Similarities Between Edgar Allan Poe and Alfred Hitchcock Fear, terror and suspense are the most vivid emotions created by
Poe's stories and by Hitchcock's films. Several themes are common to
both:
the madness that exists in the world, the paranoia caused by isolation
which guides people's actions, the conflict between appearance and
reality
along with the double aspect of the human nature, and the power of the
dead
over the living. Not only the themes are similar in both men's work
but
also the details through which a story is written or shown. The
similar
themes and narrative techniques can be seen clearly in "The Fall of
the
House of Usher" and in Psycho.
For both Poe and Hitchcock, madness exists in the world. "The Fall
of the House of Usher" and Psycho are two very similar studies in
madness.
Roderick Usher and Norman Bates are both insane. They have many common
traits although they are also quite different. They are victims of
their
fears and their obsessions. Norman who seems agreeable and shy is, in
reality, a homicidal maniac who has committed matricide. He suffers
from
schizophrenia - he acts as both himself and his dead mother. Roderick
Usher appears strange from the beginning, almost ghost-like, with his
"cadaverousness of complexion" - however, he is not a murderer. He
suffers
from a mental disorder which makes him obsessed with fear: fear of the
past, of the house, of the dead. He finally dies, "victim...
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... for one week
to
achieve the perfect balance of suspense and terror in the "shower
scene" of
Psycho. They leave the viewer in suspense until the very end when the
stories unfold. It is not until then that the audience understands
fully
the disturbed state of the main characters and the twisted plot of
their
stories.
There are many similarities between Edgar Allan Poe and Alfred
Hitchcock, in their themes, their methods for reaching the reader or
spectator, and their fascination with the human mind and its
complexities -
their view of the world. The semblance of two of the most well known
masters of terror and suspense is striking - as seen in Poe's "The
Fall of
the House of Usher" and Hitchcock's Psycho. Both men are fascinated by
mystery, by horror, by madness, by death.
Who is your favorite author? Mark Twain, Edgar Allen Poe, Ray Bradbury, Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, Dr. Suess? Have you ever wondered what their strengths and weaknesses are and which authors are better. Some of these authors have written more than 40 books in there life time. Edgar Allen Poe and Ray Bradbury are very similar yet very different. You can use a compare and contrast format to figure out the similarities and differences of these two classic American Authors.
In “The Tell-Tale Heart” and “The Cask of the Amontillado’ Montresor and the unknown narrator are both murders through their confessions they reveal both their similarities and differences. The unknown narrator is trying to convince the auditor of his sanity while Montresor is attempting to convince the auditor of justifiable revenge. It is through these confessions they are trying to convince the auditor of their humanity and of their innocence through the justification of these horrible acts (Dern 53).
Throughout the years, many directors have been making movies that seem to "scare the hell out of people." From thrilling to suspenseful scenes, Alfred Hitchcock explores different techniques to ensure that he captures the audience's attention. The characters in Hitchcock's films play a very important role in creating the tensions and twists, causing that heart-stopping moment where you just want to yell at the TV. He uses the characters to strategically place chess pieces, knowing exactly when to make his move. Alfred Hitchcock was a very scared person in life, which ironically led him to be one of the greatest directors for thrillers and perhaps horrors.
Alfred Hitchcock’s films not only permanently scar the brains of his viewers but also addict them to his suspense. Hitchcock’s films lure you in like a trap, he tells the audience what the characters don’t know and tortures them with the anticipation of what’s going to happen.
Edgar Allan Poe and Ray Bradbury are very different in life, but they have a lot in common when it comes to writing. They both used their personal lives in their stories as themes. They also used the same style of writing, and focused on more supernatural and things that ordinary authors wouldn’t write about. They also used some of the same literary devices such as allusion, irony, foreshadowing, and imagery.
Alfred Hitchcock's idea of horror involves human suspense and teh realistic aspect of scary situations. Hitchcocks masterful directing leads the audience to be the frist to understand what is going on. The characters are left in the dark until the suspense reaches its climax. As the impending danger builds, the viewer is allowed to wtiness the situation before the character. This raises the level of suspense making it more realistic. Hitchcock takes normal situations and adds a terffiying twist. The twist is always something that has never happened, but is definetely possible. Hitchcocks The Birds is an excellent example of this. He takes normal situation with normal birds and turns them into killers. As the birds gather behind one unsuspecting victim, only the audience is allowed to see the impending danger. The woman is calm and collected as she waits on the bench. Hitchcock adds a little scare music and the woman suddenly realizes she is being watched. She whips around in horror and the birds are there ready to attack. This scfene is not a common occurance, but to an overactive imagination it could become a very real possibility.
