Figurative Language In The Tell Tale Heart

For many people, the idea of guilt is something not so sincere. Accidentally pocketing a friends pencil or even picking up a dollar that was found on the floor could result in the feeling of “Did I do the right thing?” Sometimes, simple things can cause the emotion, but other times, novels and movies depict that people don’t always live such uneventful lives, and they take it in their own hands to make sure that they do something that they’ll never forget. In I Can Stand Him No Longer, a poem by Raphael Dumas, the theme of guilt is portrayed with figurative language and description. In The Tell Tale Heart, a short story by Edgar Allan Poe, the idea of the theme if developed with the use of proper mood and tone along with symbolism. Both texts have one thing in common; their …show more content…
In I Can Stand Him No Longer, Dumas writes the poem from a narrator's point of view. The poem is about someone who takes guilt in how they view someone. Figurative language shows multiple appearances in the poem, as some examples include, “His manner imprisons me like a ball and chain,” and “Suddenly I was pierced by a thousand eyes,” along with, “Shatters my sanity, and drives me insane.” Of course, we know that sanity cannot be shattered, manners cannot imprison people, and a person cannot be pierced by a thousand eyes. Using words such in the poem such as imprison, torment, taciturn, and abhor, Dumas creates a clew view of the narrator’s emotions by using strong vocabulary. Vivid descriptions of what is going on inside of the narrators head as well as how strongly his hate is portrayed gives the reader an insight how he/she must be feeling. In other words, by using strong vocabulary, Dumas created a different view on the character while expertly building up the characters conscience. Throughout the poem, figurative language and characterization is used to make the thematic occurence of guilt easier to be