Linguistic Devices in Detective Terminology of "The Purloined Letter" by Edgar Allan Poe

This article examines the linguistic features of detective terminology in Edgar Allan Poe’s seminal work “ThePurloined Letter” (1844). Through a systematic analysis of the text, the study categorizes and explores various lexicaldevices employed by Poe, including polysemantic terms, synonymic and antonymic relations, metonymy, and metaphoricalexpressions. The findings suggest that Poe’s innovative use of language not only established foundational vocabularyfor the detective fiction genre but also mirrored the cognitive processes involved in detection itself. This linguistic analysisprovides insights into how Poe’s careful word choices contribute to the narrative’s psychological depth and reflect theintellectual methodology of his detective protagonist, C. Auguste Dupin.