Tension in ‘The Tell Tale Heart’

The fact that we are told the narrator ‘grew very pale’ indicates that the once self-assured
young man now fears the discovery of his crime and so the stakes are raised in this section of
the story. His ‘heightened voice’ and increased pace of conversation also imply that his
actions are growing steadily more inexplicable as the texts develops until ‘violent
gesticulations’ and ‘fury’ define his behaviour. By the close of the passage the terms ‘agony’
and ‘derision’ highlight just how tormented the killer is and so Poe carefully elevates the
tension via the behaviour of the narrator but also through the medium of the first person
narrative perspective in which this tale is presented.

Poe also builds the tension in this passage through the use of strong verb choices. For
example, the narrator ‘gasped’ for breath, he ‘paces’ the floor and a few lines later he uses
the triplet – ‘foamed’, ‘raved’ and ‘swore’ all of which dramatise the scene. The author also
uses juxtaposed sentence structures to emphasize that despite his growing agitation, the
police officers seem oblivious to the increasingly loud heartbeat. Connectives such as ‘but’
and ‘yet’ emphasize the contrast in the characters’ experiences, reflecting the madness of the
narrator. His insanity is further reinforced by the emphasis which is placed on rhetorical
questions, dashesand exclamations.

Another means by which Poe drives forward the tension in the piece is through the use of
punctuation which becomes more and more erratic as the text progresses, as does the control
of sentence structures. By the close of the passage, there is a complete breakdown of
extended expression and only a chain of single words are presented, suggesting that the
speaker is reliving the desperation and fear he felt at the time. Moreover, the repetition of
terms such as ‘louder’ and ‘no’ combine with the narrator’s pleas to God to create a growing
sense of terror.

Underlined – analytical discourse markers, italics –

writing features & literary style

The fact that we are told the narrator ‘grew very pale’ indicates thatthe once self-assured
young man now fears the discovery of his crime and so the stakes are raised in this section of
the story. His ‘heightened voice’ and increased pace of conversation also imply thathis
actions are growing steadily more inexplicable as the texts develops until ‘violent
gesticulations’ and ‘fury’ define his behaviour. By the close of the passage the terms ‘agony’
and ‘derision’ highlight just how tormented the killer is and so Poe carefully elevates the
tension via the behaviour of the narrator but also through the medium of the first person
narrative perspective in which this tale is presented.

Poe also builds the tension in this passage through the use of strong verb choices. For
example, the narrator ‘gasped’ for breath, he ‘paces’ the floor and a few lines later he uses
the triplet – ‘foamed’, ‘raved’ and ‘swore’ all of which dramatise the scene. The author also
uses juxtaposed sentence structures to emphasizethat despite his growing agitation, the
police officers seem oblivious to the increasingly loud heartbeat. Connectives such as ‘but’
and ‘yet’ emphasize the contrast in the characters’ experiences, reflectingthe madness of
the narrator. His insanity is further reinforced by the emphasis which is placed on
increasingly fragmented sentence structures.

Another means by which Poe drives forward the tension in the piece is through the use
of punctuation: rhetorical questions, dashes and exclamationsall become more and more
prominent as the text progresses. By the close of the passage, there is a complete
breakdown of extended expression and only a chain of single words are presented,
suggesting thatthe speaker is reliving the desperation and fear he felt at the time.
Moreover, the repetition of terms such as ‘louder’ and ‘no’ combine with the narrator’s
pleas to God to create a growing sense of terror.