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Edgar Allan PoeA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Repetition is the frequent use of certain words and phrases in literary works. This allows the author to subtly suggest certain interpretations, emphasize key ideas, or create a specific atmosphere.
The narrator often repeats certain words and uses the same sentence structure two or three times in a row, recreating the sensation of obsessive thoughts experienced by someone who is mentally imbalanced. For example, in the first paragraph, the narrator repeatedly uses “mad,” “nervous,” “heard.” These words foreshadow what happens in the rest of the story and highlight the ideas the narrator is focused on. Additionally, the narration repeats the same short syntax, as in the case of “not destroyed them” and “not dulled them.” These parallel structures create a sense of abruptness and obsessiveness.
Juxtaposition is a device that brings together concepts that are habitually understood to be opposites, such as love and hate. The story creates frequent juxtapositions by combining the words “madness,” “wise,” and “healthy” (Paragraphs 1, 3). Use of juxtaposition is particularly apt in this story as it helps express the inherent incompatibility of the criminal’s actions and thoughts as well as the coexistence of contradictory impulses.
By Edgar Allan Poe
A Dream Within a Dream
A Dream Within a Dream
Edgar Allan Poe
Annabel Lee
Annabel Lee
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Berenice
Berenice
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Hop-Frog
Hop-Frog
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Ligeia
Ligeia
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Tamerlane
Tamerlane
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The Black Cat
The Black Cat
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The Cask of Amontillado
The Cask of Amontillado
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The Conqueror Worm
The Conqueror Worm
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The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar
The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar
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The Fall of the House of Usher
The Fall of the House of Usher
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The Gold Bug
The Gold Bug
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The Haunted Palace
The Haunted Palace
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The Imp of the Perverse
The Imp of the Perverse
Edgar Allan Poe
The Lake
The Lake
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The Man of the Crowd
The Man of the Crowd
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The Masque of the Red Death
The Masque of the Red Death
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The Murders in the Rue Morgue
The Murders in the Rue Morgue
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The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket
The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket
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The Oval Portrait
The Oval Portrait
Edgar Allan Poe