How is tension created in The tell tale hearts and The...

How is tension created in The tell tale hearts and The black cat? In this essay I am going to study the short stories ‘the black cat’ and ‘the tell tale heart’ written by famous writer Edgar Allen Poe and see how tension is created in the two tales. Both tales are written in a gothic horror genre and Poe’s intention for this was to chill and unsettle the reader, to make them anticipate what was going to happen next, as if it was really happening. Poe succeeds in doing this by the content of the tales, partly being the supernatural and the tension he creates, which plays a major role in both. He creates this tension by using several different techniques including plot, characterisation and many stylistic devices. One way†¦show more content†¦The stories are written in first person narrative, which makes the reader feel as though they are in the story, involved personally, and is made to feel what the narrator feels. From the very beginning of the tales the reader gets an idea of what kind of stories they are going to be and may feel uneasy as Poe makes it clear that the narrator is mad. The narrator speaks informally and repeatedly says things that make it obvious he is not sane. Firstly, they start by telling you that they are not mad, no matter what we may think. In ‘The tell tale heart’ Poe writes ‘You fancy me mad. Madmen know nothing’ and in ‘The black cat’, ‘Mad indeed would I be to expect it†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ ‘Yet mad I am not’ this is affective, as it seems as though the narrator doesn’t quite believe it himself, and is trying to convince himself that he is not mad, and will put the reader on edge as they don’t know what to expect from this kind of character. Also, in ‘The black cat’ it says ‘yes, even in this felon’s cell’ which means that he is in jail, awaiting trial and prosecution. 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