The Tell-Tale Heart Mood

The story, “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe, is about this insane man who breaks into a house and slowly watches an old man as he sleeps. Edgar Allan Poe uses literary devices of setting to create a dark, threatening tone to his short story, “Tell-Tale Heart.” Poe uses the description of light, sound, and tone to help the reader identify the type of setting the story takes place in. The setting is described by Poe’s writing style which is very unique due to the careful word choice.
One way in which Edgar Allan Poe presents the setting is with the description of lighting. (538:2) “I put in a dark lantern, all closed, so that no light shone out.” As the main character went into the house he was trying to not draw attention to himself. (538:3) The narrator describes the room as “black as pitch with a thick darkness,” which gives the reader an idea of the time of day and where exactly the story is taking place. (541:3) “It was four o’clock -- still dark as midnight.” He uses an expression to explain how dark it was in the room.The lighting gave an important clue to the time and the type of place the characters were in.
Equally as important, sound is a literary device that Edgar Allan Poe expresses a lot through the story.
With sound, he brings the story to life. (539:3) As the old man listened to see if anyone was there, the narrator heard him groan slightly and described it as a groan of mortal fear. This implements that even in his own bedroom where one would feel safe, the old man was frightened. (540:4) The narrator explained his hearing as the old man’s heart beating and that he knew the sound well. “It increased his furry.” The old man’s heartbeat represents the fear he has. He doesn’t feel safe where he is. (540:4) The narrator explained his hearing as the old man’s heart beating and that he knew the sound well. “It increased his fury.” He doesn’t feel safe where he is. The sound described what he heard, how he heard it and how it affected the
characters. Another way in which Poe describes the setting is through movement. Movement sets a clue to where the main character is. (539:2) “I kept quite still and said nothing. For a whole hour I did not move a muscle.” The narrator was in a difficult place and was unable to move. (540:5) The killer had dragged the old man’s body onto the floor and had pulled the heavy bed on him. Clues in the sentence help to notice that they are in the old man’s bedroom. (542:1) “I swung the chair upon which I had been sitting and grated it upon the boards.” The narrator shows an act of madness and insanity. Movement helped him show what he was feeling. The objects being thrown can give you a clue to where they are. In conclusion, Poe uses three main literary devices to describe the setting. He uses lighting, sound, and movement. The lighting helps to determine what time of day it is, what type of place he is in (dark or bright)... etc. The sound and movement both help to identify how the main character is feeling and how the character is seeing things throughout the story. This story sets a dark and threatening tone that enhances the interest.