Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque

In “The Black Cat” by Edgar Allan Poe, “Prey” by Richard Matheson, and “the Devil and Tom Walker” by Washington Irving, the authors all have a common trend of creating displays of violence resulting in blood or the loss of life in their works to show physical repercussions to hardships or mistakes. In addition to the consequences of physical violence, the characters also go through seemingly inescapable scenarios stemming from their own or other’s emotions. In “The Black Cat” by Edgar Allen…

The Usher house is described in great lengths by Poe; he depicts it as gloomy, depressing, eerie, and gothic. As the narrator approaches the mansion he automatically feels the negative energy radiating into him as he states, “with the first glimpse of the building, a sense of insufferable gloom pervaded my spirit” (Poe) He goes on to describe the walls as “bleak” and the windows as “vacant and eye like” as he moves closer and closer to the spooky mansion. The house reminds the narrator of ,…

The classic, honored, and gothic genre author, Edgar Allan Poe is known for his famous works like The Raven, A Tell-Tale Heart, The Fall of the House of Usher, Annabel Lee, and The Cask Amontillado. Some of these stories and poems style could have been influenced by Poe’s past. Before Poe even turned three both of his parents, two professional actors, died. From there he was taken in by Frances and John Allan in Richmond, Virginia. Thenceforth, he was sent to the best boarding schools and later…

A cold and bitter feeling is in the atmosphere on this night. Darkness consumed the small, but promising colony of Massachusetts. A type of night where only those who lurk in the shadows resurface to meet with the black man. Or maybe even a person who has something sinful bearing on their mind, is lurking around as well. This exact depiction of night is the setting for chapter 12, The Ministers Vigil; and the man responsible for the creation of The Scarlet Letter is, “the most significant…

The Gothic Genre and “The Raven” The word “Gothic” usually suggests adolescents in dark makeup and loud music. In literature though, “Gothic” means something much different. The Gothic genre sets itself apart from other literary genres in many ways. Gothic works usually take place in a strange, mysterious setting and have themes of extreme mental and/or physical isolation. The Gothic genre is also known for the sentiment of the frightening unfamiliar, that is also strangely familiar. The…

There are many problems in this world such as drinking and smoking that can make people do things they normally won't do. These addictions can significantly modify someone’s mindset. In Edgar Allan Poe’s short story “The Black Cat,” the narrator has a drinking problem that quickly changes him from the inside out. In the story “The Black Cat” Poe uses tone, inner thinking, and metaphors to create a dark mood in the story. In the story “The Black Cat” the author Poe changes his tone to cold and…

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…

Recapitulation of “The Black Cat” by E. A. Poe Gothic Literature has been around since 1765 producing barbarity and alarming the readers. These stories are meant to create ideas and pictures in one’s head that are distasteful. Many authors such as Edgar Allan Poe achieve to fright people and yet make them read on more of the novel. In “The Black Cat” a man loves animals as much as alcohol and physically abusing his wife. He suddenly grows a strange desire to torture his pet cat, Pluto. The…

In many of Poe's works, Poe uses many literary techniques to help contribute to the story. In the story "The Cast Amontillado", by Edgar Allan Poe, Poe uses; suspense, setting, and tone to help contribute to the story and set the mood of horror and dread in the story. In the text, the author's use of suspense drastically changes the mood, which is easily seen in the short story, and as found in the text, " It wasnotthe cry of a drunken man. There was then a long and obstinate silence.", which…

Many authors such as Edgar Allan Poe and Stephen King use literary elements to create horror and suspense. In the novel We Always Lived In The Castle, Shirley Jackson masterfully uses multiple literary elements throughout the course of the book. Jackson uses language, word choice, gothic elements, and ideas of mental illness to create a work of subtle suspense and horror and a message that extends beyond the Blackwood mansion. An aspect of horror shown in this novel is the unreliability of the…