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 roommates, an old man, cataract eye. The narrators 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†¦show more content†¦This metaphor serves to create terror in â€Å"The Tell-Tale Heart† by conjuring up images of the dead and ghoulish. Rarely are ghosts and hauntings considered a good thing, and in this case Poe’s use of figurative language establishes a nightmarish tone related directl y to death. Not only does Poe bring into play an appalling metaphor in which he compares an idea to a vengeful spirit to make the story even more gruesome, he also uses another metaphor in which he compares the psychotic narrator to the Grim Reaper. In the metaphor, â€Å"All in vain; because Death, in approaching him had stalked with his black shadow before him and enveloped the victim,† (Poe, paragraph 1, page 357) the narrator compares himself to Death, or the Grim Reaper. In most cultures, the Grim Reaper is a creature who escorts souls of the dead to either Heaven or Hell. This helps to prove the narrator is completely unstable, as he believes it is his job, his duty, to murder the old man. It also shows the narrator is eager to do anything in his power to achieve his goal by killing the old man. Both nerve-racking metaphors work to compose a tense and upsetting tone in â€Å"The Tell-Tale Heart.† In addition to tremendously clever similes and metaphors, Poe uses a countless amount of shockingly ironic situations in â€Å"The Tell-Tale Heart†, effectively forming a hauntingly outlandish mood. A startling instance of Poe’s irony is introduced when he writes, â€Å"You should have seen how wisely IShow MoreRelatedAnalysis of Edgar Allan Poes Writing Style Essay776 Words   |  4 PagesA virtuoso of suspense and horror, Edgar Allan Poe is known for his Gothic writing style. His style is created through his use of punctuation, sentence structure, word choice, tone, and figurative language. Punctuation-wise; dashes, exclamation marks, semicolons, and commas are a favorite of Poe. His sentences vary greatly; their structures are influenced by punctuation. Much of his word choice set the tone of his works. Figurative language colors his writings with description. 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