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Suspense In Edgar Allen Poe's The Tell-Tale Heart

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In Edgar Allen Poe's day, he was a very creative and eloquent writer.Though long gone, Poe is still a great writer, but no one has truly taken the time to analyze and critique Poe’s work. Poe is a fantastic writer indeed, which is why Poe's work is effective in making people feel ominous through his use of suspense, repetition, and point of view in the Tell-Tale Heart.

Poe's work is effective through suspense because once people's anxiousness is relieved, Poe starts up the suspense all over again. This keeps people on the edge and wanting more. In Poe's popular short story, The Tell-Tale Heart, he includes a suspense scene where a killer is creeping in an old man's room then talks to the police. “ … when my head was well in the room, I undid the lantern cautiously—oh, so cautiously— I undid it just so much that a single thin ray fell upon the vulture eye. And this I did for seven long nights.” Being so careful as to go into the victim's room for seven nights. This is a technique Poe uses to make people wonder what will happen next. Using this will have readers feeling frightened and engaged so much that it will make them feel ominous. “ … of my perfect triumph, placed my own seat upon the very spot beneath which reposed the corpse of the victim.” This makes people feel anxious to see what happens next and how it will play out. By having the killer sit above the corpse, with the police in front of him, readers are thinking if the killer will strike or if something else

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