The Tell Tale Heart
Edgar Allen Poe

Edgar Allen Poe

The Raven

quoth the raven – ‘nevermore’

What irritates you about
other people?

Have you ever felt yourself
disliking a person for no
apparent reason?

Is there any characteristic or trait
about another person that might
haunt you to the extent that you
would murder them?

What would the world look like
through the eyes of a madman?

How does guilt manifest itself?

What are the different symbolic
meanings of the ‘heart’?

As we read the short story, keep an
‘eye out’ for the following:
•Narrative perspective
•The importance of the setting
•The ambiguity of the ending
•The atmosphere created

How did Poe create such a
powerful atmosphere in such a
brief piece of writing?

The Ending
What do you think was responsible for the
sound of the beating heart?
Was the narrator being haunted by a
supernatural presence or was he merely
suffering from the same madness that drove him
to kill the old man in the first place?
Does it matter?

Task 1: Close textual analysis of a
selected passage

The tools of tension
•Plot events
•Narrative commentary
•Sentence length
•Use of punctuation
•Repetition
•Similes and metaphors
•Strong verb choices
•Adjectives
•Juxta-positioning & contrast

Language feature Effect
Increasingly Suggest the narrator’s
fragmented sentence growing fear and
structures desperation
The contrast between Emphasizes the
the agitation of the narrator’s insanity or
narrator and the calm implies a supernatural
oblivious reaction of origin for the beating
the Police Officers heart – either of which
raises the tension

Close textual analysis makes use of
‘discourse markers’ such as:
This highlights / implies / suggests...
This is reinforced by...
Another method used is...
An emphasis is placed upon...
Likewise, similarly, in contrast,
Moreover, furthermore

So how important is
Poe’s language and
style?
After all, isn’t it the
plot that’s the most
important element of
any story?

Task 2: Narrative Voice
Write a paragraph in the style of the narrator
describing the cell in which you now find
yourself
Then write a paragraph in the style of one of the
police officers, reporting your initial impressions
of the man who committed the murder
How are your two pieces different in terms of
style, sentence constructions and language
choices?