The Symbolism in Edgar Allan Poe's 'The Tell-Tale Heart'

👁️The eye symbolizes perception, awareness, and truth. It represents the narrator's desire to be seen and known.

🦅The vulture's eye symbolizes death and the old man's power over the narrator.

💡The lantern represents the narrator's actions. Its opening and closing mirror the opening and closing of the old man's eye.

❤️The heart symbolizes emotion and passion. It drives the narrator's actions and reveals their true nature.

👮The police symbolize the voice of conscience, representing the narrator's guilt and inner conflict.

What does the eye symbolize in 'The Tell-Tale Heart'?

—The eye symbolizes perception, awareness, and truth. It represents the narrator's desire to be seen and known.

Why is the old man's eye called a vulture's eye?

—The vulture's eye symbolizes death and the old man's power over the narrator. Vultures are scavengers that eat dead things.

What does the lantern symbolize in the story?

—The lantern represents the narrator's actions. Its opening and closing mirror the opening and closing of the old man's eye.

What does the heart symbolize in 'The Tell-Tale Heart'?

—The heart symbolizes emotion and passion. It drives the narrator's actions and reveals their true nature.

What do the police symbolize in the story?

—The police symbolize the voice of conscience, representing the narrator's guilt and inner conflict.

00:19The eye symbolizes perception, awareness, and truth. The old man's eye is called a vulture's eye, symbolizing death and his power over the narrator.

00:50The lantern represents the narrator's actions. Its opening and closing mirror the opening and closing of the old man's eye.

01:23The heart symbolizes emotion and passion. It drives the narrator's actions and reveals their true nature.

01:30Reason and emotion are in conflict in the story. The narrator emphasizes reason and meticulous plotting, but passion drives them to commit the murder.

01:52The narrator's attempts to hide the body symbolize subconscious guilt. Repressed feelings always resurface.