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How Does Poe Create Power In The Tell Tale Heart

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In ‘The Telltale Heart,’ Edgar Allan Poe uses characterisation, theme and horror tropes to reinforce the theme of power. Poe illustrates this theme through highlighting the effect fear has on dominance, creating an inhumanely skilful killer through characterisation and even taking the narrator’s power out of the story and influencing the reader’s emotions. While initially it appears that the Narrator was not above the old man, potentially even working for him this situation changes drastically as the story progresses. Poe was a master of utilising story elements to bring his stories to life and provoke thought, this is especially evident in The Telltale Heart.

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