“Poe’s Narrators” written by Edward H. Davidson looks closely at the protagonist
in a psychological perspective due to their human will and behavior in “ The Cask of
Amontillado” by Edgar Allan Poe. Although all the characters Poe has created relate to
each other in one way or another, they all have different traits to distinguish the
separation of their mind, body, and soul. A major strategy of Poe’s writing is the
separation within one person of the mind, body, and soul.
Davidson explains that the characters in “Poe’s Narrators” possesses qualities in
them that force different relationships with their mind, body, and soul after a new event
or issue has developed in their lives. This is very different and obscure way to look at
creating a character in which they feel is disturbing, or not connected to one’s self.
Although each time the narrator encounters an event, the reaction they have will always
be different depending as to whether it is physically violent or mental event. Davidson
can only explain Poe’s reasoning by suggesting th...
the known consequences and find their feelings of love for other humans ultimately lead to their
Edgar Allen Poe is known for his dark yet comedic approach toward the his theme of his stories. Likewise, Poe’s themes have gathered many fans due to his impression of reasoning in his stories. The author uses thinking and reasoning to portray the theme. Poe’s unique diction comprehends with the theme of the story. Poe has a brilliant way of taking gothic tales of mystery, and terror, and mixing them with variations of a romantic tale by shifting emphasis from, surface suspense and plot pattern to his symbolic play in language and various meanings of words.
One of the most famous authors in American history is Edgar Allen Poe, thanks to his intricate and unsettling short stories and poems. One of the strongest aspects of Poe’s writing style is the allure and complexity of the narrator of the story. These narrators, ranging from innocent bystanders to psychotic murderers, add depth to such a short story and really allow Poe to explore the themes of death and murder which he seems to have an unhealthy obsession towards. Furthermore, he uses these narrators to give a different perspective in each of his many works and to really unsettle the reader by what is occurring throughout the story. The narrators, whether an innocent witness of death as in "The Fall of the House of Usher" or a twisted murderer as in "The Cask of Amontillado" are used by Poe to discuss the themes of death and murder within these stories and, depending on their point of view, give a different take on such a despicable act such as murder.
thoughts, and actions get affected and often torture the victim until they die. In the
The writing style of Edgar Allan Poe shows the writer to be of a dark nature. In this story, he focuses on his fascination of being buried alive. He quotes, “To be buried alive is, beyond question, the most terrific of these [ghastly] extremes which has ever fallen to the lot of mere mortality.” page 58 paragraph 3. The dark nature is reflected in this quote, showing the supernatural side of Poe which is reflected in his writing and is also a characteristic of Romanticism. Poe uses much detail, as shown in this passage, “The face assumed the usual pinched and sunken outline. The lips were of the usual marble pallor. The eyes were lusterless. There was no warmth. Pulsation had ceased. For three days the body was preserved unburied, during which it had acquired a stony rigidity.” page 59 paragraph 2. The descriptive nature of this writing paints a vivid picture that intrigues the reader to use their imagination and visualize the scene presented in the text. This use of imagery ties with aspects of Romanticism because of the nature of the descriptions Poe uses. Describing the physical features of one who seems dead is a horrifying perspective as not many people thing about the aspects of death.
