Pit And The Pendulum Arabesque

Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Pit and the Pendulum” demonstrates an arabesque look into the human psyche.The story is about the torments endured by a prisoner of the Spanish Inquisition, while the narrator describes being held captive and tortured. Much like Poe’s other works, the essence of fear in the “The Pit and the Pendulum” stems from the use of literary devices such as bomphiologia, enargia, and foreshadowing. The story is especially effective at inspiring fear in the reader because of its heavy focus on the senses, such as sound and sight, emphasizing its reality, unlike many of Poe's stories which are aided by the supernatural. Enargia, the use of vivid descriptions, is used repetitively throughout the story to emphasize the terror the narrator endures, such as the scene where he is describing his final torture chamber. “I now observed-with what horror it is needless to say-that its nether extremity was formed of a crescent of glittering steel, about a foot in length from horn to horn; the horns upward, and the under edge evidently as keen as that of a razor...appended to a weighty rod of brass…” (5). This dramatic description assists the reader in making them feel as if they …show more content…
Bomphiologia, defined as pompous and bombastic speech, can be used in many ways to instill fear within the reader. “What of it there remained I will not attempt to define, or even to describe; yet all was not lost. In the deepest slumber -- no! In delirium -- no! In a swoon -- no! In death -- no! Even in the grave all was not lost.”(1). Through the turbulent, and indecisive way the narrator is thinking it is blatant he is not in a stable mindset because of his fear. This unsure fear, presented by bomphiologia way of writing, makes the character more personable and therefore positioning the reader into the moment of