Monday, September 6

the style of Edgar Allen Poe in "The Tell-Tale Heart"

Well...

First things first, Poe's writing seems to be a bit dated. It may be just me, but so of the words and phrases he uses, such as in the line "I arose and argued about trifles, in a high key and with violent gesticulations; but the noise steadily increased," indicate a sign of his literary style. Poe could have simply written, "I shared small talk with the cops, with an eccentric tone and body movements, but the noise was getting louder." His language is more prescriptive as opposed to colloquial.

His word choices also seem to grant the piece, and his style overall, as having this intelligent and well-versed linguistic style. The line, "No doubt I now grew very pale; - but I talked more fluently, and with a heightened voice," is such a brilliant way for him to convey a feeling of anxiety in the narrator. His choices of words, however, also seem to date his writing; words such as hearken, deed & mad, used in their context, give an idea of the time frame in which his writing occurs. Further contributions also stem from occurrences in the writing, such as the narrator using a lantern at night or him disposing of the old man under the floorboards.

Finally, Poe's style has this sensation of suspense and fear throughout. As you read you can visualize it as being in a film that displays noir characteristics, like that found in films such as Brick and Dark City. There is this mysterious and suspenseful tone that is omnipresent throughout the writing, which clearly contributes to the specific style of Edgar Allen Poe.

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