<P> `` The Tell - Tale Heart '' is a short story by American writer Edgar Allan Poe , first published in 1843 . It is relayed by an unnamed narrator who endeavors to convince the reader of the narrator 's sanity while simultaneously describing a murder they committed . The victim was an old man with a filmy `` vulture - eye '' , as the narrator calls it . The narrator emphasizes the careful calculation of the murder , attempting the perfect crime , complete with dismembering and hiding the body under the floorboards . Ultimately , the narrator 's feelings of guilt , or a mental disturbance , result in hearing a thumping sound , which the narrator interprets as the dead man 's beating heart . </P>
<P> `` The Tell - Tale Heart '' is a short story by American writer Edgar Allan Poe , first published in 1843 . It is relayed by an unnamed narrator who endeavors to convince the reader of the narrator 's sanity while simultaneously describing a murder they committed . The victim was an old man with a filmy `` vulture - eye '' , as the narrator calls it . The narrator emphasizes the careful calculation of the murder , attempting the perfect crime , complete with dismembering and hiding the body under the floorboards . Ultimately , the narrator 's feelings of guilt , or a mental disturbance , result in hearing a thumping sound , which the narrator interprets as the dead man 's beating heart . </P>
who are the main characters in the tell tale heart
who are the main characters in the tell tale heart
an unnamed narrator The victim
an unnamed narrator The victim