Themes in Works by Edgar Allan Poe
Horror stories seem to provoke a certain feeling inside all of us. They can make us scared, nervous, or even just amazed. If a horror story is told well, it can make just about any reader cringe. There are certain elements that must be in a horror story to really make it frightening. Some of these elements include the setting, the characters, a feeling of suspense, foreshadowing, and unexpected events. All of Edgar Allan Poe’s stories and poems seem to bring about a whimsical and nightmarish feeling in the reader. Poe’s life was stranger than most, which has probably helped him to create such ghastly tales. “The Fall of the House of Usher”, “The Raven”, and “The Masque of Red Death” all contain those
…show more content…
It just lets the reader know that something is going to happen by having the stormy weather. This passage is also an example of alliteration. “The Fall of the House of Usher” contains many of the necessary elements that create a true horror story.
Likewise, “The Masque of Red Death” also possesses many dreamlike or nightmarish qualities. An example of this horrifying dreamlike effect is “duke’s love of the bizarre”(176). The duke’s house is arranged very strangely, which adds to the odd feeling of the story. There are seven different rooms, all of different colors with the windows matching the room colors. The last room is black with red windows. During the duke’s party, nobody goes in there because of the ominous feeling created by the room. For instance, the whole story has a dreamlike quality as the party continues into the night. A strange visitor wearing a disgusting mask comes to the party. When he arrives at midnight, everyone is alarmed and when the visitor is confronted, everyone at the party “acknowledged presence of the Red Death”(180). The masked visitor is found to have no tangible body and all partygoers are killed. The setting of the party and the unexpected visitor that makes an appearance both make the story scary.
Finally, “The Raven” has certain attributes that make it appear nightmarish to the reader. In the story, a man hears a strange sound
Written by Edgar Allan Poe, “The Raven” is a famous short poem known for the dark fantasy that it portrays. From the mindset of a first person narrative, one may experience the tale through the eyes of a haunted man who is in mourning for the death of his beloved Lenore. As this man sits in his chamber, within a dark and dreary December night, a “raven of the saintly days of yore” visits him. The raven is no ordinary bird, for it is like a ghost, silent, yet it answers every inquiry the man presents in it’s own personal way. This dark and tragic tale grabs one’s attention through the rhythmic, yet melancholy verses, through the classic references, and through the dark imagery that all play a critical role within this poem.
The author, Edgar Allan Poe, using illusion or misdirection keeps the reader is suspense throughout this story called "The Masque of the Red Death". Symbolism such as the colored rooms, the impressive clock, the feeling of celebration being at a party all makes this story feel like a fairytale. Poe used this fairytale style and converts it into a nightmare in disguise.
The Raven can be considered a gothic poem because it has many elements that distinguish it as such. It begins "Once upon a midnight dreary..." , hence evoking the feature of darkness and night. The narrator is roused from his sleepy state by a rapping on the door, which begins to terrify him because he is wishing for Lenore, but finds nothing instead ( or rather the raven). This scene then contains the typical gothic elements of mystery, ghosts and the supernatural in the references to "silence unbroken" and "no mortals ever dared to dream before" , and terror as he refers to his beating heart.
It is a well known fact that Edgar Allan Poe‘s stories are famous for producing horror or terror in his readers beyond description. However, it is one of this essay’s attempts to precisely describe these two characteristics present in The pit and the pendulum and The black cat. Horror may be defined as “the feeling of revulsion that usually occurs after something frightening is seen, heard, or otherwise experienced. It is the feeling one gets after coming to an awful realization or experiencing a deeply unpleasant occurrence.” On the contrary terror is described as “the feeling of dread and anticipation that precedes the horrifying experience” These two concepts are thought to be crucial when analyzing Poe’s writings. It is going to be
The poem, “The Raven,” written by Edgar Allen Poe shows the deep depression and confusion that the narrator is experiencing since the death of his beloved wife. The gloomy setting of the poem predicts the visit of the Raven, whom is a sign of misfortune, darkness, and death. Throughout the poem, the narrator is continually mourning his wife, Lenore. He secretly hopes that the Raven will bring good news regarding his wife and his future; however, the Raven informs him that he will forever remain depressed. Furthermore, Poe uses setting, strong word choice, and symbolism to illustrate the Raven as the messenger of darkness and explain the narrator’s emotional state.
