How does Edgar Allen Poe keep the reader in suspense in ‘The
In our modern world today, we are affected by the many number of stories we hear. But how do the authors of these short stories keep the reader exited and focused? Suspense. Suspense is the type of writing skill authors use to give readers uncertainty about the conclusion of the story. In some stories, the reader may guess the conclusion before they even finish reading the introduction, but when authors add suspense in to their master pieces, the stories become far more interesting and keeps the reader wondering whether if the conclusion of the story would end like they thought it could, and therefore keeps the reader wanting to read more. Edgar Allan Poe is an expert in writing stories full of suspense and uses this particular writing style exceptionally well. "The Tell Tale Heart" is just one of Poe's many masterpieces that possess the ability to keep the reader of the story reading from the beginning of the story to the very end. But how does Edgar Allen Poe keep the reader in suspense in ‘The Tell-Tale Heart’? and how does Edgar Allan Poe use it to manipulate his readers? The author first led suspense in to his story right at the beginning. He practically started the story by using foreshadowing. Foreshadowing is a ver
y interesting type of literary device. It gives out clues to the reader about the conclusion of the story. Usually it is the character of the story that gives out the clues but from time to time it may vary. Because foreshadowing usually comes in at the very beginning, you may not believe what the character tells you because you do not exactly know what kind of person he is, and if the character is some psychopath, obviously you are not going to believe him. Putting foreshadowing in the beginning of a story is an excellent way to start a story because that way it keeps the reader's attention at the beginning of the story. Just in the first line, Poe creates suspense by repeating the word ‘very’ and admits that he has been ‘dreadfully nervous’. This instantly makes the reader think why he is so and the fact that he tries to prove his innocence against being mad makes the reader believe that he or she has done something badly wrong. Next, he states that he has a disease, ‘the disease had sharpened my senses --not destroyed --not dulled them.’ No one knows anything about what the narrator has done yet he protests against the fact that he is evil. ‘How, then, am I mad? Hearken! and observe how healthily --how calmly I can tell you the whole story.’ Again he tries to prove that he is not mad by telling the story calmly. The narrator himself knows that he has done something wrong and obviously has a guilty conscious. At the beginning of the narrator telling the story we see that the narrator knows that the audience see him as mad, and we do. He states that madmen know nothing. ‘You should have seen how wisely I proceeded --with what caution --with what foresight --with what dissimulation I went to work! I was never kinder to the old man than during the whole week before I killed him.’ Well we know it is his great suspense that he can conjure up but it is still a mystery as to how he does it
Some topics in this essay:
Allan Poe,
Suspense Suspense,
Oh God,
Almighty God,
Tale Heart,
,
Heart Poe's,
edgar allan poe,
edgar allan,
Edgar Allan,
Allen Poe,
allan poe,
tell tale,
beginning story,
tell tale heart,
tale heart,
Tell Tale,
stories reader,
conclusion story,
heart edgar allan,
suspense story,
story tell,
poe reader,
story tell tale,
tale heart edgar,
Join now to see the rest of the essay!
Approximate Word count = 1300
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
More Essays on How does Edgar Allen Poe keep the reader in suspense in ‘The
Professional Papers: |
CUSTOMER SERVICES
|
|
Saved Papers
You haven't saved any papers.
|
Example Essays Home
