The next time the old man’s heart is heard is when he is dead and cut up into pieces! But since dead hearts don’t beat, it could be interpreted as the narrator’s own guilt which is projected onto the dead man’s heart, thus, telling us a tale of guilt and culpability. The title refers to both the narrator’s heart, the old man’s heart, and to the tales told by both: at the most obvious level, the old man’s heart tells tales to the narrator and the reader as well: we first hear his heart beat during the eighth night, and when he realizes that something is not right in his room, his heart tells again a tale of fear, which, in its turn, makes the narrator extremely angry and gives him the motive to carry out his horrific plan. In the case of the tell-tale heart, it is mystery which is introduced from the title itself. The title gives the first impression about the story, and informs the reader about what to expect.

It is an excellent illustration of how this technique can produce an effect on the reader and invite them to think or many interpretations as possible. The Tell-tale Heart is equally a very good example of a short story told from a first person narrative perspective. But nowadays, Edgar Allan Poe became identified as the forefather of the gothic movement and regarded as an admirable writer of psychological thrillers. Woodberry (1885), for example, considers Poe’s literature, and The Tell-tale Heart more precisely, “a tale of conscious”, arguing that Poe’s attention to death and murders details only reflect his deranged personality. However, as it is the case with many avant-gardist authors, Poe was originally negatively critiqued for his inclination for depraved themes. And these two traits more than other which characterize his literary oeuvre. According to the gothic principles in literature, and to Edgar Allan Poe, “good literature must either create truth or evoke emotions”.

The tell tale heart text