The Tall-Tale Heart Essay -- Literary Analysis, Allen Poe, Figurative

It is one’ o clock in the morning; you are exhausted and all you wish to do is sleep. Finally, when you are able to relax, close your eyes and begin to nod off, you hear a loud creak in the floor and you suddenly wake up to bad thoughts of what this mysterious noise is. In â€Å"The Tall-Tale Heart† by Edgar Allen Poe, various techniques are used to detail an old man’s uneasiness to the slightest of sounds at night as the narrator retells his murder of the old man. Since anyone in such situation would act similarly to the old man, his fear and anxiety is no surprise to the audience; however, with Poe’s use of figurative language, selection of details and diction the old man’s nervousness is aptly portrayed and characterized. The use of figurative language serves to compare what the narrator sees and hears to something more relatable for the reader. Poe uses several examples of similes and personifications, but only a few correlate to the well-being of the old man. As the narrator waits for the right moment to kill the old man, he notices the sound of the beating heart of the old man. Poe writes â€Å"†¦there came to my ears a low, dull, quick sound, such as a watch makes when enveloped in cotton,† to further explain in detail exactly what the narrator heard (line 50-1). The comparison between the beating heart and the muffled clock serves as an exaggeration of a racing heart during time of fear and over excitement. The swiftly beating heart also contributes to the trepidation that continues to become greater and greater in the old man, as demonstrated in Poe’s personification of â€Å"fears had been ever since growing upon him† (line 21-2). Another added factor to the old man’s fear is that the old man had been visited by Death, who... ....† The word â€Å"enveloped,† taken from the Old French word voloper meaning to wrap up, is defined as concealing something, it can be inferred that Death will take the life of the old man. But using â€Å"enveloped† as supposed to its synonym â€Å"surround† gives the action a scary feel to it. The use of diction is most important when defining the old man because without the right words to describe the situation, all meaning and purpose of the story is lost. This spine-chilling and sinister plot is only effective if Poe uses the appropriate and proper literary elements, which he has done. Poe is able to impact the reader and future readers to possibly think twice about mysterious and unusual noises heard in the night. Hopefully in the future, if ever you hear an eccentric noise when you sleep, you will remember the fate of the old man, and be wiser than he was.