Romanticism was an artistic movement created in the 18th century in which writers were encouraged to adulate emotion, imagination, free thinking, the supernatural, mystery, optimism, and love. This period produced the most impeccable place for author, Edgar Allen Poe. Poe constructs a chilling and sinister tone through his writing to generate suspense and frighten the reader. He desired to make the reader feel uneasy and fearful from deep within. Poe stood out among other Romantic authors in terms of occult writing styles as he undeniably took the spotlight for blood-curdling and eerie writing. He was a unique individual as well as hugely influential in not only the Romantic era but also in the literary world. Poeâs writing conveys the darker side of Romanticism as he addresses the concepts of death, the supernatural, loss of love, and mysterious evil, along with a major emphasis on individualism and intense passion.
Passion, by definition, is a âstrong and barely controllable emotionâ, and it is an overarching trait of Romanticism as well as dominantly exhibited in Poeâs âThe Tell-Tale Heartâ. In this short story, an unnamed narrator has a deep, intense hatred for this elderly manâs eye. This emotion is indeed uncontrollable as he murders said man in the dead of night solely because of his eye. Poe provides no real reason as to why the main character detests his eye so much other than the fact that âhis eye was like the eye of a vultureâ and then goes on to say that his eye is like â...one of those terrible birds that watch and wait while an animal dies, and then fall upon the
Save your time!
We can take care of your essay
- Proper editing and formatting
- Free revision, title page, and bibliography
- Flexible prices and money-back guarantee
dead body and pull it to pieces to eat it.â (Poe, âTell-Taleâ 64). The narrator associated this old man with death. He also refers to the eye as an âEvil Eyeâ. He has such a deep hatred for this eye that he cannot bear to look at it, and he feels threatened by it beyond belief. This explains why the only way the narrator could kill this man, was when he was sleeping, when the eye wasnât looking at him, when it held no threat. However, after he killed him, he felt an immeasurable amount of guilt. It can be interpreted that Poe justifies the killing as an extreme level of unconscious self-defense. The narrator felt exceedingly threatened by the eye that he felt the only way he could survive was by killing the man. No matter the case, the man had a wave of emotions. The emotions of hatred and guilt overcame this man and fueled his moments of weakness of killing the man and then confessing.
Individualism, a Romantic trait like no other, is exactly what âThe Tell-Tale Heartâ portrays. Much like many of Poeâs pieces, the main character is stuck in their thoughts, and it holds no exception with this story. Here he wrote in the first person, with tons of Iâs and meâs, taking you through how he felt, what he thought, what he did. It was completely individualistic, the main character acted completely and utterly alone. He candidly did what he thought was best for himself and his gain. He killed that man so he wouldnât have to look at his eye anymore. Surely, readers will think that itâs safe to assume that this man is insane, but Poe writes, âCan you not see that I have full control of my mind? Is it not clear that I am not mad?â (Poe, âTell-Taleâ 64). The narrator claims heâs not insane for he truly believes what he did was just, that he simply did what he had to do. He carefully executed the murder alone and then proceeded to hack up this manâs body and place it under the floorboards. In doing that, he took in no account for this manâs family or friends, he didnât care about them. He didnât give a single thought to their needs because he did what he did for himself and himself only.
There is no lack of gore, eeriness, or mystery in any of Poeâs writing and that includes this short story too. Romanticism was a time when writing about the supernatural and spooky things was encouraged. It wasnât looked down upon with people thinking you were the Devil. Poe took full advantage of this and as a matter of fact, he was known as âThe Master of the Macabreâ. âThe Tell-Tale Heartâ keeps the reader on the edge of their seat and sends a chill down the readerâs spine. The reader begins to get a sense of fear while approaching the climax of this story. When the man entered the older manâs house on the night of the murder, the narrator goes on to say that âthe blood in my body became like ice.â (Poe, âTell-Taleâ 66) The narrator claims that for an hour, he stood there silently in the thick darkness while the old man sat up in his bed, trembling in fear. Then, however, he refers to himself as âDeathâ when the old man ânow knew that Death was standing there.â (Poe, âTell-Taleâ 65) Poe builds up the murder greatly by saying the sound of his heartbeat grew louder, fear crept in faster, crying became ear-piercing; everything heightened right until the death. Then, when the old manâs death came, the moment he was gone, the eeriness of silence slithered in instead. Â
Stuck on your essay?
