4.Read this excerpt from "The Tell-Tale Heart" by Edgar Allan Poe.

True! nervous—very, very dreadfully nervous I had been and am; but why will you say that I am mad? The disease had sharpened my senses—not destroyed—not dulled them. Above all was the sense of hearing acute. I heard all things in the heaven and in the earth. I heard many things in hell. How, then, am I mad? Hearken! and observe how healthily—how calmly I can tell you the whole story.

How does the situational irony of this excerpt affect "The Tell-Tale Heart"?

The narrator's frantic insistence that he is sane only helps to convince readers that he is not.

The narrator's firm insistence that he is innocent of the old man's murder only serves to convince readers that he is guilty.

The narrator's mention of his calm and health only serve to highlight the serious injuries he's suffered.

The narrator's focus on his strong sense of hearing only serves to remind readers that he will not listen to the truth.