A. Poe through many of his tales focuses on developing the perfect aesthetic to match the emotion elicited in the text. Through his “Masque of the Red Death,” Poe seeks to elicit the feeling of dread and impending fate among his audience. A common motif in Poe’s writing, isolation, adds to the feeling of helplessness concocted in the virulent tale. In an article discussing new psychological perspectives on Poe, James Gargano expands upon Poe’s manipulation of his audience through isolation. Gargano on David Saliba’s research states, “Unable to escape from the imposed circumscription and confinement, the reader succumbs to the logic and plausibility of the appalling and circumstantial tale told by Poe or his narrator. Thus “stunned” into belief, the reader identifies with the victim’s anguish and, in turn becomes victimized” (6). The ploy of this motif draws the audience in causing them to empathize with Poe and/or the Narrator, whom will be expounded upon later in the analysis. Isolation may be the underlying aesthetic in the tale, yet it is not the only aesthetic utilized to horrify the audience. Atmosphere is a common focal point for Poe; “The Masque of the Red Death” is an exceptional example of this concept. The masquerade is situated in seven color coordinated adjoining rooms. Carl Jung would significance of this focus of “seven” rooms; from the powerful image educe with the specific number seven, down to the auras produced from the precise colors of these rooms. The
demons Poe was suffering from. The horror tales Poe writes are devilishly detailed and possess a
Edgar Allan Poe primarily authored stories dealing with Gothic literature; the stories were often quite dreary. Poe possessed a very sorrowful view of the world and he expressed this throughout his literary works. His goal was to leave an impression with every detail that he included in his stories. Although Poe’s stories seem very wretched and lackluster they all convey a certain idea. A trademark of Poe’s is his use of very long complex sentences. For instance, in his work The Fall of the House of Usher, Poe tried to ensure that every detail was as relevant as possible by integrating a wide variety of emotion. In the third paragraph, of page two hundred ninety-seven, Poe wrote, “Feeble gleams of encrimsoned light made their way through the trellised panes, and served to render sufficiently distinct the more prominent objects around…” This sentence illustrates the descriptiveness and complexity that Edgar Allan Poe’s works consisted of. The tormented cognizance of Poe led him to use a very gloomy diction throughout his writing. Edgar Allan Poe’s use of symbols and the way he conveyed his writing expr...
Although William L. Howarth stated that the characters in Poe’s works are undeveloped and inadequate, I believe that Poe is able to transform parts of himself into characters ad interpret a deeper meaning into the actions and behaviors of these characters. These abilities are illustrated in most of his characters. However, they are the most obvious in characters such as Lady Madeline and Roderick in “The Fall of the House of Usher,” Montresor and Fortunado in “The Cask of Amontillado,” and the raven in the famous poem, “The Raven.”
" Twentieth Century Interpretations of Poe's Tales. ED. William L. Howarth, b. 1875. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1971. 94. - 102. - 102.
Poe utilizes a gradual change in diction as the poem progresses. Initially, he begins the poem with melancholic diction when the narrator is falling asleep: “while I pondered, weak and weary,” “nodded, nearly napping,” and “of someone gently rapping” (1-4). The utilization of alliteration in these lines supply a song-like rhythm, which is soothing to the reader. This usage of diction conveys a mellow tone. Further into the poem, when the increasingly agitated narrator becomes vexed at the raven, he lashes out at the bird. Here, he states, “Get thee back into the tempest and the Night’s Plutonian shore! / Leave no black plume as a token of that lie thy soul hath spoken! / Leave my loneliness unbroken!--quit the bust above my door! / Take thy beak from out my heart, and take thy form from off my door!” (98-101). Here, his uses archaic words and phrases such as “thee,” “Night’s Plutonian shore,” and “thy soul hath”. This usage of unorthodox language creates a theatrical, dramatic, and climactic effect, which leads to an impassioned tone. By presenting both tones, Poe is able to show the contrast between the two. This transformation from a tone that is mellow to one of frustration and anxiety represents the spiraling downward of the narrator’s mental state.
A virtuoso of suspense and horror, Edgar Allan Poe is known for his Gothic writing style. His style is created through his use of punctuation, sentence structure, word choice, tone, and figurative language. Punctuation-wise; dashes, exclamation marks, semicolons, and commas are a favorite of Poe. His sentences vary greatly; their structures are influenced by punctuation. Much of his word choice set the tone of his works. Figurative language colors his writings with description. Such is observed in the similarities between two of his most well-known short stories, “The Cask of Amontillado” and “The Tell-Tale Heart”
“Men have called me mad; but the question is not yet settled, whether madness is or is not the loftiest of intelligence,” Edgar Allan Poe. Poe is famous in the writing world and has written many amazing stories throughout his gloomy life. At a young age his parents died and he struggled with the abuse of drugs and alcohol. A great amount of work he created involves a character that suffers with a psychological problem or mental illness. Two famous stories that categorize Poe’s psychological perspective would be “The Fall of the House of Usher” and “The Tell-Tale Heart.” Both of these stories contain many similarities and differences of Poe’s psychological viewpoint.
than the reader of his state of mind. This seems to be Poe's way of gradually
However, the diversity between the two is not always as spot on as they think, well, at least initially they don’t. They share characteristics such as independence and responsibility but play particular roles throughout life. Other characteristics that both compare and contrast such as innocence is a factor. And, of course, everyone develops differently with their own episodes as a child and then to become of