The Tell-Tale Heart and Other Writings by Edgar Allan Poe

Overtly discouraging the reader from deciding for themselves, by stating an opinion for us, may be read as an attempt at reverse psychology. To me, the italicising of the word ‘will’ demonstrates the narrator’s assumption that we immediately accept him as a madman. The disjointed, opening sentence of ‘The Tell-Tale Heart’, for example, commences with the question: “but why will you say that I am mad?”Īlthough it’s entirely possible that this is a narrative framework – the implied inclusion of a backstage character, perhaps an investigator or medical professional, which gives the narrator cause to recount the events – personally, I read it as a direct engagement with the reader. Although interpretation, or “deciphering” is commonly reserved for literary academics, students and critics, I feel that Poe encourages this of all of his readers, more actively, perhaps than other authors. He suggests that Poe’s aim is to puzzle his readers, commencing or concluding each tale with an invitation, for the reader, to decipher the events. I started my research by reading an essay entitled ‘Poe and the Unreadable’, by Christopher Benfey – a contemporary American literary critic.

Kenneth Silverman, New Essays on Poe’s Major Tales (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993) p.27 ‘Poe and the Undreadable: “The Black Cat” and “The Tell Tale Heart”, in ed. (Where available for purchase, I’ll hyperlink all book titles so you can geek out too.) “Poe aimed to puzzle his readers.” If you are unfamiliar with the 1843 short story, I suggest you read it first! You can pick up a copy super cheaply by clicking here. In honour of Poe’s birthday, I present you with my spoiler-filled dissection of “The Tell Tale Heart”. What I mean is that it all began for me my interest in the Gothic started somewhere around the age of 7 or 8 when I happened to select “The Tell Tale Heart” from our family bathroom bookcase. It all began with Edgar Allan Poe, the American grandfather of Gothic literature, who was born on this day (January 19th) in 1809.

The Tell-Tale Heart and Other Writings by Edgar Allan Poe