Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart” and “The Masque of the Red Death”
When people think of Edgar Allan Poe, they probably think of dark writing and murders. His writings have been printing since the early 1800’s. (Giordano ) Many of his works are literally classics, such as “The Tell-Tale Heart,” and “The Masque of the Red Death.” Much like most of his stories, Poe’s life was a dark one. He was born in Boston, Massachusetts on January 19, 1809. Both his mother and his father were performers. His father abandoned the family to continue on with his acting career, and not even a year later, Poe’s mother died. (Hoffman ) When this happened, he went to live with John and Frances Allen. Although Poe was never adopted, he had a family. While attending the University of Virginia, his fellow classmates were describing him as a dark and gloomy person. John Allen pulled Poe out of school because Poe racked up a gambling debt and at the time John was supporting him. When this happened, Poe joined the army. He was a cadet at West Point, but left shortly after John quit sending him money. Afterwards, Poe moved to New York City and began to have is poetry published. IN 1835 Poe got a job working for the Southern Literary Messenger. At this time, he married his cousin, Virginia Clemm. Poe kept his job until January of 1837. At this time he moved to Philadelphia where his drinking problem, which he has had since his earlier adulthood, became worse. (Blum) The years of 1846 and 1847 were hard on Poe. First, the paper he was working for had failed, and then his wife got sick and died. At this time, his drinking took over his life. Not many years later, Poe became very sick and was taken to the hospital. He took his last breath on Sunday, Octob...
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...Poetry Review
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The “Tell-Tale Heart” is a short story written by Edgar Allan Poe and serves as a testament to Poe’s ability to convey mental disability in an entertaining way. The story revolves around the unnamed narrator and old man, and the narrator’s desire to kill the old man for reasons that seem unexplainable and insane. After taking a more critical approach, it is evident that Poe’s story is a psychological tale of inner turmoil.
Poe, Edgar Allan. “The Masque of the Red Death” Literature An Introduction to Reading and Writing. ED. Edgar V Roberts and Robert Zweig. Boston, Longman: 2012. 516-519.
Edgar Allan Poe's short stories, "The Telltale Heart" and "The Masque of the Red Death" are two very different stories. One is about a simple man, perhaps a servant, who narrates the tale of how he kills his wealthy benefactor, and the other is about a prince who turns his back on his country while a plague known as The Red Death ravages his lands. Yet, there are some similarities in both. Time, for instance, and the stroke of midnight, seem to always herald the approach of impending death. Both are killers, one by his own hand, the other by neglecting his country. One seeks peace, the other seeks pleasure, but both are motivated by the selfish need to rid themselves of that which haunts them, even at the expense of another's life. However, the point of this critique will show that their meticulous plans to beat that which torments them are undone by a single flaw in their character - overconfidence.
Poe, Edgar Allan. "The Tell-Tale Heart." Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Ed. X. J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. 7th ed. New York: Longman, 1999. 33-37.
Poe is one of the most famous American authors, and his works are known for their mysterious and dark style. The story analyzed on the essay, The Tell-Tale Heart, is about a guy who decides to murder an old man to get rid of his pale blue eye. It is narrated by the killer, who tells why he decided to do this, how he proceeded and why he ended
Poe, Edgar Allan. "Tell-Tale Heart." Skwire, David and Harvey S Wiener. Student's Book of College English: Rhetoric, Reader, Research Guide and Handbook. Boston: Pearson Learning Solutions, 2012. 402-405. Print.
...binson, E. Arthur. "Poe's 'The Tell-Tale Heart'." Twentieth Century Interpretations of Poe's Tales. ED. William L. Howarth. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1971. 94-102.
In Edgar Allan Poe’s The Tell-Tale Heart, the conviction with which the narrator laid out the events leading to him killing the old
Poe Edgar Allan. “The Tell-Tale Heart.” The Ideal Reader 2nd Ed. 2012: ENC 1102 Communications 2. Eds. C.J Baker-Schverak. New York: McGraw-Hill 2012. 218 - 221. Print.
The. Poe, Edgar A. & Co. “The Tell-Tale Heart.” Literature.org - The Online Literature Library. Web.
Poe, Edgar A. “The Tell-Tale Heart”. American Literature: Volume One. Ed. William E. Cain. New York: Pearson, 2004. 809-813. Print
“The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe.” University of Virginia, n.d. Web. 27 March, 2014.
Through the first person narrator, Edgar Allan Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart" illustrates how man's imagination is capable of being so vivid that it profoundly affects people's lives. The manifestation of the narrator's imagination unconsciously plants seeds in his mind, and those seeds grow into an unmanageable situation for which there is no room for reason and which culminates in murder. The narrator takes care of an old man with whom the relationship is unclear, although the narrator's comment of "For his gold I had no desire" (Poe 34) lends itself to the fact that the old man may be a family member whose death would monetarily benefit the narrator. Moreover, the narrator also intimates a caring relationship when he says, "I loved the old man. He had never wronged me. He had never given me insult" (34). The narrator's obsession with the old man's eye culminates in his own undoing as he is engulfed with internal conflict and his own transformation from confidence to guilt.
Poe, Edgar Allan. "The Tell-Tale Heart." Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Ed. X. J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. 7th ed. New York: Longman, 1999. 33-37.
The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allen Poe is a short story that dives into the mind of an insane man. The story only features five characters. There is an old man with a blue eye, the crazed killer, and three police. The story is narrated by the nameless murderer. It is his attempt to justify his behavior and to prove to the reader that he is not crazy. As the story goes on you come to the realization that he is actually insane. The characters in this story are complex, interesting, and elaborate.