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How Does Poe Create Suspense

Decent Essays

In “The Black cat”, Edgar Allen Poe uses imagery and symbols to heighten the suspense of the readers. When the police came to investigate his house the uses a cane to heavily rap on the portion of the wall were his wife was buried. He was answered by “a voice from within the tomb” At this point the level of suspense created is effective because the author left us to imagine what on earth was making that noise. Readers were left as to why and what the noise was all about. Could it have been his wife that is still alive Or a ghost to haunt him back? With this readers are exposed to the pertaining darkness that lies ahead with reference to the noise heard . This makes readers read more to be able to know what might happen next. The use of foreshadowing creates some suspense in the minds of readers. …show more content…

I had been looking steadily at the top of this hogshead for some minutes, and what now caused me surprise was the fact that I had not sooner perceived the object thereupon. I approached it, and touched it with my hand. It was a black cat - a very large one …” helps readers infer that the use of vivid imagery and symbolism has an association with prevailing evil that lies ahead. The use of the black cat has an association with evil and darkness and so suspense is built here because readers are left to contemplate as to why the narrator meets the black cat. The use of night and the black cat symbolizes something evil and thus creates this expectance of a horrific scene. This heightens suspense in readers because the use of symbols help in creating immerses suspense by foreshadowing future events to the readers. Here readers would expect to be met with something evil, dark and

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