G. R. Thompson

The madness of the narrator is evident from the moment he claims that he is not mad. "The Tell-Tale Heart" is an economical tale only four pages in length; yet it packs a lot of emotion into its small size. He claims that his own calmness is proof he is not mad when moments later he refers to a court case where calmness was evidence of madness. The clarity of the prose is striking, and just as he claims he is not mad the narrator also claims the old man did nothing to cause him to kill him. show more He had no passion, no objection, he loved the old man; "I was never kinder to the old man than during the whole week before I killed him." Yet upon reflection it was the old man's eye. "One of his eyes resembled that of a vulture--a pale blue eye, with a film over it. When ever it fell upon me, my blood ran cold;".
There is more in this very short story, layers of details with each word important when attempting to understand it. The evil eye is a terror that was traditionally associated with the devil or the power to inflict pain or injury. Reaction to this leads the narrator onward relentlessly to the denouement. Yet the real terror is in the aftermath of his crime when, his heightened senses lead him to an unexpected end.
Edgar Allan Poe, in this tale and in "The Black Cat" and others presents narrators that are unhinged by their actions, unaware of their own real feelings and those of the people around them. They interpret their own perversity as a form a sagacity and are methodical in their madness. The stories are filled with symbolism, and the perversity seems to be in spite of the will of the narrator. It is as if an "imp of the perverse" made him do the crime. Just so, Poe has another tale that dwells on that very character. Here we see Poe the master of the human conscience telling tales that lay bare the result when conscience is not present or ignored until it is too late; until its beating or other sign demands that it be heard. show less

I've always loved Edgar Allan Poe, so I love this edition. It's nice to have the critical articles accompany the stories they're referring to.

Poe had style. But he's not my style. That's why he gets the 3.

And I am glad we're done wth Poe... until next semester.

Among the most thorough Poe selections & critical editions available.