Edgar Allan Poe Literary Devices

In Edgar Allan Poe’s story, “The Pit and the Pendulum,” Poe, uses the horror elements of suspense , isolation , and anxiety and disorientation to add suspense to the story. The “Pit and the Pendulum” was about a man who was in trouble and seen these judges and then he was in a dungeon and had no idea how he got there and was trying to find his way out. He described the judges as “I saw the lips of the black robed judges. They appeared to me white whiter than the sheet upon I trace these words and thin even to grotesqueness; thin with the intensity of their expression of firmness of immoveable resolution of stern contempt of human torture.” (Poe P1).

Edgar Allan Poe uses this by using figures of speech such as repetition. Poe also uses imagery to characterize the narrator to indicate his senses which also shows his unbalanced mind. In “The Tell Tale Heart , Edgar Allan Poe uses figurative language. The similes that Poe uses bring a relation between two completely different ideas that creates a vivid image in the mind.

Poe’s eerie diction additionally puts forth more discomforting thoughts that can only be broken by one’s will-power. Every aspect about the plot, every detail within the setting, and every tumultuous noise forces the narrator to ponder his survival: “Then, very suddenly, thought, and shuddering terror, and earnest endeavor to comprehend my true state.” Poe’s somber diction continuously enforces the readers to acknowledge the extent of the depressed, dark setting. One of such intensity that the “blackness of eternal night” “seemed to oppress and stifle” the narrator, encompassing him in the fear that he will die in the pit. Poe further oppresses the narrator by giving the pit the connotation of a “dungeon” and having him realize that the pit

Their approach can be seen through the use of symbolism, irony, and imagery in which, Poe depicts how fear distorts the

Another example of symbolism is, “Putting on a mask of black silk and drawing a cloak closely about my person” (pg. 2). The black silk represents the darkness and horrid effect of this story. It also adds mystery to the mood. Poe also uses vivid sensory details to craft his

Edgar Allan Poe incorporates many literary elements such as imagery, specific diction, and syntax, in both his short stories and poems, to create the desired effect to the reader, such as creating rhythm or suspense. The narrator in “Tell-Tell Heart” describes how he entered the room “ And then, when I had made an opening sufficient for my head, I put in a dark lantern, all closed, closed, that no light shone out, and then I thrust in my head. Oh, you would have laughed to see how cunningly I thrust it in!” (Poe 204).

Edgar Allen Poe depicts the pain, mourning, and insanity that it is caused by losing a loved one through symbolism. A strong example of symbolism is the Raven’s entrance into the narrator's

More specifically for Poe, the makeup of the home in the “Tell Tale Heart” creates a dark mood for the text. “His room was as black as pitch with the thick darkness, (for the shutters were close fastened, through fear of robbers,) and so I knew that he could not see the opening of the door, and I kept pushing it on steadily, steadily.” (Poe). The setting displays a type of darkness and horrific sight. Through the vocabulary such as black and thick darkness this is clearly displayed.

In the story, “Tell Tale Heart,” Edgar Allan Poe creates an ironic, or sarcastic, tone through his choice of diction, figurative language, and irony. First, in paragraph one, the narrator says, “True!--nervous--very, very dreadfully nervous I had been and am; but why will you say that I am mad?” Poe uses words such as dreadfully, nervous and mad to show diction. This contributes to the tone because he is saying that he isn't mad when in fact, he had killed someone over their vulture looking eye. Poe also uses a lot of figurative language throughout the story.

Edgar Allen Poe creates an atmosphere of suspense in “The Raven” and in “The Pit and Pendulum “making the reader wonder what is going to happen next by creating confusion. The typical gothic style of Poe’s writings is very dark and cold, affecting the narrator both mentally and physically. In both “The Pit and The Pendulum” and “The Raven”, both of the narrators are being tortured. In “The Raven” the narrator is being tortured mentally while in “The Pit and The Pendulum” the narrator is being tortured physically. Poe uses many gothic elements such as setting and supernatural elements making fear one of the most important unifying effects in the narratives.

Dread can lead to insanity and causes you to become obsessed. Consternation can lead you to become so overly-obsessed that preposterous ideas begin raiding your head. Symbolism, irony, and figurative language are used in “The Tell-Tale Heart”, “The Pit and the Pendulum”, and “The Masque of the Red Death” to delineate how dread deceives the protagonist's’ mind and how obsession overcomes their mind. Poe integrates symbolism into his texts to create many layers of thinking and to form an affiliation with the reader. Poe symbolizes time and the irresistibility of death throughout lots of his work.

An example of this imagery the Poe uses is the ebony clock chiming and making the people in the entertainment room go silent in fear. “…. while the chimes of the clock yet rung, it observed that the giddiest grew pale, and more aged and sedate passed their hands

In the end Poe’s writing represents fear and how it can distort your thoughts and make you take a turn for the worst. Or in some cases, usually more rarely, the better, as in “The Pit and the

Poe is considered one of the greatest short story writers of his time. He is known for writing short stories of mystery and horror. (Editors) His major writings include: “The Tell-Tale Heart,” “The Raven,” “The Fall of the House of Usher,” and “The Cask of Amontillado”. His short story, “The Raven”, is one of the most famous poems ever written in English.

In Edgar Allan Poe’s tales of criminal insanity, the first-person narrators confess unsound confessions. They control the narrative, which only allows us to see through their eyes. However, they do describe their own pathological or psychological actions so conscientiously that they exhibit their own insanity. They are usually incapable of stepping back from their narratives to detect their own madness. The narrator 's’ fluency is meticulous and often opulent.