Survey of English & American Literature [EL115]

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Task 4 & Task 5

“The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe

Submitted by:

Masinadiong, Danny Fe B.

BSED-English2B
1st
Semester

Submitted to:

Ms. Dana Galido

INSTRUCTOR
Task 3: Choose one work from those mentioned above or from any known American
writers. Then proceed to analyze his/her work using the elements of prose or poetry
(I would rather read your ideas on these portions).

“The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe

Elements of Prose

1. Plot:

 Exposition: The story begins with the narrator explaining that he is not mad
and wants to convince the reader of his sanity.

- “True!—nervous—very, very dreadfully nervous I had been and am; but why
will you say that I am mad?”

 Rising Action: The narrator reveals his obsession with the old man’s “vulture
eye,” which he believes is evil. He plans to kill the old man.

- “I think it was his eye! Yes, it was this! He had the eye of a vulture – a pale
blue eye, with a film over it.”

 Climax: The narrator stealthily enters the old man’s room and kills him in his
sleep.

- “And this I did for seven long nights—every night just at midnight—but I found
the eye always closed, and so it was impossible to do the work, for it was not
the old man who vexed me, but his Evil Eye.”

 Falling Action: After hiding the old man’s dismembered body beneath the
floorboards, the narrator hears a sound and believes it is the old man’s heart
still beating.

- “It grew louder, I say, louder every moment! – do you mark me well I have told
you that I am nervous: so I am.”

 Resolution: Consumed by guilt and paranoia, the narrator confesses to the

murder, driven to madness by the sound of the beating heart.

- “Villains! Dissemble no more! I admit the deed! – tear up the planks! Here,
here! – it is the beating of his hideous heart!”

2. Characters:

 The Narrator: An unnamed individual who insists on their sanity while

describing their obsession with the old man’s eye and the murder they
commit.
 The Old Man: An elderly individual with a “vulture eye,” who becomes the
victim of the narrator’s obsession.
3. Setting:

 The story’s setting is a house where the narrator and the old man live. It is
described as dark and eerie.

- “His room was as black as pitch with the thick darkness.”

4. Conflict

 The main conflict is internal, as the narrator grapples with his obsession and
growing madness.
 The conflict also becomes external when the narrator kills the old man,
leading to a moral and psychological conflict.

- “It’s the beating of his hideous heart!”

5. Point of View:

 The story is told from the first-person point of view, allowing readers to get
inside the narrator’s mind and experience their descent into madness.

- “You fancy me mad. Madmen know nothing.”

6. Theme:

 The central themes of the story include the thin line between sanity and
madness, guilt, obsession, and the effects of a guilty conscience.

- “I felt that I must scream or die!—and now—again!—hark! Louder! Louder!

Louder! Louder!”

7. Style:

 Poe’s writing style is characterized by vivid and descriptive language, a focus

on the narrator’s internal thoughts, and the use of symbolism to convey
deeper psychological and emotional states.

- “But why will you say that I am mad? The disease has only sharpened my
senses, not destroyed them.”

8. Tone and Mood:

 The tone of the story is tense, anxious, and paranoid, reflecting the narrator’s
deteriorating mental state.
 The mood is one of suspense and dread, intensifying as the story progresses.

- “The noise was increasing, it grew louder, I talked more quickly – more
vehemently.”
9. Symbolism:

 In the story, the old man’s eye symbolizes the narrator’s guilt and obsession.

- “I think it was his eye! Yes, it was this! One of his eyes resembled that of a
vulture.”

10. Irony:

 In this story, there is dramatic irony as the narrator insists he is not mad while
his actions show otherwise.

- “You should have seen how wisely I proceeded—with what caution—with

what foresight—with what dissimulation I went to work!”

11. Foreshadowing:

 In the story, the narrator’s obsession with the old man’s eye foreshadows the
tragic events.

- “It’s impossible to say how first the idea entered my brain, but once
conceived, it haunted me day and night.”
Task 4:
From your chosen selection, choose One character. Act as if you are that character
as you introduce him/her to the class in 2-3 mins.

Hello, everyone. My name is not important, but I am the narrator of the story
you’ve been reading, “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe. I want to take a
moment to introduce myself and give you some insights into my troubled mind.

I’m here to convince you that I am not mad, despite what you may have read
in the story. You see, I was just an ordinary person, driven to an extraordinary act by
what I believed to be the evil eye of the old man with whom I lived. It was this
“vulture eye” that haunted me day and night, and it consumed my every thought.

In the story, I tried to explain my nervousness and the feeling of dread that
had taken hold of me. I desperately wanted to rid myself of this eye, and I convinced
myself that the only way to do so was by taking the old man’s life. It may sound
cruel, but I genuinely believed it was the right thing to do to ease my torment.

The climax of the story marks the moment when I decided to take matters into
my own hands. I stealthily entered the old man’s room as he slept, my heart
pounding with anxiety. The deed was done, and I thought I was in the clear.

However, as the days went by, the sound of the old man’s heart, or at least
what I thought was his heart, tormented me. It grew louder and louder, driving me to
the brink of madness. I thought that the sound of the beating heart was a
manifestation of my guilt, haunting me and pushing me over the edge.

In the end, consumed by guilt and paranoia, I couldn’t bear it any longer. I had
to confess to the murder, believing that the confession would put an end to the
relentless pounding in my ears. My mind unraveled, and I was left with no choice but
to reveal my gruesome act.

So, in these brief moments, I want you to understand that I wasn’t always this
way. I was a person driven to madness by what I believed was a malevolent eye,
and it led me down a dark and tragic path. Whether you believe I was truly mad or
simply tormented by my own obsessions, that’s for you to decide as you explore the
depths of my character in Poe’s haunting tale.