Edgar Allan Poe is one of the most recognized prose poets, short story writers, and literary composers of all time. His works contain trending themes such as love, time, death and the concept of "unity". Poe often expressed these themes based on the events he experienced, and some of his themes were closely related to others. Take for example his love for beauty and perfection which played a major role in his concept of unity or a state of absolute fulfillment. However, in his short story, The Tell-Tale Heart, Poe effectively explores the power of guilt and leads his readers through a cynical murder plot while enduring the struggle to silence a beating conscience by toeing the line of genius against madness, moral reasoning. against indifferent resolve, and fastidiousness against obsession. The Tell-Tale Heart walks the line of genius versus madness. Poe begins the story with an introduction from a presumably mad narrator who first greets his audience by reassuring us that he is not mad at all. “Observe with what serenity I can tell you this story,” he begins. He finds her plot to kill a misty-eyed old man brilliant, and the mere thought consumes the narrator. The line between genius and madness was a line Poe walked in many of his works, but especially in The Tell-Tale Heart. According to an analysis of Poe's works expressed in the novel Edgar Allan Poe: A Study in Genius by Joseph Wood Krutch, he states that "truth and fiction were inextricably intertwined with him, and imagination, being the result of a unconscious effort of psychic adjustment”. , beyond his control. Sometimes it was so vivid that it was an actual hallucination, but then being recognized as such it was written as a story.......in the middle of a sheet of paper..... . generate their own conclusion in a few short minutes. pages of text, this is what makes him the “father of short stories”. The images provided in the story leave each reader with a lasting effect, and it is a story that will definitely stand the test of time due to its universal nature. The Tell-Tale Heart effectively tells a story that is perceived differently by everyone who reads it. Works Cited Kennedy, XJ and Dana Gioia. Literature: an introduction to fiction, poetry, drama, and writing. New York: Pearson Longman, 2007. Print. Krutch, Joseph Wood. Edgar Allan Poe: a study in genius. New York: Atheneum, 1965. Print.Poe, Edgar A. “The Philosophy of Composition.” Literary Criticism of Edgar Allan Poe (1965): 20-32. Rep. in poetic criticism. Flight. 54. Timothy Sisler. Literary Resource Center. Internet. December 10. 2011. .