Offline Notepad
View raw
LITERARY ANALYSIS IN ENGLISH 9
Submitted by: [Name of Student]
Submitted to: Bernadette S. Evis English Teacher
Date: September 2, 2026
I. Information about the Literary Text
Title: The Tell-Tale Heart Author: Edgar Allan Poe Genre: Short Story Year Published: 1843 Literary Period: American Romanticism / Dark Romanticism Introduction
The Tell-Tale Heart is a short story written by Edgar Allan Poe. It is about an unnamed narrator who becomes bothered by an old man's strange-looking eye. The narrator believes that the eye is frightening, so they decide to kill the old man. After hiding the body, the narrator becomes scared and feels guilty. The story shows the importance of guilt, fear, and the consequences of doing something wrong.
II. Summary of the Literary Text
The story is about a narrator who says that they are not crazy. The narrator lives with an old man and becomes very bothered by his pale and unusual eye. The old man never does anything bad to the narrator, but the narrator becomes obsessed with the eye.
For several nights, the narrator secretly watches the old man while he is sleeping. One night, the narrator finally attacks and kills him. After that, the narrator hides the body under the floorboards.
Later, police officers come to the house because a neighbor heard a strange noise. The narrator acts calmly and tells the police that everything is fine. The officers look around the house but do not find anything wrong.
While talking with the officers, the narrator starts hearing a sound that seems like the beating of the old man's heart. The sound seems to become louder and louder. The narrator becomes nervous and can no longer handle the fear and guilt. In the end, the narrator confesses and tells the police where the body is hidden.
III. Analysis of Literary Elements
A. Setting
The story takes place mostly inside the old man's house, especially in his bedroom. Most of the events happen at night.
The dark and quiet setting makes the story feel scary and mysterious. It also helps create suspense because the narrator is secretly watching the old man. The house makes the story feel more closed and uncomfortable.
B. Characters and Characterization
The Narrator is the main character of the story. The narrator is nervous, secretive, and obsessed with the old man's eye. The narrator also tries hard to convince the readers that they are not crazy.
The Old Man is the person who lives with the narrator. He does not do anything bad to the narrator, but his eye becomes the reason for the narrator's obsession.
The Police Officers come to the house because of the noise reported by a neighbor. They do not know that the narrator has hidden the old man's body.
The author uses indirect characterization because we learn about the characters through their actions, thoughts, and behavior.
C. Point of View
The story uses a first-person point of view because the narrator tells the story using words like “I” and describes their own thoughts and feelings.
This point of view helps readers understand the narrator's fear and thoughts. However, the narrator cannot be completely trusted because they keep saying that they are sane even though their actions show otherwise.
D. Conflict
The main conflict is Character vs. Self. The narrator struggles with fear, guilt, and nervousness after killing the old man.
There is also Character vs. Character because the narrator decides to kill the old man because of the obsession with his eye.
The narrator's biggest problem in the end is not the police but their own fear and guilt.
E. Plot Structure
The story follows a traditional plot structure.
Exposition: The narrator introduces the story and says that they are not crazy.
Rising Action: The narrator becomes obsessed with the old man's eye and watches him while he sleeps.
Climax: The narrator kills the old man and hides his body under the floor.
Falling Action: The police arrive, and the narrator starts hearing the beating sound.
Resolution: The narrator becomes overwhelmed and confesses to the crime.
F. Theme
One important theme of the story is guilt. The narrator thinks that hiding the body will solve the problem, but the guilt continues to bother them.
Another theme is fear. The narrator becomes more and more afraid as the story continues. The story shows that sometimes our own thoughts and feelings can make us feel more afraid.
IV. Contextual Analysis
A. Biographical Context
Edgar Allan Poe was an American writer who was known for writing dark and mysterious stories. Many of his stories are about fear, death, and the human mind.
These interests can be seen in The Tell-Tale Heart. Poe focuses on the narrator's thoughts and feelings, especially the fear and guilt experienced after the crime.
B. Historical Context
The Tell-Tale Heart was published in 1843 during the American Romantic period. During this period, many writers became interested in emotions, imagination, mystery, and the darker side of human nature.
The story shows these ideas because it focuses on fear, guilt, and the strange behavior of the narrator.
C. Sociocultural Context
The story shows ideas about right and wrong, crime, and punishment. The narrator tries to hide the crime from the police, but eventually cannot keep the secret.
The story teaches readers that doing something wrong can have consequences, even if other people do not know about it immediately.
D. Psychological Context
The narrator's thoughts and feelings are very important in the story. The narrator becomes obsessed with the old man's eye and later becomes very nervous after the crime.
The beating sound can represent the narrator's guilt. It may not actually be the old man's heart, but it shows how strongly the narrator feels guilty and afraid.
V. Organic Unity
The different parts of The Tell-Tale Heart work together to show the theme of guilt and fear.
The dark setting makes the story mysterious and scary. The first-person point of view allows readers to know what the narrator is thinking. The conflict shows the narrator's struggle with fear and guilt.
The beating heart is also an important symbol. It can represent the narrator's guilty conscience. Even though the narrator hides the body, they cannot hide their guilt.
All of these elements work together to show that it can be difficult to escape the consequences of doing something wrong.
VI. Significant Passage / Textual Evidence Selected Passage:
“It is the beating of his hideous heart!”
This line is important because it shows that the narrator is becoming overwhelmed by fear and guilt.
The narrator thinks that the old man's heart is still beating under the floor. The sound can also represent the narrator's guilty conscience. The narrator tries to stay calm in front of the police, but the guilt becomes too strong.
This passage supports the theme that guilt can make it difficult for a person to hide the truth.
VII. Personal and Critical Interpretation
For me, the most important lesson of The Tell-Tale Heart is that we cannot easily escape our guilt. The narrator thinks that hiding the body will make everything okay, but the narrator's own thoughts make them feel worse.
I think the story is interesting because it makes readers wonder if the heartbeat is real or if it is only in the narrator's mind. The story also shows how fear can affect the way a person thinks and acts.
The story teaches us that we should think carefully about our actions because our choices can have consequences. It also shows that hiding a mistake does not always make the problem disappear.
VIII. Conclusion
The Tell-Tale Heart is a short and mysterious story about fear, guilt, and the consequences of doing something wrong. Edgar Allan Poe uses the narrator, setting, conflict, and symbolism to make the story suspenseful.
The beating heart is an important symbol because it represents the narrator's guilt. Even though the narrator hides the body, they cannot escape their own thoughts and feelings