This document analyzes the linguistic elements used in Edgar Allan Poe's short stories "The Fall of the House of Usher", "The Raven", and "The Tell-Tale Heart". It identifies elements such as syntax, simile, semantics, symbolism, diction, repetition, rhyme, alliteration, anaphora, and epiphora. Examples from Poe's works are provided to show how these elements are used to portray characterization, personification, imagery, setting, tone, mood, lexical cohesion, and rhythm. Specific techniques like first-person narration, punctuation use, rhyme schemes, anaphora, alliteration, and simile/symbolism are examined in detail.

1. Linguistic Elements
Foundin Poe’sUnique
Style
Anita M. Cline
Professor Crystal Sands
SNHU ENG550
M10-A1

2. Contoso
S u i t e s
Linguistic Elements Found in: TheFalloftheHouseofUsher, TheRaven, andTheTell-
TaleHeart:
Linguistic Elements Identified:
 Syntax
 Simile
 Semantics
 Symbolism
 Diction
 Repetition
 Rhyme
 Alliteration
 Anaphora
 Epiphora
 Hyperbole
Linguistic Elements Work to
Portray:
 Characterization
 Personification
 Imagery
 Setting
 Tone
 Mood
 Lexical Cohesion
 Rhythm
All of which this guy
used to create…
Photo Credit: Poemuseum.org

3. Contoso
S u i t e s
Examples Include:
First-Person Narration:
 Conveys mood by creating an intimate and
powerful connection between the audience and the
narrator’s internal world, which transfers the
feelings of suspense and terror from the narrators to
the audience.
(Koski)
Syntax:
 Generous use of punctuation to
construct speech patterns,
create rhythm, and maintain
pacing.
(Koski; Poetry Foundation; Shen)
Syntax:
 Run-on sentences convey an anxious narrator
in House of Usher.
 Shortened sentences in Tell-Tale Heart convey
a narrator thinking out loud while trying to
rationalize an irrational act of murder.
(Poe; Pyskaty; Shen)
Diction and Semantics:
Poe’s diction pays close attention to
connotative and denotative meanings in the
semantics.
 House of Usher uses multiple descriptors with
few meanings, such as: dull, dark, dreary,
melancholy, insufferable, desolate, terrible,
bleak, rank, decayed, bitter, hideous, and
sorrowful.
 The Raven uses brevity with single descriptors
that have multiple meanings, such as: “bleak”
with several meanings that include, bare,
desolate, cold, windswept, without hope,
piercing, depressing.
(Bryant; Curzan and Adams; dictionary.com; Poe 11-12 & 81)

4. Contoso
S u i t e s
ExamplesAlso Include:
Rhyme:
Full-word rhymes in The
Raven: December, ember,
morrow, borrow, sorrow,
Lenore, floor, nevermore.
 Works to create semantic
relationships,
phonological connections,
and meaningful
associations.
(Curzan and Adams 297; Poe 189)
Anaphora:
“He had never wronged me. He had
never given me insult.”–The Tell-Tale Heart
 Creates lexical cohesion and repetition for
emotional and memorable effect.
 Portrays characterization of unreliable
narrator through contradictions in speech
as he tries to rationalize the irrational
murder he committed.
(Bryant; Poe 81; Zimmerman)
Alliteration:
“Rare and radiant
maiden” –The Raven.
 Provides a sense of
movement and
anticipation for the next
alliterated sound that
entices readers to
continue reading.
(Curzan and Adams 282; Poe 189)
Simile and Symbolism:
“One of his eyes resembled that of a vulture a pale
blue eye with a film over it.” –The Tell-Tale Heart
 Simile–Comparison that creates imagery using figurative
language.
 Symbolism–Vultures represent rebirth and death; the
rebirth of a man into madness and the death of an
innocent old man.
(Byrd; literary-devices.com; Poe 81)
Epiphora:
“Object there was none. Passion there was
none.” –The Tell-Tale Heart
 Creates lexical cohesion for emotional and
memorable effect.
 Portrays characterization of unreliable narrator
through contradictions in speech…
(Bryant; Poe 81; Zimmerman)

5. Works Cited
Bryant, Clinton. An Effect All Together Unexpected: The Grotesque In Edgar Allan Poe's Fiction. 2017. U of Vermont, MA thesis. ScholarWorks.
Byrd, Brook. "Of Love and Loathing: The Role of the Vulture in Three Cultures." Prized Writing, UC Davis, 2003, prizedwriting.ucdavis.edu/love-and-
loathing-role-vulture-three-cultures.
Curzan, Anne, and Michael Adams. How English Works: A Linguistic Introduction. 3rd ed., VitalBook File, Pearson, 2014.
Koski, Lisa. "Gothic Literature: A Definition and List of Gothic Fiction Elements." Owlcation, 15 Oct. 2018, owlcation.com/humanities/The-Gothic-
Novel-What-is-Gothic-Literature.
Pixabay. "Copyright-free images." 1 Million+ Stunning Free Images to Use Anywhere, 2019, pixabay.com.
Poe, Edgar A. The Best of Poe. Prestwick House Literary Touchstone Classics, 2006.
Poemuseum.org. "Poe's Works and Timeline | Edgar Allan Poe Museum." Edgar Allan Poe Museum : Poe's Life, Legacy, and Works : Richmond,
Virginia, 2019, www.poemuseum.org/poes-works-and-timeline.
Poetry Foundation. "Edgar Allan Poe." Poetry Foundation, 2019, www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/edgar-allan-poe.
Pyskaty, Daisy. "Edgar Allen Poe Style Analysis." YouTube, 22 Mar. 2017, www.youtube.com/watch?v=dh6I4x63g7w.
Shen, Dan. "Edgar Allan Poe’s Aesthetic Theory, the Insanity Debate, and the Ethically Oriented Dynamics of ‘The Tell-Tale Heart." Nineteenth-
Century Literature, vol. 63, no. 3, Dec. 2008, pp. 321-345, EBSCOhost. doi:10.1525/ncl.2008.63.3.321.
Zimmerman, Brett. "A Catalogue of Selected Rhetorical Devices Used in the Works of Edgar Allan Poe." Style: A Quarterly Journal of Aesthetics,
Poetics, Stylistics, and Literary Criticism, vol. 33, no. 4, 1999, p. 637, EBSCOhost. search-ebscohost-
com.ezproxy.snhu.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=mlf&AN=EIS3182500&site=eds-live&scope=site.
Photo Credit: me.me