Death, despair, and revenge, these three words form a treacherous triangle to any reader who dare enter the mind of Edgar Allen Poe. In many of his works these expressions seem to form a reoccurring theme. Comparing the works "The Mask of the Red Death" and "The Cask of Amontillado", we will discuss these themes while analyzing the method behind Poe’s madness.
Although there are several theories as to how Edgar Allan Poe died, I think he died from a practice called cooping which involved excessive alcohol ingestion as well. Cooping was a form of electoral fraud where victims are forced to wear disguises, do drugs and drink alcohol and then vote numerous times. Most of the theories involving Poe’s death have been discredited. The cooping theory is one of the most likely ones to have happened. In comparison to other theories, this one is considered likely to be true. There are just too many discrepancies in the other theories to be identified as true.
Both Poe and Fuseli demonstrate in their works, the emotional force common in the Romantic period. Fuseli's The Nightmare and Poe's The Raven both display horrifying scenes in the middle of the night. Through their varying mediums, both use dramatic energy and symbolism, and they both engage the reader of viewer emotionally.
The two films Psycho and The Birds, both directed by Alfred Hitchcock, share similar themes and elements. These recurring themes and elements are often prevalent in many of Hitchcock’s works. In Psycho and The Birds, Hitchcock uses thematic elements like the ideal blonde woman, “the motherly figure”, birds, and unusual factors that often leave the viewer thinking. Hitchcock’s works consist of melodramatic films, while also using pure cinema to help convey messages throughout the film.
The similarities and differences between Poe and Hawthorne both show a dynamic and intriguing method that has lasted through the times. They both show an inner personal look through their writing about their loved ones. The dynamic writing between both writers depict the idea that no matter how morbid the writing love can shine through any view. With both writers there is a vision of morbid curiosity along with a romantic nature for the audience; by depicting death of a loved one to show a sense of connection with the audience. Although both are gothic romantic writers you can easily see that both have a different sense of life and death, and to which one holds more value.
Edgar Allan Poe was born in Boston, Massachusetts on January 19, 1809. His first book was published in 1827. In 1829 Al Aaraaf Tamerlane, and Minor Poems, Poe's second book was published. Poe became the editor of The Southern Literary Messenger in 1834 after his lawyer persuaded them to publish some of his stories and make him an editor. During this time his mark on American Literature began. Three of Poe's well-known stories are “The Cask of Amontillado”, which was published in 1846, “The Tell-Tale Heart, which was published in 1843, and “The Pit and the Pendulum”, which was published in 1842. In these three stories like most of Poe's stories they deal with the deep, dark, psychological side of the human brain. In Poe's short stories “The Cask of Amontillado”, “The Tell-Tale Heart” and “The Pit and the Pendulum”, Poe use three common motifs; death, fear or terror, and madness.
American authors thrived in the 19th century more than any other time in history. Two central figures of this American Renaissance were Emily Dickinson and Edgar Allen Poe. These two authors primarily wrote dark fiction about the subjects of death, love, and nature. Not only is the general subject matter between Dickinson and Poe similar, but there are also parallels between their speakers. Many of their works contain a first-person narrator who displays drastic psychological states and is aware of an overwhelming presence of death. This is most notable in Dickinson’s “I Felt a Funeral” when her speaker implies with the internal funeral that she is becoming mad and how in “Because I could not stop for Death” she shows mortality as imminent;
They say that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. As stated in Edgar Allan Poe's "The Poetic Principle," a concept of beauty can only be achieved through the use of emotion, an "excitement of the soul," a necessary element to any worthwhile poem (Poe 8). Poe's fascination with the mystery of death and the afterlife are often clearly rooted in his poems and provide a basis for himself and the reader to truly experience his concept of beauty. Although also a believer in portraying beauty through poetry, Ralph Waldo Emerson found beauty to be eminent in nature and all things created by the Oversoul. Beauty for Emerson is not an idea or unknown, it is visible all around him.
“While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping, As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.” (Poe 145) Although Shakespeare antecedes Poe, the two poets use poetic devices in their poetic manuscripts. Works of poetry have poetic devices that intensifies a story; with added intensification, it makes the poem unique. In analyzing the two poets, William Shakespeare and Edgar Allan Poe, one can remark that the two use similar and contradictory poetic devices in their writings.