In sentences like "why will you say that I am mad?", "How, then, am I mad", "you fancy me mad", and "would a madman have been so wise as this", the narrator appeals to the readers and tries to persuade them that he is sane. ... What is gothic about the story: What becomes obvious when reading the story is the fact that no supernatural elements are mentioned. ...
The speaker in this 19th century gothic fiction lacks any sign of sound reasoning. ... "And have I not told you that what you mistake for madness is but over-acuteness of the sense?... "But why will you say that I am mad? The disease had sharpened my senses –not destroyed –not dulled themthen I thrust in my head. Oh, you would have laughed to see how cunningly I thrust it in...Ha! ...
Poe's short stories of this type stems from what is taken to be cheap or sensational Gothic style (Gargano). ... In "The Tell-Tale Heart- for example, the narrator tries to make us understand that he is not mad: "The disease has sharpened his senses "not destroyed "not dulled them How then am I mad?... You should have seen how wisely I proceeded "with what caution "with what foresight "with what dissimulation I went to work!...
