Because the audience connects vultures to death and decay, an ominous tone is set for both the neighbor and the narrator. Explaining the eye this way foreshadows the death that is to come. Poe uses a metaphor when he describes the man's eye as being the eye of a vulture. In this story, the speaker describes the light from the lantern as 'at length a simple dim ray, like the thread of the spider, shot from out the crevice and fell full upon the vulture eye.' He compares the light to a spider thread to show how thin and tenuous the beam (and his perspective) is. These comparisons can add much to the mood of a story in very few words. In an instant I dragged him to the floor, and pulled the heavy bed over him. And now a new anxiety seized me the sound would be heard by a neighbor The old man’s hour had come With a loud yell, I threw open the lantern and leaped into the room. Simile and MetaphorĪuthors use comparisons to relate a possibly unknown item or idea in a story to something the reader is familiar with. But the beating grew louder, louder I thought the heart must burst. Death is not a person, and therefore could not literally stalk anyone, but presenting it as a predator creates a sinister mood. “Death, in approaching him had stalked with his black shadow before him, and enveloped the victim' is an example of personification in this story. Art is long and Time is fleeting, And our hearts, through stout and brave, Still, like muffled drums, are beating Funeral marches to the grave. Authors use personification to help the audience relate to the story and to create a certain mood. Personification is a form of figurative language where human characteristics are given to inanimate objects. The focus on the watch before the murder symbolizes the time the neighbor has left to live, while later there is a strong connection between the ticking of the watch and the beating of the heart. For example, the the narrative mentions the watch the narrator wears, which symbolizes the passage of time and the movement of life. In this story, Poe uses different physical objects to stand for something else.

A symbol is simply something that stands for something else.

The beating heart edgar allan poe