Characterization of Poe's Works
Is it possible for a tale of a black bird and a tale of a death sentence to be at all similar? One can clearly find the answer to this question in Edgar Allen Poe's "The Pit and the Pendulum" and "The Raven". In both stories the narrator goes through mental tortures that effect him greatly. Also each story creates dark, gothic images in an appropriate creepy setting that effect the narrator as well as the reader. These three characteristics that the two stories share are the use of psychological horror, gothic elements, and creepy setting. The first characteristic that these two stories share is the use of psychological horror. An author will use psychological horror to show the reader what a character is going through. It can be defined as the torture or horrors of ones mind by someone or something. In "The Pit and the Pendulum", Poe uses it a couple of times in the part where the man is on the wood table with the pendulum above. He is given a dish of seasoned meat without water, which he usually receives. Not having the pitcher of water is a big problem because the seasoned meat is spicy. This tortures the man because he
The examples given above show that Edgar Allen Poe's writings are very similar. Poe writes in such a unique way creating a frightening and gloomy mood for the readers. The three characteristics of psychological horror, gothic ideas, and creepy setting are three of many literary elements that Poe tends to use in his stories. By seeing these common elements in Poe's stories, it is easy to understand how a tale of a black bird and a tale of a death sentence can be similar. The second shared characteristic in these two stories is the use of Gothic elements. Gothic elements can either jump out at the reader or they can be hidden within a sentence. Most of the time these elements appear in the form of darkness, ghosts, torture or basic fears. In both "The Raven" and "The Pit and Pendulum", Poe uses Gothic elements. In "The Raven", Poe begins the poem with "Once upon a midnight dreary...", which definitely paints the picture of the story taking place in the middle of the night. This immediately gets the reader in a scared state. In "The Pit and the Pendulum", Poe begins the story with "I was sick-sick unto death...". Once again
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 765
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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