Mad Murder Edgar Allan Poe’s uniquely mysterious style of writing is why he is recognized as one of the great masters of horror. This dark way of writing appeals to emotion and drama and is one of the many elements he meticulously uses to bring his stories, the Tell-Tale Heart and The Cask of Amontillado, to life. There are many similarities between the two short stories in terms of irony, symbolism, tone, theme, and the diction of the protagonist. These elements working collectively are highly effective in creating a hauntingly memorable experience for the reader. Poe was born January 19, 1809 in Boston Massachusetts as the second child of two actors; Mr. David Poe and Mrs. Elizabeth Poe. His father abandoned the family in 1810 and his mother
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Poe’s “use of subtle irony is appreciated” by the critic Thomas Ollive Mabbott as he points out its use for the character name Fortunato, whose fate is less than fortunate. (Hayes 11) Critics also seem to enjoy the symbolism of the opposing character, Montresor’s name which in latin means “no one provokes me without impunity.” This is his family motto and the very thing that motivates him to kill Fortunato. The lack of names has also been a topic of discussion because if names can serve the purpose of giving the reader an innate sense of who characters are then leaving a character, especially a main character, nameless can be just as significant. Poe uses this technique and is applauded for it in the Tell-Tale Heart to depersonalize and dehumanize the narrator, thus making him unreliable. Poe believed that the aim of the short story was to create an ambience, a mood, and he “was very graceful with his purpose from sentence to sentence. The drama of the story lies in the carefully orchestrated interaction between the two.” (Stepp 448) Let’s began to take a look at the similarities between these two short …show more content…
In the Tell-Tale Heart we watch as a mad man becomes fixated on another man, stalks, him, plots against him, and slowly descends into an irrational state of mind causing him to act on an emotion of hatred of the poor man’s eye. Then in The Cask of Amontillado, the theme of decent ion into doom is seen as we travel down into Montresor’s vaults…” We passed through a range of low arches, descended, passed on, and descending again, arriving at a crypt.” (The Cask of Amontillado 111) and ultimately end up at the death of
Poe’s “use of subtle irony is appreciated” by the critic Thomas Ollive Mabbott as he points out its use for the character name Fortunato, whose fate is less than fortunate. (Hayes 11) Critics also seem to enjoy the symbolism of the opposing character, Montresor’s name which in latin means “no one provokes me without impunity.” This is his family motto and the very thing that motivates him to kill Fortunato. The lack of names has also been a topic of discussion because if names can serve the purpose of giving the reader an innate sense of who characters are then leaving a character, especially a main character, nameless can be just as significant. Poe uses this technique and is applauded for it in the Tell-Tale Heart to depersonalize and dehumanize the narrator, thus making him unreliable. Poe believed that the aim of the short story was to create an ambience, a mood, and he “was very graceful with his purpose from sentence to sentence. The drama of the story lies in the carefully orchestrated interaction between the two.” (Stepp 448) Let’s began to take a look at the similarities between these two short …show more content…
In the Tell-Tale Heart we watch as a mad man becomes fixated on another man, stalks, him, plots against him, and slowly descends into an irrational state of mind causing him to act on an emotion of hatred of the poor man’s eye. Then in The Cask of Amontillado, the theme of decent ion into doom is seen as we travel down into Montresor’s vaults…” We passed through a range of low arches, descended, passed on, and descending again, arriving at a crypt.” (The Cask of Amontillado 111) and ultimately end up at the death of