ipl-logo

How Does Poe Create An Atmosphere Of Mystery And Suspense

823 Words4 Pages

Edgar Allan Poe, a famous poet, wrote many pieces of literature that contain a variety of gothic elements. His art generates an array of feelings within all readers. When Poe was young, his parents died, which left him mentally unstable and depressed. His mental instability is specifically displayed through three of his famous works, The Fall of the House of Usher, “The Raven”, and The Black Cat. In all three of the Gothic pieces written by Edgar Allan Poe, Poe shows the devil in his characters as well as omens to create an atmosphere of mystery and suspense; however, in addition to the devil and omens, The Black Cat also uses a collateral issue to amplify the mystery and suspense that is portrayed.
Poe uses the presence of the devil in his characters to form a …show more content…

In The Fall of the House of Usher, many omens are seen. One of the omens is about the appearance and feeling of the house. When the narrator sees the house “a sense of insufferable gloom pervaded [his] spirit" (Poe 3). This is an omen to the bad things that are forthcoming within the walls of the house. In the second piece of literature, “The Raven”, the Raven itself represents many things including an omen. The bird shows up and the narrator calls it the “ominous bird of yore” (Poe 3). It foreshadows the anger that is formed within the narrator while talking to the bird. This eerie bird makes the poem have a lot of uneasiness, which is then transferred to the reader. In the other story by Poe, The Black Cat, also contains omens such as the cat itself. The narrator's wife “regarded all black cats as witches in disguise” (Poe 1). Later in the story, readers see the negative impact the cat seems to have on the narrator. The events confirmed the suspicions of the narrator's wife although he was blind to the wariness. All of these texts conjure up tension and thrilling feelings through omens and warnings scattered throughout

Show More
Related

The Raven By Edgar Allan Poe Essay

1082 Words | 5 Pages

The dark narratives based on grief, insanity, death, and darkness most commonly correspond with one eerie man. The infamous Edgar Allan Poe was a very talented gothic writer. Poe’s writing was fueled by the grief that stemmed from the death of his mother and wife. Throughout the 19th century, Poe’s pieces became increasingly popular, yet even with the fame he still struggled in a depressive state. Although Poe’s writing consists of supernatural elements, it is heavily focused on the darkness of the human mind, as displayed continuously in his narrative “The Raven”.

Read More

How Does Edgar Allan Poe Create Suspense

694 Words | 3 Pages

In the raven Poe uses imagery to show how the narrator does not care about his life anymore by the way he describes what is happening for example ”And the silken, sad, uncertain rustling of each purple curtain Thrilled me—filled me with fantastic terrors never felt before; (The raven Paragraph 2)” in this quote from the raven you can see that the narrator is not that scared of the sudden sounds and just surprised by the way he describes the

Read More

Imagery In The Raven

1545 Words | 7 Pages

The raven causes the narrator despair by reminding him that he will nevermore be with Lenore. Despite the narrator commanding the raven to leave him, the raven remains sitting above his bedroom door and eventually, its shadow encircles the narrator’s soul. Many writers often use birds as symbols of hope, freedom, and light. However, in “The Raven,” Edgar Allan Poe uses the image of the raven in a different way.

Read More

Allusions In The Raven

837 Words | 4 Pages

Poe’s literary device that he favors in this poem is symbolism. The most obvious form of symbolism is the raven. The raven itself symbolizes death. As the poem progresses, the reader starts to see the narrator go from thinking the raven is a foolish bird speaking total nonsense, to being scared out of his mind by the bird. It is shown when “Once the bird enters his chambers, nothing really changes except the speaker’s attitude, which grows increasingly nervous.”

Read More

Death And Grieving In Edgar Allan Poe's The Raven

495 Words | 2 Pages

The Raven" represents the feeling of death, loss, and grief. This poem connects to Poe's own experiences of loss and tragedy. For one example, Poe's mother died when he was only 3 years old. His father left him and he soon became a orphan. These early losses of those who were supposed to take care of the child definitely made an impact on Poe's life and writing.

Read More

Examples Of Suspense In The Black Cat

532 Words | 3 Pages

Suspense in “The Black Cat” Why do people choose to go into haunted houses? It is because they want to know what happens inside. Haunted houses maintain this mystery and intrigue in order to create an element of suspense. Edgar Allan Poe uses this same element in “The Black Cat” to keep the reader interested. Poe develops suspense through three events: the hanging of his black cat, Pluto; the finding of the second black cat; and the killing of his wife, Virginia.

