The Tell Tale Heart Repetition Analysis

Edgar Allen Poe once said, “without a certain continuity of effort-without a certain duration or repetition of purpose-the soul is never deeply moved.” Edgar Allen Poe claims that repetition can move a soul and in the Tell-Tale Heart it does. The reader is often moved by fear or emphasis on the main character’s madness because of repetition. Edgar Allen Poe, the author of The Tell-Tale Heart, used repetition in his story to put more of an emphasis on the main character's madness, in hopes to create more suspense for the reader.

At the heart of this suspense is the narrator, a madman, who uses repetition to emphasize the deterioration of his mind. When the madman explains his actions or his thoughts he uses repetition to either put emphasis on how crazy he is going over the old man's eye or how his actions are justified. When the madman in the Tell-Tale Heart describes how he would watch the old man while he was sleeping he says, “I moved it slowly-very, very slowly, so that I might not disturb the old man’s sleep.” (Poe 90). In this quotation, the main character repeats the same words while explaining how he would watch the old man in his sleep. This puts a strong emphasis on

Additionally, Edgar Allen Poe uses repetition to create suspense for the reader. When Edgar Allen Poe uses repetition this creates suspense because of how much the narrator shouts the same words over and over again. When the madman explains hearing the Old Man's heartbeat and how much anxiety it causes him he says, “It grew louder, I say, louder with every moment!” (Poe 92). In this quotation, suspense for the reader is created as the madman yells while describing the heartbeat of his victim, the Old Man. The use of repetition not only achieved a strong emphasis on the main character’s madness but also created suspense for the