Page 43 - Revista Noastra Nr.53-54 (2020)

MOD / MODEL
The tone of the story and the writer`s attitude swer. Furthermore, proceeding from the assumption
can also be used so as to render mood, the reader re- that repeating something enhances both the effect
lying on the writer`s point of view, observing the story and the importance of the statement, the repetition
through his eyes. Both “The Raven” and “The Tell-Tale of „nevermore” reiterates the central themes of the
Heart” are told through first person enabling the rea- poem: grief, despair, alienation, the fatalistic hopeles-
der to understand the character`s feelings and emo- sness of the speaker and ultimately, death.
tions better than if told by a third entity. Writing as a The theme, the main idea behind the story, is
first-person narrator, Poe somehow forces the reader another way for mood to be created in a story. There
in the driver`s seat. In the short story you never know are times when the overall theme is not so overtly sta-
if the narrator is sane or not, which adds to the sus- ted by the narrator and it is for the reader to figure it
pense and horror as the events unfold and the narra- out. Both the short story and the poem portray the
tor hears the “low, dull, quick” sound, the beating of theme of insanity emphasized by elements defined by
the old man`s dead heart. Using all five senses he crea- Gothic-era literature, particularly internal darkness
tes imaginative details, vivid pictures, and the heavy (depression, previously termed melancholia), halluci-
use of sights and sounds in “A Tell-Tale Heart” sets up nations, and a supernatural atmosphere. In “The
a mysterious mood that almost materializes into nefa- Raven”, an unnamed narrator gradually descends into
rious as the narrator dismembers the old man`s cor- madness due to depression, loneliness, and isolation.
pse. Since „The Raven” literally engineers the The narrator sees the raven talking, which is indicative
disintegration of the character’s mind, Poe couldn`t of an auditory and visual hallucination. More disquie-
but use the first-person point of view. Still brooding tingly, he attempts to understand the Raven’s words
over the loss of his beloved, the emotionally vulnera- and takes everything it says seriously. He thereupon
ble narrator initially welcomes the raven as a potential distinguishes an aura or the presence of angels, which,
distraction to his many sorrows but before long he be- along with the talking bird, solidifies the supernatural
comes frustrated at the repetitive screech of “Never- atmosphere. The poem concludes with the man’s de-
more” whose meaning he cannot fathom. This vastation over having been forever departed from Le-
technique again provides an insight into the charac- nore, denied from heaven, and permanently plagued
ter`s s psychological vulnerabilities, making it impos- by the bird’s presence. It can be assumed then, that
sible for us to read in a spirit of detachment without the man has now descended into a permanent and ir-
identifying with his feelings and all he is going through. reversible insanity. Likewise, in “The Tell-Tale heart”
This pervading feeling of insanity helps add to the rea- the speaker creates an insane and nightmare feeling,
der`s interest and emotional appeal to the literary pie- addressing the reader as though they have become an
ces, along with fully developing the mood. accomplice to the murder the narrator has committed.
Through the use of diction, i.e. the writer`s Guilt, fear of mortality and time are also obvious the-
choice of words, the reader`s feelings toward the cha- mes to be discovered in the short story. Critics have
racter or the event can be artfully shaped. In his works, interpreted the sound of the beating heart as the nar-
Poe so very often uses repetition of words and even rator’s guilty conscious reminding him of his deed. Al-
phrases so as to portray the mood of the story and the though at the beginning of the story the narrator
character`s mental disposition. Again, we cannot help disassociates himself from the crime, ascribing it to an
noticing that in “The Raven” as well as in “A Tell-Tale invisible force that acted on him, he finally confesses
heart” the narrator sounds
rather insane. In the latter,
he unwaveringly reiterates
throughout the story that
he is not mad and how he
will calmly tell the story. In
„The Raven” Poe uses repe-
tition to build tension. By
describing the action of the
„tapping, tapping” upon
the chamber door several
times throughout the
poem, the reader’s atten-
tion is repeatedly drawn to
the mysterious noise be-
fore Poe actually reveals
the source of the sound.
Like the man in the poem,
the reader begins to obsess
over what the source of
the sound could possibly
be, which creates suspense
in the anticipation of an an-

REVISTA NOASTRĂ nr. 53/54 grafica: Adrian Nicolae Taban 39