When writing “The Fall of the House of Usher,” Poe used the setting outside of the mansion to illustrate the theme of the fear of death. From the outset, the Rodrick Usher’s home is portrayed in a way that gives the reader a feeling of alarm. For example, the narrator mentions the house gives him a feeling of “insufferable gloom” (Usher 1). By pointing this out, the reader begins to feel on edge as the connotation of “gloom” is unwelcoming and distressing. The home is also said to have “vacant eye like windows” (Usher 1) which make the narrator
Edgar Allan Poe used fear to attract his readers into his gothic world. Poe realized that fear intrigues as well as frightens, and sew it as a perfect motif for many of his stories, particularly The Fall of the House of Usher. Poe emphasized the mysterious, desolate, and gloomy surroundings throughout the story to set up the fear that got the reader involved. Then he extended the fear to the characters in order to reveal the importance of facing and overcoming fear. Poe suggested in the story that the denial of fears can lead to madness and insanity. This has clearly shown through the weakening of Roderick Usher's mind and the resulting impact on the narrator of the story.
Horror, what is it, according to literary historian J.A. Cuddon, it is “a piece of fiction in prose of variable length…which shocks or even frightens the reader, or perhaps induces a feeling of repulsion or loathing.” This sets the guidelines for how the generic horror piece is written, as long as it can scare the reader in one sense or the other, or cause them to loath a certain part or character, then it can be called horror. The horror today has roots stemming from old folklore and religious traditions which had elements that dealt with death, the afterlife, and the demonic, along with the things or thing that embody a person. Horror during the 18th century was called gothic horror and this particular type of horror was invented in the
“The Raven” is a magnificent piece by a very well known poet from the 19th century, Edgar Allan Poe. Poe was well known for his dark and haunting poetry. Along with writing poetry, Poe was also recognized for his Gothic-style short stories. “The Raven” is one of Poe’s greatest accomplishments and was even turned into recitals and numerous television appearances. “The Raven” tells a story about an unnamed narrator whose beloved Lenore has left him. A raven comes at different points throughout the poem and tells the narrator that he and his lover are “Nevermore.” Poe presents the downfall of the narrator’s mind through the raven and many chilling events. By thorough review and studying of Edgar Allan Poe’s work, one can fully understand the
Chills run down your spine as a breath of wind rushes past your frame. Incoherent whispering fills your ear due to the flowing wind… Edgar Allen Poe, one of America’s most prolific writers, wrote numerous horror stories that defined the genre for modern writing. Effort went into creating the style that he was known for, but was it constant from one story to the next? Despite differences in plot and length there are similarities of tone, setting, structure, narration, and character between two of his most famous stories, “The Tell-Tale Heart” and “The Fall of the House of Usher,” that allude to Poe’s true writing style.
Horror movies and stories are used as a way to scare people without it becoming a reality. In these movies people watch, or stories they read, the authors and producers try to get into their head to make sure people think that the scary man is actually looking at them through the window, or the phone ringing is actually going to be a person with a scary voice threatening to kill them. In the “Black Cat”, Edgar Allan Poe uses many different types of these characteristics of horror, by telling them about something horrible that he has done. Authors use many different ways to make their story a horror story, they use the many elements of horror, which are: setting, mood, character, unreliable narrator, situational and dramatic irony, suspense, and the uncanny.
As a master of short stories of horror, Edgar Allan Poe is knowledgeable, learned and imaginative. He could skillfully manipulate the words in his literary works to create everything people can think of. The masterful use of the symbols, objects intensify the readers’ nerve as the typical elements of horror in Poe’s short stories, and therefore it is also a feature which makes Poe 's stories different from other writers.
The Raven is a gruesome horror story because of the suspense and darkness throughout the story. The Raven is about a man that is mourning the loss of his wife. He sits by the window in a dark night and then he suddenly gets frightened when he hears the curtain rustling. He then thinks that someone is at the door. However, when he opens the door, no one is there.
Doesn't "The Masque of the Red Death" feel as if it's one weird, scary dream? Nowhere is that feeling stronger than with the masquerade ball itself. Everything's just a little to wild, a little to intense, a little to bloody, to be real. There are the blaring, over-the-top colors of the suite and the off-kilter alignment of the rooms. There are also the masqueraders themselves, dressed up in all kinds of bizarre costumes, forming a truly mad collage of images. Poe explicitly uses dream language when he describes them:
Edgar Allan Poe was a fictional writer that astonished readers with his many mysterious poems and his tales of horror such as “The Raven”, “Annabelle Lee”, and “The Fall of the house of Usher”.