It is fair to say that Edgar Allan Poe was one of the most profound authors of his time. He is known for his elaborate stories and poems that have captivated and horrified readers for generations. Any reader, if they examine a number of his pieces, will notice a reoccurring theme. Death weaves its way through almost every piece written. One could interpret Poe’s fixation on the subject as a passion or even an obsession. Poe might have felt a special connection to death, due to being surrounded by it during his life. Thus, his life’s experiences may have greatly influenced the characters and events in his stories. The use of Gothic elements in his stories captivates readers as well. Gothic literature often surrounds the theme of death, and using that technique allowed Poe to write on the subject. Poe developed his writing style upon Gothic elements. Poe’s elaborate writings provide a tone and mood about death that the reader can understand. Another common aspect in his writing is that death comes into play abruptly and surprisingly. Poe also demonstrates a deep understanding on the subject of death through his stories. Edgar Allan Poe expressed his obsession with death through the use of parallelism to his personal life, Gothic literature elements, literary elements to achieve the desired mood and tone, abrupt and uncommon events involving death, and evidence of intense analysis of death in his stories.
Like his stories, Edgar Allan Poe’s life was surrounded by death. It started with the death of his mother when he was young. He was then sent to live with his adoptive parents, the Allans. When Mrs. Allan died, Mr. Allan refused to give any support and excluded Edgar from his will. After a few years of marriage, Virginia, Poe’s wife and cousin passed away as well. These events might have shaped Poe’s writing style and his obsession with death. He may have even felt responsible for their deaths himself. He expressed his own tortured life through the lives of his characters.
Poe’s disheartening life probably was the root of many of his stories. An example of this parallelism is found in the story The Masque of Red Death. After disinherited by his wealthy adoptive father, Edgar struggled financially essentially for the rest of his life. In the story, Prince Prospero, obviously named for being wealthy, constructed an impenetrable fortress for him and his friends to hide in. During that time period, the Plague, or “Red Death” rampaged Europe, killing people in multitudes. Poe describes Prince Prospero’s hiding as such, “There were buffoons, there were improvisatori, there were ballet-dancers, there were musicians, there was Beauty, there was wine. All these and the security were within. Without was the ‘Red Death’” (Masque of Red Death 1). Poe’s obvious distaste for the wealthy is represented through this quote. Poe’s obsession with death comes into play in the end of the story, where the “Red Death” enters dressed as a Plague victim, and all inside the castle are killed. Poe mocks the prosperous with the ridiculous things the Prince provided when they were in the castle. By ultimately ending the lives of the prosperous, it gives the reader a look into how Poe feels about the wealthy. This parallelism to Poe’s tragic life allows the reader to see how death has become a theme of Poe’s personal life, not only in the story.
The stories focus a lot on death, as Poe did in his life. Gothic literature is known for horror stories, and stories of death and despair. Poe’s stories use Gothic elements to focus mainly on death, as Poe did in his life. In the story The Fall of the House of Usher, the narrator visits his childhood friend, Roderick, when he is ailing. At the death of his beloved twin sister, Roderick enters a state of despair, wondering whether or not she actually was dead. The narrator describes Roderick’s actions as such, “…I could but partially perceive his features, although I saw that his lips trembled as if he were murmuring inaudibly. His head had dropped upon his breast- yet I knew that he was not asleep, from the wide and rigid opening of the eye as I caught a glance of it in profile” (Poe, House of Usher 17). Insanity is a common element in Gothic literature. Poe might have used it to reflect his own feelings that he felt through his life when his loved ones died. The utter hopelessness and struggle is portrayed through the writing elaborately. Poe may have released his personal feelings into the stories through the use of Gothic elements.
Out of his Gothic literature elements, Poe developed his style of writing by creating a very intense mood and tone in many of his stories. The reader gets a sense of claustrophobia and fear. The stories have a dark feeling to them, often ending sadly as well. The diction used is very intricate and detailed. The intricate descriptions in the story, The Pit and the Pendulum, provide a sense of reality that gives the reader a feeling of hopelessness. When the narrator awakened in a strange place, he feared more that upon opening his eyes, he would see nothing, rather than something terrifying. He writes, “At length, with a wild desperation at heart, I quickly unclosed my eyes. My worst thoughts, then, were confirmed. The blackness of eternal night encompassed me. I struggled for breath. The intensity of the darkness seemed to oppress and stifle me” (Poe, Pit and Pendulum 2). Poe understood death on a level that many do not. Poe tried to convey this emotion of understanding to the readers through description of feelings that most readers will have experienced. The fear of the dark, as used in this example, gives the reader the feeling that Poe may have felt. The oppressed feeling the reader experiences while reading is Poe’s accomplishment in portraying how he views death.
Poe addresses the topic of revenge in his story The Cask of Amontillado. The story begins with the narrator informing the reader that his friend, Fortunado, has offended him. An insult causes Montresor, the narrator, to seek revenge upon Fortunado. Montresor decided to lure Fortunado into the vaults in his house, where there are buried ancestors, and apparently, Amontillado for them to drink. Montresor lead him there and chained Fortunado to the wall. Montresor decided to build a wall to build a chamber where Fortunado is chained, and leave him there to die. As he built the wall, he heard Fortunado plead, “For the love of God, Montresor” (Poe, Amontillado np)! This allows the reader to feel sorry for Fortunado. The reader is never informed on what the insult was, but this was how Poe ended the story. To the reader, it seems an extremely cruel method of revenge. This does, however, exemplify Poe’s obsession of death. In a story that could have resulted in any other way, he chose to end it with a brutal death. Poe’s obsession with death caused him to write stories ending with death, when an alternate ending could have been more reasonable for the story.
Experiencing as many deaths as Edgar Allan Poe did, it is not surprising that Poe seems to have a much deeper understanding of death than many. In The Premature Burial the narrator provides a horrific description of being buried alive. However horrible it was, when the narrator is released, he goes on to explain the new feeling he has towards death. He writes, “There are moments when, even to the sober eye of Reason, the world of our sad Humanity may assume the semblance of a Hell… Alas! The grim legion of sepulchral terrors cannot be regarded as altogether fanciful- but… they must sleep, or they will devour us- they must be suffered to slumber, or we perish” (Poe, Premature Burial 10). The quote means that even though life on earth might feel as if it is Hell, if we dwell on our troubles too much, they will consume our lives. This outlook exemplifies a profound comprehension of death. Most people do not question death as Poe has in his stories. He expresses death to the reader so that they will question it the way he had. Poe presents death in way that makes the reader understand his uncommon, ominous respect for death. It can be perceived that Edgar Allan Poe put a great deal of thinking into death. A reoccurring theme through many of his stories is the thought of buried alive. This idea, emerging in many of his stories, appeared to captivate Poe. The characters in the stories dwelled on the horrifying possibility, most likely how Poe did in his personal life. Poe attained an abnormal comprehension of death, and expressed it in his writings.
Edgar Allan Poe possessed a unique fascination with death, and expressed it in his writing through parallelisms, elements of Gothic literature, gloomy mood and tone, unnecessary deaths, and an unusual amount of insight on death. Poe’s personal experiences with death may have shaped his stories, due to the impact they had on him. The Gothic literature elements Poe used allow him to develop the horrific details he desired to achieve. The mood and tone of his stories were set to allow the reader to understand death on a more personal level. Death seemed to be involved in almost every Poe story, even sometimes unexpected. Poe also seems to reflect over death. He imagined intricate stories and developed ideas that, normally, would not arise. Perhaps humans share with Edgar Allan Poe a slight fascination with the macabre that make the horrific stories of Edgar Allan Poe last as long as they have.
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