The Tell-Tale Heart

literary devices

“All in vain; because Death, in approaching him, had stalked with his black shadow before him, and enveloped the victim.”

• what kind of figurative language does the author use?

• The author compares death to a — in order to increase the feeling of menace by suggesting death —

• personification

• a black shadow, is stalking and approaching him in human form

“I knew what the old man felt, and pitied him, although I chuckled at heart”

• what is contrasted in this sentence?

• What literary technique is used to highlight this contrast?

• The author reveals that the narrator feels both —— and ——. This portrays the narrator as —— which increases the feeling of menace because ———-

• the narrator’s emotions ; he say he feels pity but also mentions how he is laughing at heart

• Irony

• Pity, laughter, mentally unstable/insane, he’s more unpredictable/untrustworthy

”Many a night, just at midnight, when all the world slept, [a groan similar to that uttered by the old man] has welled up from my own bosom, deepening, with it's dreadful echo, the terrors that distracted me"

• the author uses the verb “welled” in order to compare the way the groan comes out of the man to ——.

• This type of comparison is called a —— because it is direct but not implied.

• something that is not under his control; something rising up to the surface about to spill

• direct metaphor

Mood or atmosphere is the overall feeling in the story. How would you describe the mood in the story? What details does Poe use to create the mood?

The mood of the story is filled with curiosity, uncertainty, and discomfort. Poe told the story through the eyes of a Madman who was totally unpredictable.

What does the heart beat noise symbolize in the story? Provide evidence from the story.

The heartbeat is a symbol of the narrators insanity or guilt. The narrator was experiencing much guilt especially when he was talking to the policemen. The narrator thought it was the dead man's heartbeat but it was actually his own.