Show how Edgar Allan Poe uses language to create atmosphere and describe the state of mind of the murderer

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Show how Edgar Allan Poe uses language to create atmosphere and describe the state of mind of the murderer

Consider how the modern reader might respond to this story.

In this essay i will discuss the which language techniques Poe uses to create atmosphere and suspence. I will also show how he allows us to get into the mind of the murder and how he conveys his state of mind.

The tell-tale heart is the story of a man who decides to murder the old man he is living with. There is no apparent reason for this other than the old man’s eye which ‘resembled that of a vulture’. In the end he is driven mad by guilt and confesses to the murder.

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The story starts with a very abrupt attention gtabbing opening. The word ‘TRUE’ not only starts the story with a burst of tension, it also makes the reader want to read on further to try and find out what is true. Poe also uses short, intense sentences to increase suspence and atmosphere. He uses this technique throughout the story whenever he needs to renew the tension.Straight away the murderer begins to argue his sanity. This suggests to the reader that he may have done something for others to think him mad, this again makes the reader want to read on ...

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