Read More

How Does Edgar Allan Poe Use Metaphors In The Raven

302 Words | 2 Pages

In the poem The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe, figurative language is used to emphasize and intensify the growing emotions of the narrator. To the narrator, the raven symbolizes bad fortune. Moreover, the raven is black and black can represent death or evil. Poe twists the bird into a controlling being who torments him over the death of a loved one and he is able to enhance that effect with the use of metaphors. The use of metaphors in this poem adds an eerie background to the bird and adds quality to the writing.

Read More

Suspense In Edgar Allen Poe's The Black Cat

483 Words | 2 Pages

The author increases the feeling of anxiety in the story by using foreshadowing. For example, after the narrator obtains the second black cat, he notices that the white patch on the second cat’s chest is forming into something. When the narrator realizes what the shape of the patch on the beast chest is, he states, “It was now the representation of an object that I shudder to have—and for this, above all, I loathed, and dreaded, and would have rid myself of the monster had I dared—it was how, I say, the image of a hideous—of a ghastly thing—of the GALLOWS!” (Poe 4)

Read More

Compare And Contrast The Black Cat And The Fall Of The House Of Usher

910 Words | 4 Pages

In “The Fall of the House of Usher” the tone gives off an eerie and bizarre feeling. This is similar to many of Poe’s other short stories but this piece the most. The tone is gloomy compared to “The Black Cat” that Poe has also written. The author starts off the story with immense details of the setting. The readers get a dark vibe from these details.

Read More

Examples Of Insanity In The Black Cat

786 Words | 4 Pages

Many of Poe’s greatest works have left the readers inquiring about the sanity of the narrator. One of those works would be “The Black Cat”, among others. The narrator’s actions in the book bring about many questions and speculations. It is unmistakable that the narrator’s actions in “The Black Cat” show that the narrator’s insanity. There are multiple instances in “The Black Cat” that shows the mental sanity of the narrator.

Read More

Examples Of Gothic Elements In The Fall Of The House Of Usher

1669 Words | 7 Pages

“ The Fall of the House of Usher “ by Edgar Allan Poe is a short story about a man named Roderick Usher who initiates some events such as evoking his friend The Narrator as a protagonist to the dreadful mansion. The images such as the house and gothic ambience are used to reinforce the idea of giving the mystery to the reader. Edgar Allan Poe uses gothic elements to show how they affect the atmosphere and the characters. In the beginning , the gothic atmosphere of the house is indicated with terrifying images such as “ dull, dark and soundless ” that the feeling of horror vaccinated into reader by the thoughts of the narrator.

Read More

The Black Cat Unreliable Essay

516 Words | 3 Pages

Also, when reading “ The Black Cat”, Poe will not keep the reader up-to-date with the natural world. He likes to keep his readers guessing. This alone makes the narrator unreliable. When the Black Cat came back after the narrator killed it, both he and the reader were very shocked.

Read More

The Black Cat Rhetorical Devices

218 Words | 1 Pages

The Black Cat Throughout the text Edgar Allen Poe uses rhetorical devices to convey the message to the readers. In the Black Cat, Poe uses metaphor, paradox, symbolism, foreshadowing, irony, repetition, and similes to explore the themes of death, violence, and terror. In the story “The Black Cat” by Edgar Allen Poe, the author uses narrative rhetorical devices to make the story more tense, suspenseful, and suspicious. The most literary device the author used in the story was symbolism. It underlines hidden messages that contribute to the plot development and the themes of death, violence, and terror.

Read More

Similarities Between Black Cat And The Cask Of Amontillado

1072 Words | 5 Pages

In these two stories Poe uses foreshadowing in way that if the reader spots the small details or Poes “word playing “ he/she can predict what will happen or get a hint of what will happen. In Black Cat there are few foreshadows. One foreshadow is when the narrator sees a cat in the wall and Pluto`s color being black is believed to be unlucky and in this story the narrator is unhappy and unlucky. The narrator gets gouth because of a cat being inside a wall.

Read More

What Is The Irony In The Fall Of The House Of Usher

276 Words | 2 Pages

Edgar Alan Poe sets the stage for a dark and dim reality of fate in his work “The Fall of the House of Usher.” He uses many descriptive scenes to lay place to the eerie gothic tale that unfolds. The narrator describes the exterior of the house as having “vacant and eye-like windows” (92), and being covered in “minute fungi” (93). Before even entering the mansion the reader is filled with a tremor. Stepping into the house one will find “sombre tapestries”(94) and “phantasmagoric armorial trophies” (94).

Read More

More about How Does Poe Create An Atmosphere Of Mystery And Suspense

Related Topics

Open Document