The Imp of the Perverse

by

Edgar Allan Poe

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The Poisoned Candle Symbol Analysis

The Poisoned Candle Symbol Icon

After his discussion of phrenology and the Imp of the Perverse, the narrator confesses to a murder—and he says he killed his victim by using a poisoned candle. The narrator describes ruminating for months over how to commit the perfect murder, and finally coming upon this ingenious idea in a French memoir. The narrator is familiar with his victim’s habit of reading in bed, as well as his poorly ventilated apartment, so he replaces the victim’s candle with a poisoned one (what kind of poison isn’t stated). The plan works, and afterwards the narrator is able to dispose of the “fatal taper” himself, removing the evidence of his crime.

In “The Imp of the Perverse,” the poisoned candle represents intelligence and knowledge being turned to evil ends. The victim uses the candle to read, using its light to seek truth and gain knowledge. The narrator, however, literally poisons this noble endeavor so that it becomes fatal. Similarly, the narrator himself has twisted his own intellectual gifts. Based on his elevated language and complex arguments in the story’s first paragraphs, he is an intelligent and curious man, but he uses his mind for evil purposes, researching ways to commit the perfect murder rather than trying to help others (or even to avoid actively harming them). Just as he poisons the candle that his victim reads by, he poisons his own gifted mind with greed.

The Poisoned Candle Quotes in The Imp of the Perverse

The The Imp of the Perverse quotes below all refer to the symbol of The Poisoned Candle. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Reason vs. Impulse Theme Icon
).
The Imp of the Perverse Quotes

The next morning he was discovered dead in his bed, and the Coroner’s verdict was—“Death by the visitation of God.”

Related Characters: The Narrator (speaker), The Victim
Related Symbols: The Poisoned Candle
Page Number: 283
Explanation and Analysis:
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The Poisoned Candle Symbol Timeline in The Imp of the Perverse

The timeline below shows where the symbol The Poisoned Candle appears in The Imp of the Perverse. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
The Imp of the Perverse
Crime, Justice, and Punishment Theme Icon
Madness and Obsession Theme Icon
...narrator reads a French memoir describing a woman who almost died when she lit a candle that had been "accidentally poisoned." This inspires him to replace the candle on his victim's... (full context)
Crime, Justice, and Punishment Theme Icon
Madness and Obsession Theme Icon
The plan succeeds: the narrator replaces the victim’s candle with a poisoned one, the victim lights the candle in his stuffy quarters, and he... (full context)