Through the use of literary techniques and devices, Poe has effectively conveyed thematic concerns of Gothicism. Poe’s texts explore the inept fear of the unknown, the decay of an individual’s character and the psychotic relationship between insanity and the expression and instigation of emotions. The Gothic conventions within his work complement each other and operate in conjunction to express themes related to Gothicism, as ambient setting is achieved with the aid of the Gothic conventions of supernatural motifs and reference to darkness. By creating a pastiche of forms and conventions, Edgar Allan Poe’s works are considered sublime paradigms of Gothic fiction.
But now there came from out the niche a low laugh that erected the hair upon my head.” Poe compares the torture with a rock. This metaphor is made to convey that Montressor wants to continue taunting Fortunato. This contributes to the horror of the story, and readers eminently recoil from Montressor’s cruel murder. In conclusion, both novels communicate themes of gothic tension and horror by the author’s use of language, diction and literary devices. These techniques help authors express and communicate tension and horror throughout the story.
It encompasses all aspects that are vital to Gothicism and executes all perfectly. Stoker adds the element of darkness which clearly intensifies the foreboding ambience and he reflects it on every aspect of the book. The theme of superstition and the supernatural that centres on the villain creates an air of ambiguity and uncertainty concerning Dracula. This uncertainty causes a fear in the reader which enhances the gothic genre of the novel. Finally, the same uncertainty that clouds the supernatural elements of the novel drift into the characters understanding of what is real and what is not.
Such descriptive words as shroud, grave-worms and corpse all create a sense of reality. They are harsh and produce internal horror. In all I think that Frankenstein can be classed as classically gothic novel. It contains continuous references to typically gothic features. Such scenes as the creation of the creature and the frequently occurring deaths all help to analyse the novel.
Bram Stoker and Sheridan Le Fanu’s texts, Dracula (1898) and “Carmilla” (1872), use gothic tropes in similar ways to captivate readers with horror and terror. This essay will illustrate how, in comparison, both texts include gothic tropes: the New Woman, sexuality and setting, in order to provoke emotions and reactions from the readers. To achieve this, this essay will focus on the women that challenge traditional gender roles and stereotypes, and deconstruct each text in regards to the very strong undertones of homosexuality; specifically between Carmilla and Laura, and Dracula and Harker. By discussing the harshness and darkness of the environments described, including ruined castles and isolated landscapes; this essay will also explore the
One great American Gothic story written by Poe is The Tell Tale Heart. What makes this story Gothic/creepy is how the narrator describes the old man 's eye. Also the fact that the narrator is constantly thinking of killing the old man because of his eyes. Then again he still wants the reader to believe that he is not insane for having these thoughts. And that he has a legitimate reason behind his own crazy reasoning.
He describes the killing as helping himself by ‘rid myself of the eye for ever’. Poe focused more on the psychology of his characters and he often turned them into madness. “The Tell-Tale Heart” is one of Poe’s most famous short stories, just as well as being one of the classics of the gothic genre. In the story “The Tell-Tale Heart”, the common elements of a gothic story are viewable from the very beginning. One of the earliest sentences is “why will you say that I am mad?” and this gives a kick into the direction of people’s fear of insanity and evilness.
On the other hand, terror is the intense fear that one feels in anticipation of something happening. Moreover, terror is an emotion felt when one is in great and immediate fear. In Edgar Allen Poe’s, “The Tell-Tale Heart”, “The Raven”, “Annabel Lee”, and “Lenore”, he uses gothic literature to create horror and terror. First, Poe crafts his words masterfully in “The Tell-Tale Heart” to provide more intense horror and terror. The narrator tells the reader how he killed an old man with a pale blue eye.
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.
In “A Tell-Tale Heart” and “A Good Man Is Hard To Find,” the presence of an ingrained hamartia within a primary character elicits a consuming sense of fear and defeat in the reader by immersing him in the mind of the character. Edgar Allen Poe is contemporarily known for his Gothic works, but more specifically for implementing palpable fabrics of horror and the omnipresent element of death in his writing. “The Tell-Tale Heart” is a short story told from the eyes of the narrator that delivers an array of erratic emotion to the reader, ranging from excitement and anxiety to sheer horror. The story is the narrator’s attempted explanation to the reader that he is not insane – a captivating author technique that creates a sense of unease in the reader after the very first sentence. The narrator then goes on to intricately describe his murder of an old man in the heart of the night.