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Edgar Allan Poe Literary Techniques Essay

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Poe used the literary device of setting to create a dark, threatening tone by using time of day, elapsed time, man made geography, and population. Poe used time of day when he wrote “And this I did for seven long nights, every night just at midnight, but I found the eye always closed; and so it was impossible to do the work; for it was not the old man who vexed me, but his Evil Eye.”(538:2) Also, in (539:3) it says,“Many a night, just at midnight, when all the world slept, it has welled up from my own bosom, deepening, with its dreadful echo, the terrors that distracted me.”Another example is in (538:2) says,“So you see he would been a very profound old man, indeed, to suspect that every night, just at twelve, I looked in upon him while he …show more content…

For a whole hour I did not move a muscle, and in the meantime I did not hear him lie down.”In addition in (540:5) it says“But, for many minutes, the heart beat on with a muffled sound.”Furthermore, in (540:5) it says“I placed my hand upon the heart and held it there for many minutes.” Another literary device of setting that Poe use is man made geography. In (540:5) it says,“And now at the dead hour of the night, amid the dreadful silence of that old house, so strange a noise as this excited me to uncontrollable terror.”Another example would be in (541:2) and it says,“I then look up three planks from the flooring of the chamber and deposited all between the scantlings.”Also in (541:6) it says,“I paced the floor to and fro with heavy strides,as if excited to fury by the observation of the men, but the noise steadily increased.” Finally, in (542:2) it says, “‘Villains!’ I shrieked,‘dissemble no more! I admit the deed! --tear up the planks -- here, here! -- it is the beating of his hideous heart!’” Last but not least, Poe also use population because in (541:3) it says“A shriek had been heard by a neighbor during the night; suspicion of foul play had been aroused...” In conclusion, Poe used the literary term of setting to create a dark threatening tone for readers

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