Poe) perspective whilst writing. It thoroughly explained the summary
and deciphered the poem’s overall meaning.

2. The critic wrote the paper with keen eyes on the details of the aforementioned
poetry. Thus, it was created strongly, as the in-depth and accurate understanding of
the critic reflects on his well-written summary, accompanied by the explanation of
each key line. Also, the poetry’s author’s feelings, as well as his mood, was also
expressed in the paper. Lastly, the critic had neutral judgement, caring for only the
information and meaning of the author’s piece.