Literary critics argue that the life Edgar Allan Poe lived did not influence his writing, but significant evidence refutes their argument. Poe’s life was dark, cruel, and filled with deception. Without the tragic events, there may not be the incredible literature today. The dark life influenced an entire body of extraordinary literature. Poe—a renowned author who infused stories with dark mystery—was the best horror author of the romantic period because of his ability to depict a scene with his word choice, his focus on sorrow while insinuating death, and by implementing tragic endings into his stories.
Poe’s genius depiction of scenes came from his skilled way with words, and that led to him becoming the greatest horror author of the romantic …show more content…
Any ending to a short story or book written by Poe is almost guaranteed to have one thing in common; death and horror. Death and horror is the way Poe made a living and he did it well. The list goes on and on with Poe’s stories that are implemented with tragic endings. One of the first being a short story “Hop Frog” and its uneasy ending. Hop Frog, the main character, was seeking revenge on the King and his ministers for constantly bullying him. Eventually Hop Frog saw an opportunity to strike, and he did so in a very appalling way. Hop Frog, “also viewed as Poe in some instances,” finally got revenge on him enemies by burning them to death while they hung from the ceiling. (Roderick Notes). In another one of Poe’s stories “The Tale-Tell Heart” yet another example of horrible endings is presented. This story is between two characters, the narrator and an old man. The narrator of the story constantly tries reassuring the reader that he loved the old man. Saying that he held nothing against him. Yet the eye of the old man continually got to him and eventually drove him mad. The narrator went into the old man’s room every night at 12am for seven days, leaving a lantern each day. On the eighth day, the narrator lost it and suffocated the old man until he could no longer hear his heart beat. The last example of tragic endings in a Poe story is, “The Cask of Amontillado.” This story is again based on revenge between said to be friends, Montresor and Fortunato. Montresor uses Fortunato’s ego and lures him down into an underground vault to taste a rare wine that he found. On the way down Montresor gets Fortunato drunk, once completely wasted and passed out, Montresor went to work. Quickly building a wall of red bricks around Fortunato while he laid there helpless, and eventually encased Fortunato’s grave. Those three stories are just a few of the works Poe put together. Each one of his
Poe’s genius depiction of scenes came from his skilled way with words, and that led to him becoming the greatest horror author of the romantic …show more content…
Any ending to a short story or book written by Poe is almost guaranteed to have one thing in common; death and horror. Death and horror is the way Poe made a living and he did it well. The list goes on and on with Poe’s stories that are implemented with tragic endings. One of the first being a short story “Hop Frog” and its uneasy ending. Hop Frog, the main character, was seeking revenge on the King and his ministers for constantly bullying him. Eventually Hop Frog saw an opportunity to strike, and he did so in a very appalling way. Hop Frog, “also viewed as Poe in some instances,” finally got revenge on him enemies by burning them to death while they hung from the ceiling. (Roderick Notes). In another one of Poe’s stories “The Tale-Tell Heart” yet another example of horrible endings is presented. This story is between two characters, the narrator and an old man. The narrator of the story constantly tries reassuring the reader that he loved the old man. Saying that he held nothing against him. Yet the eye of the old man continually got to him and eventually drove him mad. The narrator went into the old man’s room every night at 12am for seven days, leaving a lantern each day. On the eighth day, the narrator lost it and suffocated the old man until he could no longer hear his heart beat. The last example of tragic endings in a Poe story is, “The Cask of Amontillado.” This story is again based on revenge between said to be friends, Montresor and Fortunato. Montresor uses Fortunato’s ego and lures him down into an underground vault to taste a rare wine that he found. On the way down Montresor gets Fortunato drunk, once completely wasted and passed out, Montresor went to work. Quickly building a wall of red bricks around Fortunato while he laid there helpless, and eventually encased Fortunato’s grave. Those three stories are just a few of the works Poe put together. Each one of his