How Does Edgar Allan Poe Use Literary Elements

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Edgar Allan Poe used several literary devices of setting to help create the dark tone used in his story. Four equally important elements of setting are the time of day, population, elapsed time, and man-made geography. The time of day is essential to creating the dark tone. On (538:1), it says “and every night, about midnight, I turned the latch of his door and opened it.” If this story scene did not take place at night, the narrator would not be able to sneak into the room. The old man would be awake, making it more difficult to murder him. Another example as to why time of day is essential is on (538:1), which says “And I did this for several long nights,” which also mentions how it’s night when he’s sneaking into the room. A final example …show more content…
The neighbor heard the scream and called the police on (541:3). This made him admit his crime to the police from nervousness. If the neighbors had not been there, the police would not have come. The narrator would’ve gotten off with a clean slate, and nobody would ever find out about the murder. A third important element is man-made geography. The house had floor boards that were easy to take out, making it easy for the narrator to hide his murder on (541:2). Also, on (541:3), the police walked around the house in search of anything suspicious, but find nothing because the floor boards easily fit back in place. This is considered man-made geography because the house was built by men. Without man-made geography, the narrator would have additional trouble hiding his murder. A fourth and final element of setting is elapsed time. On (538:1), the narrator takes an hour to stick his head through the door, which is important, not because it took an hour, but it was a step in the process of the murder. Also, on (538:3) it says “A watch’s minute hand moves more quickly than did mine.” This means he was extra cautious on sneaking in the man’s room. A final example is on (539:1). It says that he stood still for an hour, not moving a muscle. All of the elapsed time is important because the narrators caution is the reason for his success in murdering the old