The Tell-Tale Heart

Juxtaposition is a device that brings together concepts that are habitually understood to be opposites, such as love and hate. The story creates frequent juxtapositions by combining the words “madness,” “wise,” and “healthy” (Paragraphs 1, 3). Use of juxtaposition is particularly apt in this story as it helps express the inherent incompatibility of the criminal’s actions and thoughts as well as the coexistence of contradictory impulses. The narrator claims to both love the old man and hate his eye. This duality is expressed through the criminal’s belief that they are wise and healthy and their actions which demonstrate the opposite.

Enargia is the extremely vivid verbal visualization of something or someone. Poe’s descriptions of the story’s setting, the old man’s eye, and the narrator’s actions are all examples of this device.

For example, the old man’s eye is described as “that of a vulture—a pale blue eye, with a film over it” (Paragraph 3). This creates a clear image in the reader’s mind. The eye is described so vividly that it takes over the entire character of the old man. Since Poe omits any other personal details, the only thing the reader can visualize is the eye. The selective erasure of certain elements, and the overly vivid description of others, allows readers to experience the narrator’s obsession with a single body part.

The protagonist’s actions are also vividly described, allowing the audience to clearly picture the scene even though the story is told from the first-person point of view. Consider this excerpt: “to think that there I was, opening the door, little by little, and he not even to dream of my secret deeds or thoughts” (Paragraph 4). Here the narrator shifts the focus from their actions to the old man’s perceptions, allowing readers to imagine and feel as though they, too, are present at the crime scene.

Finally, the setting is often brought to life through minor details, as in this example: “his room was as black as pitch with the thick darkness (for the shutters were close fastened, through fear of robbers)” (Paragraph 4). The detail about fear of robbers efficiently discloses personal information about the old man and humanizes him, revealing that he is more than just his “evil” eye. The fastened shutters also allow the reader to better imagine the house’s interior, which is difficult to do as everything is described as “dark.”