Horror and Figurative Language in "The Tell Tale Heart"
Horror and Figurative Language in "The Tale-Tell Heart"
Dreadfully chilling, "The Tell-Tale Heart" by Edgar Allan Poe is a horrific short story that introduces the reader to an utterly mad narrator who is driven to commit vile and heinous acts because of his unnatural obsession with his roommate's, an old man, cataract eye. The narrator's madness is revealed instantly, only to be substantiated when he devises a sinister plan to rid himself of the "vulture eye" forever. After seven nights of watching his prey sleep, the narrator strikes and coldheartedly murders the old man. A shriek calls the attention of a neighbor, who contacts the local authorities. The narrator, who is so overwhelmed with his own hubris, cheerily invites the three officers in to investigate, and even chat afterwards. However, the narrator's own guilt grows to such a point that his heart begins beating louder and louder, all the while convinced the heartbeat he hears belongs to his victim. Even though it's impossible, the narrator believes the police can hear the heartbeat, provoking him to confess to the violent crime. As if these dilemmas weren't disconcerting enough, Poe creates even more terror in "The Tell-Tale Heart" through his adept use of similes, metaphors, and irony. Edgar Allan Poe uses a variety of figurative language, such as similes, to produce a cadaverous mood in "The Tell-Tale Heart." When Poe writes, "One of his eyes resembled that of a vulture- a pale blue eye, with a film over it," (Poe, paragraph 2, page 354) he creates a morbid simile in which the old man's pale blue eye with a film over it is compared to a vulture's eye using the signal word "resembles." By indicating the old man has vulture-like qualities, Poe fabricates a prey-predator situation, with the old man as the predator and the narrator as the prey. The superiority of people would feel a sense of trepidation and general discomfort upon encountering a vulture, a bird that survives solely by scavenging for
Dreadfully chilling, "The Tell-Tale Heart" by Edgar Allan Poe is a horrific short story that introduces the reader to an utterly mad narrator who is driven to commit vile and heinous acts because of his unnatural obsession with his roommate's, an old man, cataract eye. The narrator's madness is revealed instantly, only to be substantiated when he devises a sinister plan to rid himself of the "vulture eye" forever. After seven nights of watching his prey sleep, the narrator strikes and coldheartedly murders the old man. A shriek calls the attention of a neighbor, who contacts the local authorities. The narrator, who is so overwhelmed with his own hubris, cheerily invites the three officers in to investigate, and even chat afterwards. However, the narrator's own guilt grows to such a point that his heart begins beating louder and louder, all the while convinced the heartbeat he hears belongs to his victim. Even though it's impossible, the narrator believes the police can hear the heartbeat, provoking him to confess to the violent crime. As if these dilemmas weren't disconcerting enough, Poe creates even more terror in "The Tell-Tale Heart" through his adept use of similes, metaphors, and irony. Edgar Allan Poe uses a variety of figurative language, such as similes, to produce a cadaverous mood in "The Tell-Tale Heart." When Poe writes, "One of his eyes resembled that of a vulture- a pale blue eye, with a film over it," (Poe, paragraph 2, page 354) he creates a morbid simile in which the old man's pale blue eye with a film over it is compared to a vulture's eye using the signal word "resembles." By indicating the old man has vulture-like qualities, Poe fabricates a prey-predator situation, with the old man as the predator and the narrator as the prey. The superiority of people would feel a sense of trepidation and general discomfort upon encountering a vulture, a bird that survives solely by scavenging for