The second level of scariness is the psychological aspect of the story. The themes of isolation, madness, and fear become terrifying because they are able to transcend the story; they are real, and they could quite possibly affect us. The first, most basic, and most easily recognizable level of “scary” is seen throughout the story, but especially in the opening paragraphs. With his choice of imagery and diction, Poe practically tells the audience that they are in a horror story and should feel scared. The first sentence alone is filled with diction that would make even the most basic reader shudder.
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.
Just before he starts to tell his story, he tells Robert Walton that his story has "unparalleled misfortunes" and that he has "memories of evil" this is meant to strike fear into the reader and into Robert Walton, it shows that Victor Frankenstein is deeply horrified with what has happened to him. There is also evil in this story a... ... middle of paper ... ...ypical through out all of the book. I believe that Frankenstein is definitely a horror story and that it is also a Gothic story, because it has many features that are typical of these genres. I do not believe that they are the main genres though, as the Romantic genre is a lot more dominant in this novel. I believe that this is mainly because of the time period that it was set in, as it was written in 1818, and this was when people were starting to discard the horror genre, and they were starting to believe in nature.
In horror literature, the degradation of a protagonist’s sense of reality is commonplace. In Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart”, Lovecraft’s “The Temple”, and King’s “Survivour Type”, each protagonist’s rational psyche deteriorates due to their surroundings, behaviours, and emotions. The surroundings in which the narrators find themselves is the first domino of a complex web that is inadvertently knocked over, creating toppling effect within their minds that can rarely be reversed. A person’s behaviour, their actions, and/or their disposition would unequivocally affect their psyche. The narrator’s perceptions and thoughts are affected by behaviours in such a way that slowly drags them into an inescapable psychosis.
How Writers of 19th Century Stories Create Tension and Suspense The writers in 19th century stories create tension and suspense through the use of gothic horror. This style of writing is designed to frighten and panic and cause dread and alarm. It innovates our hidden worst fears often in a terrifying, shocking finale, while captivating and entertaining us at the same time in a cathartic experience. Horrors effectively centre on the dark side of life, the forbidden, and the strange and alarming events. It deals with the audience’s most primal nature and its fears.
Fear in The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe 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.
The unpleasant outcome of his early years resulted in a great Gothic Romantic writer. He is a master of writing psychological thrillers, adding suspense and mystery in his stories. The topics of his writings are a concoction of unpleasant, austere, and grotesque things, thus the reader can be left feeling squeamish and susceptible. We are drawn into Poe’s stories by our intrinsic human nature of curiosity and intrigue. This paper gives examples of Poe’s literary style as we examine Roderick’s metal state through his words and appearance.
The most immediately striking aspect of the introductory paragraph of the story is the expression of the haunting tone. He dives into an evaluation of the Usher’s, “corpse, and a victim to the terrors he had anticipated” (335). This statement left a depressing vibe comparable to an opiate expression. There were a lot of valuable key words and phrases the reader can gather of the mystery in the story. The existence of a frightening tone i...
In “The Fall of the House of Usher”, Poe’s use of dark, descriptive words allow him to establish an eerie mood. Poe’s unique style of writing along with his foreshadowing vocabulary is significant in creating a suspenseful gothic story. At the beginning of the short story, Poe describes the House of Usher to be “dull”, “oppressive”, and “dreary” (1265). His choice of words strongly emphasizes a mood of darkness and suspense as he builds on the horrific aspects of this daunting tale. At first glimpse, the house itself is surrounded by the feeling of “insufferable gloom”, (1265) “[t]here was an iciness, a sinking, a sickening of the heart, an unredeemed dreariness of thought [...]” (1265).
This hints to the reader that Harker is subconsciously worried and creates even more anxiety. Strange dreams or visions are typical in Gothic horror stories, and disturbing dreams and visions may be seen as a sign to the reader, that he is having premonitions. When Harker arrives at Bistritz, he describes it as a "very interesting old place". The words "old" an... ... middle of paper ... ...the moonlit sky". Stoker describes the vast ruined castle as rundown, and gives the reader anticipation as it obviously has a history, as it is battered and run down.