Examine the portrayal of the narrator in ‘The Tell-Tale Heart’. Explore how Poe convinces us that he is mad and how he is insane?
...been and am; but why will you say that I am mad?” The overly punctuated sentences, filled with hyphens and commas, create a nervous effect on the reader (which reflects the mood of the narrator) as they do not know what to expect. It also confuses the reader as they do not know why the narrator is speaking in a strange way and what he is nervous about. The sentence is slow, short and jagged in speech which unnerves the reader and adds a sense of madness. It slows the pace down creating suspense, fear and in turn insanity. The shortness of the sentence also reflects the state of mind of the narrator, focussed, lacking in cohesion and repeatedly returns to the same thoughts (it emphasizes the sporadic nature that his madness has caused his mind to be). The technique is continually used throughout the story and creates a base upon which to build up the feeling of insanity, and to control the tempo of certain parts. The effects that are present in the reader due to the clever use and control of punctuation create a hook which makes the reader what to read on and find out; the creepy, sinister suggestions catch the reader’s attention and ask many questions which grips the reader’s focus. The vocabulary in the sentences also suggests an edgy atmosphere by the use of words which brings out fear and suspense such as “nervous”, “dreadfully nervous”, “mad”. The first sentence has many literary devices which work to create a starting atmosphere of fear, suspense, anxiety and anticipation which fascinates the reader. The story is seen in the first-person perspective, this omnipotent narrator is what the reader...