Literary Analysis of The Tell-Tale HeartEdgar Allen Poe was born in 1809 and became one of the most critically examined authors of his time. Poe was the author of many works and has undergone countless criticisms and attempts at analysis of his work, but it is difficult to understand an author who has qualities of people we do not fully understand. Poe was a drug addict, an alcoholic, an incestuous man (although common) and a murderer or at least in his stories he was. An example of a short story where Poe wrote about killing someone was in "The Tell-Tale Heart". In this story, Edgar Allen Poe uses imagery, strong irony, and similes to show that humans cannot handle guilt and are dying to reveal the truth. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay First, when a person reads “The Tell-Tale Heart” all kinds of images can be found. The first example of imagery that can be found is when Poe talks about the “pale, blue eye, with a film over it”. Poe described the eye as such because the blue represents innocence, but the paleness of the eye as well as the film covering the eye are representations of guilt. When a person feels guilty not only does it feel like everyone knows they did it, but everyone can tell that there is something different about that person and in Poe's case it made his "blood run cold". How does Poe know that the old man is guilty of something? Well, this story is a psychosexual story and Poe is a practicing sadomasochist person as well as partaking in voyeurism (Dayon 225). This suggests to me that Poe watched the old man's every move because he loved him and loved the thrill he got from spying on him. Could it be that Poe saw the old man do something he shouldn't have? Or perhaps Poe's dislike of the eye was due to the fact that it seemed to always be open, which would have limited Poe's taboo fantasy and made it more difficult to realize. According to Gita Rajan and her article on a feminist reading of "The Tell-Tale Heart", she seems to think that the character in Poe's story is a woman. There is no evidence to support that Poe was open to homosexuality, which makes it seem more feasible that the character was a woman. This doesn't change the story, but it makes the idea more interesting, but why did Poe kill him? According to Magdalen Wing-chi Ki in her article on the evil of the ego, she believes that Poe experienced the most common form of evil apology. He describes the evil of the ego as "the elevation of self-love" (Ki, 25). Poe made himself feel so good that he overcame the severity of the murder. Another example of imagery showing how Poe hated the eye because it was always open is the following: "It was open - - wide open, wide open - - and I grew furious as I looked at it." Why would Poe be so angry if he sees his eyes open? Because it prevented Poe from realizing his fantasy. Another example of imagery in the story is when Poe caught the old man in his sleep and is now frozen in time to avoid being caught by the old man's "Vulture" eye. "Death, approaching him, had walked with its black shadow before him and had enveloped the victim." This image is also interpreted as a kind of foreshadowing. I believe this quote refers to death as guilt. The guilt that perhaps the old man had followed him wherever he went and had consumed him. Finally, if we look at a point in the story where the situation changes and Poe takes all the blame, we see that he still uses imagery to describe the sounds the guilt makes. "It was a low, dull, fast sound, very similar towhat a watch does when it is wrapped in cotton." The watch he refers to is not the one with which one tells the time, but a scarab that symbolized imminent death (more on this later). One of the most important that Poe uses in his story is irony. Referring to the first two examples of images and how they connect to guilt, one might not think of irony, but when you look at the third example, it shows that the sense of fault that Poe thought the old man had was ironic towards his own guilt. As Poe peered into the room where the old man slept, Poe describes listening to the "death clocks in the wall". and produce a ticking sound that was thought to be an omen of death and ironically came true Shortly after hearing the death clocks, Poe decides to rush into the room and kill the old man. There is also a certain irony in dismembering the body of the 'man. Poe decides to keep the body inside the house. The purpose of killing the old man was to get rid of that open eye, but he kept it in the house with him. Another element of irony in the story is at the beginning. “I have heard all things in heaven and earth. I heard many things in hell. How come I'm crazy then? Poe does not acknowledge that he has a physiological disorder even though we (the readers) clearly see that he is not the typical man. As the story progresses, Poe continues to try to persuade the reader that he is not crazy. Even after killing the old man he tries to convince you that he can't be crazy. Crazy people wouldn't have been so cunning in a murder. This is all ironic because we can clearly see that Poe is crazy, but the old man is the only victim? According to Paul Witherington who writes “The Accomplice in “The Tell-Tale Heart”,” he says there are two victims in this story. The old man and Poe himself are victims. The old man because he was murdered, but Poe also because of his mental illness (Witherington, 472.) It is possible that Poe made this character mentally ill simply to “spice up” the story, but nothing is simple with Poe. Poe wants to change our idea of ​​what a madman is. He wants us to consider that a person is not crazy if he can plan so carefully the things he wants to do. You think I'm crazy. Crazy people know nothing. But you should have seen me. You should have seen how wisely I proceeded, with what caution, with what foresight, with what dissimulation I set to work! He was a very cunning criminal and not a madman… or at least that's what he wants us to believe. Finally, Poe uses similes in his story to help describe things and to allow us to see them in our heads. “Still dark as midnight.” This quote is after the old man's death and what time it was. “One of its eyes resembled that of a vulture.” A simile to describe the appearance of the old man's eye. And to ultimately be a descriptor that Poe decided should be removed. In my opinion, similes simply add more quality to the poem. Irony helps build the story, while imagery and similes add "flavor" to the story. The story would not have the vulture's eye without the use of the above simile. To conclude, Edgar Allan Poe is undoubtedly one of the best writers of horror fiction to date and with his use of literary devices such as imagery, irony and similes, he stands apart from others. Stephan King was also a good writer of horror fiction. I chose this story to analyze because I find it interesting when "crazy people" find unique ways to commit crimes. For example, I like the Saw series. While creepy and unappealing to most, I find his witty traps unique and, like Poe, I don't think they're crazy,.