Poe's Short Stories

Tell tale heart

Give two direct and specific examples from the story that the author uses to create an atmosphere of horror or suspense.tgese are sentences that set or enhance the mood of the story?

Asked by
Last updated by Aslan
Answers 1
Add Yours

It doesn't take us long to discover that our narrator is unreliable. His description of people and events are grossly exaggerated but his overblown details also serve to ramp up the tension and "horror". The narrator's vague explanation for his malice against the old man does sound rather creepy,

"I think it was his eye! yes, it was this! He had the eye of a vulture --a pale blue eye, with a film over it. Whenever it fell upon me, my blood ran cold..."

The narrator adds mystery and suspense as the story moves on with lines like,

"Presently I heard a slight groan, and I knew it was the groan of mortal terror. It was not a groan of pain or of grief --oh, no! --it was the low stifled sound that arises from the bottom of the soul when overcharged with awe."