The Raven And The Cask Of Amontillado Analysis

Improved Essays
Author tend to create different literary works that evoke a feeling or an emotion from the reader. Edgar Allan Poe mastered the literary work known as Gothic Fiction, which is a style characterized by the use of medieval setting, a murky atmosphere of horror and grotesque mysterious and violent incidents. The eerie atmosphere is demonstrated in the short story and poem of “The Raven” and “The Cask of Amontillado”. Throughout the poem and short story the illustrator emphasizes on the strange and unexpected to make the reader contemplate. The mood, setting and mystery help create the suspenseful and fearful anticipation which is Gothic Fiction. Poe’s use of mystery and darkness in both literary works sets the tone for what will lead …show more content…
In “The Raven” it sets hopelessness, melancholy and depressed mood. The narrator had lost his love, Lenore and he knows he will never see her again. He reads his book in an attempt to distract himself from his memories of Lenore. He is haunted by the memory of Lenore and can never escape the pain of this memory. The narrator experiences a perverse conflict between desires to remember and forget his memories. Also the setting enhances the mood of the poem. The poem takes place during midnight, which creates an ominous atmosphere .In the story of “The Cask of Amontillado” the mood is dreadful, scary and suspenseful. The main character Montresor manipulates Fortunato, which is believed to be an expert on wine, to his home to taste a rather good wine. Montesor tells the reader he plans revenge on fortunate for his insult and contains his hidden intention when with him. Montesor intends to seek vengeance in support of his family motto .The Montesor’s family motto is known as”nemo me impune lacesit” (Poe 5) which means no one attacks me with impunity. This quote supports the theme of revenge and mood that is present throughout the story. He is innately taught to not let things go which establishes a dark tone. Towards the end fortunate is trapped in a vault in the home of his avenger, dying in a slow painful death with nowhere to escape. Forunato is buried alive, …show more content…
In “The Raven” the narrator is trying to rest and all of a suddenly he hears a knocking on the door. “But the fact is I was napping, and so gently you came rapping, so faintly you came tapping, tapping at my chamber door, that I scarce was sure I heard you’-here I opened wide the door;-darkness there, and nothing more”(Poe 1). It is midnight and he is not expecting anyone to come. When the narrator goes to open the door, he finds nothing but darkness. Then a raven flies in through the lattice and perch on top of his chamber door. The narrator questions its presence and decides to speak it. The raven replied saying nevermore which is supernatural and bizarre to hear an animal speak. The raven, never leaves it position and remains there at the end of the poem. In the story of “The Cask of Amontillado” there mysterious revenge plotted on a former friend. The reader knows Montresor is plotting avenges on Fortunato but does not know how he plans to harm him and it the fear of the unknown which creates the mystery and suspense. Also the audience is not informed of the insult done by Fortunato that made Montresor buried him alive. Not knowing what Fortuanto did to Montresor intensify the horror of this story. One could imagine that fortunato’s offense is quite minor or drastic in the result of Montresor. Fortunate dies while in the vault through a slow and painful death, but

Related Documents

  • Superior Essays

    The creator of the first gothic setting was Horace Walpole, with his work, The Castle of Otranto. Walpole set his novel in a medieval building equipped with rusted hinges, a trapdoor, a walking portrait, and lamps that flicker during intense moments (Snodgrass). The Castle of Otranto proved to be so influential, that the conventions it initiated appealed to authors and people in the twenty-first century (Kowalczyk). Ann Radcliffe, the fount of gothic romanticism, exemplified gothic setting in her classic novel, The Mysteries of Udolpho. Later, gothic fiction expanded the significance of setting with Emily Bronte’s, Wuthering Heights.…

    • 1861 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Raven Poem Analysis

    • 1512 Words
    • 7 Pages

    By connecting the raven with him, he compares the bird with a battle or war that he has to fight such as the battle with death. Repeating the word “still” the narrator stresses that this battle about life or death is still going on and does not end until the main character loses it at the end of the poem, becomes one with the raven’s shadow and therefore dies. Also, his location proves the bird’s huge power over everything. The raven is sitting above him. The narrator explains how the bird sits on his chamber door and even in the beginning of the poem, the…

