Inauguration of Guilt in Edgar Allan Poe’s The Tell-Tale Heart

Abstract

This study explores the multifaceted emergence of guilt in Edgar Allan Poe’s The Tell-Tale Heart, analyzing how environmental, psychological, and structural elements converge to shape its portrayal. The milieu-based inauguration of guilt is traced to Poe’s personal experiences—familial loss, emotional instability, alcoholism, and professional hardship—alongside his literary influences from Romantic and Gothic traditions. Character-based guilt is examined through the contrast between the old man’s passive presence and the narrator’s obsessive, erratic behavior, revealing how guilt manifests both symbolically and viscerally. Plot-based guilt is revealed through Poe’s tightly constructed narrative, where pacing, repetition, and causality mirror the narrator’s psychological descent. Together, these dimensions demonstrate that guilt in Poe’s story is not merely thematic but a dynamic force born of personal history, character tension, and narrative design.