Edgar Allan Poe's "Tell Tale Heart"

Review of "Tell-Tale Heart"
Author: Edgar Allan Poe
Genre: Horror Fiction
Year of Publication: January 1843
Publishing House: First published in the inaugural issue of The Pioneer: A Literary and Critical Magazine, a short-lived Boston magazine.

My Feelings: Right off the bat, I sense the narrator, the MC, questioning his own sanity, which continues throughout the story. It is an excellent example of being careful about what we imagine, where it may come true.

The main character was the Butler: the secondary character, is the old man. Minor characters were the three Police Officers. Then we have the heart of the old man and his cloudy one eye. Also characters in my opinion. The MC was intrigued by this cloudy eye. At the same time, haunted by it.

The title depicts the ending. The beating of the old man's heart. It can also depict the beating of the main character's heart, where his anxiety and guilt were getting the best of him, before and after killing the old man with his own mattress. With so much guilt, he confesses to the Police.

The relevance of the story is to grip the reader through the plot, theme, and emotions. I felt more than one theme while reading the story. I felt, Death, friendship, and good vs evil. Death because he killed the old man, in order to stop hearing the sound of the old man's heart. Friendship, because the MC reveals how he loved the old man. And good vs evil due to the battle in his mind.

In conclusion, I've always loved this story. I read it in High school, and now after reading it again, twice, thirty years later, I feel I have a better understanding of the story. Edgar Allen Poe, in my opinion, will always be one of the greats of literature.