    • 1512 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Gothic literature is a subset of the greater genre Romanticism, and Edgar Allan Poe distorts some Romantic elements to imply a darker meaning. Some of the Romantic elements that Poe employs are high emotions, nature and a focus on individuality. In “The Tell-Tale Heart” and “The Fall of the House of Usher”, there is a focus on individual beliefs and emotion responses to situations. These two pillars of Romanticism as twisted by Poe in “The Tell-Tale Heart” to suit his dark style of writing, and that is evident in the following passage: “True! – nervous – very, very…you the whole story” (Poe 122).…

    • 1313 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Gloomy, dreary, creepy, forbidding, dark, horror, and fear, are all words that describe gothic literature. Gothic literature is something that the writer Edgar Allan Poe has much knowledge about, for he has written many gothic short stories and poems. Such as the short stories like, “The Black Cat”, “Tell Tale Heart”, “The Pit and the Pendulum”, and “Masque of the Red Death”. Also displayed in his poems, “Alone”, “Annabel Lee”, “The Raven”, and somewhat of “The Bells”. To a great extent, Edgar Allan Poe’s writing is for the most part is gothic, as portrayed in most of his work.…

    • 1442 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Great Essays

    As Edgar Allan Poe wrote “The Raven”, he employed life events, as well as symbolism to mold the plot line. After an initial skim of the poem, the reader may believe that this is nothing more than a scary story to tell around Halloween time. At a second glance, it is revealed that “The Raven” is strung together by many life events, symbolisms, and emotions that are haunting in their own beautiful way. Upon looking at the rhetorical situation of it, the reader can get a better understanding of the poem’s true purpose. The setting, characters, and descriptive words Poe applied throughout his works are what give them a dark, mysterious tone.…

    • 1285 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Montresor killing his friend with no reason was how Edgar Allen Poe took his revenge out on those who victimized him through his writing. Also during the story Montresor was caring, “for a brief moment I hesitated – I trembled,” he was thinking twice if he should kill his friend (Poe 1112). Montresor had some remorse in him since they were friends but that didn’t take away the thought that he needed to get revenge against Fortunato. Edgar Allen Poe being remorseful showed how he was caring and wanted the readers to know that Montresor was caring in being that Fortunato was one of his friends. The traits he created for Montresor were portraying the traits of his own…

    • 937 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Stricken with loneliness because of his beloved Lenore, the speaker was anticipating to find a sign of her. The narrator begins to wonder about what happens after life in this instance. He wonders if he will be with Lenore again or if he will spend eternity in the darkness that he saw when he opened his chamber door. This is a prophecy the narrator is hoping to deflect but is ultimately condemned to when the raven comes. This is where we first see the speaker battling with the forces of heaven and hell, his battling creates this suspense of dread throughout the…

    • 2073 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Suspense is another characteristic seen in Poe’s stories, and narrative poems, which leaves his audience longing to reach the conclusion in order to determine exactly what sorts of evils were at work. These characteristics combined…

    • 1564 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Raven Mysticism

    • 701 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Poe went through extensive thought while trying to determine the “length, the province, and the tone” of the poem(Sisler,2004). Poe tries to make the reader gain pleasure while reading by using repetition of words. One of the major driving points in his Gothic style was is constant usage of common Gothic elements such as death, illness, hopelessness and evil. “Thing of evil- prophet still, if bird or devil” is one line found within ‘The Raven’, demonstrating Poe’s Romantic self, stating that he was truly within his own…

    • 701 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Theme Of Motifs In Dracula

    • 1604 Words
    • 6 Pages

    The novel Dracula was written by Bram Stoker. It is a gothic novel that was written in 1897. These types of novels are gothic because they contain some type of mystery or horror. Gothic novels get assistance from motifs to make them more ominous. According to Dictionary.com a motif is, “a recurring subject, theme, idea, etc., especially in a literary, artistic, or musical work” (“motif”).…

    • 1604 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays

Related Topics