Poe is often concerned with the theme of time and mortality, that is, how

human beings are trapped in time and thus doomed to death. Explain how
this story reflects this common Poe theme.

I find quite exciting beginning this work by covering some facts from Poes life
since they may clear the path to the understanding of his writings and the symbols
playing an essential part in one of the darkest American writers minds.
To be brief, I can state that Poe lost his mother to tuberculosis at the age of 2;
he was then adopted, but his foster mother died young as well. He enrolled at the
University of Virginia but became involved in gambling and had to ask his foster
father for money; they argued and at the age of 20, Poe was cut off from his family.
He married, but his wife suffered frequent illnesses, and died at the age of 25 in
1847; by this time Poe was drinking heavily and he died after collapsing drunk and
delirious in 1849.
Could all of those events have affected Poes way of life in some way?
Psychologist Erica Giammarco analyzed Poes mind and said that Although
successful in his studies, he did not have many friends and wrote that school was
a miserable experience. Classmates stated that he was incredibly defensive and
did not allow others to get close
As Poe aged his health deteriorated and he continued to drink heavily. He was
described by coworkers and family as chronically melancholic, acquiring the

nickname the man who never smiles Poe had a great deal of pride, evident in
his refusal to accept money when he and his wife were both sick and unable to
work
An examination of the letters Poe wrote to family reveals that he was a dramatic
individual. He often used excessive, theatrical language, poignantly captured in his
statement, I do believe God gave me a spark of genius, but He quenched it in
misery
Giammarco concluded her essay declaring that Poe would be high on
Neuroticism evident by the constant nervous anxiety he was said to have, as well
as his melancholy and irritability. Poe would also be described as being low in
Agreeableness and Conscientiousness since he was argumentative, untrusting,
and lacked self-control. This was shown in his drinking and in his failure to pursue
education.
In my opinion, Poe was definitely affected by all the hard times he went through
his life since he was a child. That is why we can find an intimate connection in the
way he perceived life and the indiscreet way he found to emotionally release
himself from his inner demons.
One of the main aspects regarding The Tell Tale Heart among Poes other
stories- is the authors use of a recurrent theme: Time. Doesnt it ring the bell? Poe
suffering from anxiety?

He mentions the word watch four times throughout the story, as if that element
could have conditioned his life as an executioner who has nothing to forgive to his
victim since he is only carrying out his task.
And what it seems to be a simple story, it only gets complex as the rhythm of the
work goes in crescendo like the orchestral music piece In the Hall of the Mountain
King composed by Edvard Grieg. From the slow pace in which Poe recreates the
stage in our minds working with the suspense, and expressions like how wisely I
proceeded with what caution- - with what dissimulation; I moved it slowly; it
took me an hour; and this I did for seven long nights; death watches in the wall,
to the violent burst showed in the language like It grew quicker and quicker; In an
instant I dragged him to the floor; The night waned, and I worked hastily, but
in silence. This last sentence gives us a break, like an invitation to take seat after
the jump of horror and expectancy we could have made because of witnessing the
murder.
Poe plays with time, and with death, as if they were malleable things in a
desperate attempt to get back his past, or the good life that was stolen from him.
Now, through these stories, he is in control. And if he plays with death, he also
does it with life. I am pretty convinced that when someone criticizes a third party,
hes doing nothing but an unconscious self judgment, although the ego will always
be there to erect a wall for us not to get hurt. That is why Poe transfers the image
of the vulture to the vulnerable man. As vultures besiege their prey and they
patiently await for them to die, Poe embodies that carrion bird planning a detailed
and vile murder. Vultures hunt to feed themselves. Poe plays to kill his characters

to satisfy his hollowness, to cover his miseries and unfulfilled yearnings that time
has taken away from him and he is never going to recover.

Bibliography
The tell tale heart (Original text)
http://www.ibiblio.org/ebooks/Poe/Tell-Tale_Heart.pdf
Erica Giammarco (Biography)
https://ca.linkedin.com/pub/erica-giammarco/65/2b4/602
In the hall of Mountain King
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_the_Hall_of_the_Mountain_King
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLp_Hh6DKWc
http://www.theguardian.com/music/tomserviceblog/2012/oct/30/scariest-classicalmusic
Murder as a fine art
http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/1261183?uid=3737512&uid=2&uid=4&sid=2
1104928644947
http://www.longbeachopera.org/2013-season/tell-tale-heart-van-gogh
Poe's life facts
http://poestories.com/timeline.php
http://poestories.com/biography.php
Psychology in Edgar Allan Poe
https://www.academia.edu/4177083/Psychology_in_Edgar_Allan_Poes_The_Black
_Cat_The_Cask_of_Amontillado_and_Berenice
Symbolism in the Tell tale heart
http://www.shortstoriesanalyzed.com/2013/10/symbolism-tell-tale-heart.html
Style
http://www.xenia.k12.oh.us/userfiles/251/The%20Tell_Tale%20Heart%20(eNotes).
pdf
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aM4h1N-rPAk
Tales of mystery and imagination (Penguin Readers, level 5)
The accomplice in the tell tale heart
http://www.courseweb.uottawa.ca/ENG1120/ENG_1120/Research_essay_material
s_files/Poe%20accomplice%20in%20tth%20witherington.pdf
The Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th edition
The psychology of Edgar Allan Poe
http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/neuroskeptic/2012/10/23/the-psychology-ofedgar-allan-poe/
The vulture's eye
http://www.enotes.com/homework-help/what-might-vultures-eye-symbolize-59725
The works of Edgar Allan Poe in five volumes by Jim Manis
Themes
http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/poestories/themes.html
http://www.enotes.com/topics/tell-tale-heart/themes
Time in the Tell tale heart
http://www.enotes.com/homework-help/how-important-treatment-time-this-shortstory-57953