Examine how Edger Allan Poe creates a sense of tension in
(English coursework) Examine how Edger Allan Poe creates a sense of tension in "The Fall of the House of Usher." What gives the story a particularly gothic feel? "The Fall of the House of Usher," by Edger Allan Poe is horror in genre and is written in a gothic style. There are many passages in which Poe creates tension and he often gives it a gothic feel. Firstly, as the narrator arrives at the scene of the story, Poe builds up the tension and creates a sinister, chilly atmosphere. 'During the whole of a dull, dark and soundless day in the autumn of the year, when the clouds hung oppressively low in the heavens. I had been passing alone, on horseback, through a singularly dreary tract of Country, and at length found myself, as the shades of the evening drew on, within view of the melancholy House of Usher.' The reader will be tense and would desperately want to carry on reading, therefore tension was created effectively. Secondly, Poe created tension when talking about Roderick Usher's depression and his ill health, 'Spoke of acute bodily illness-of a mental disorder which oppressed him,' The reader would be desperate to carry on reading at this point as he or she would be anxious to find out about the health of Roderick Usher as well as his state of mind. The reader will be worried for Roderick Usher. Therefore, tension was created successfully. Thirdly there is
Comparing the ways Edgar Allen Poe and Bram Stoker convey horror through writing.
Comparing the ways Edgar Allen Poe and Bram Stoker convey horror through writing. Through this essay you will see how although the writing style of Edgar Allen Poe in 'The Black Cat' and the style of Bram stoker in 'The Judges House' is completely different, they both manage to achieve the same effect - leaving the reader anxious, excited, mystified and scared. Both these authors stories were written before the nineteen hundreds, a time when people were just understanding the ways the world works. In this time horror stories were very popular. The perspective of both Poems is different. In The black cat Poe writes in a first person perspective: "Today I die and tomorrow I would unburden my soul". Where as Stoker writes in a third person perspective: "Malcolm Malcolmson made up his mind". The use of third person in this story displays the feelings of more than one character and you can build up more fear than first person by using devices such as rhetorical questions by other characters for example when Mrs Cranford cries "not the Judges house!" it creates the feeling of horror and helplessness. First person perspective makes you feel sorrow for the character. If Edgar Allen Poe had written the black cat in Third person perspective You wouldn't get the emphasis of his emotions, how he feels regret of what he has done, fear of this new animal and superstitious about the
How does Edger Allan Poe Use Language to Create a Sense of Drama Intention in the Opening of "The Tell-Tale Heart?"
How does Edger Allan Poe Use Language to Create a Sense of Drama Intention in the Opening of "The Tell-Tale Heart?" "The Tell Tail Heart," by Edger Allan Poe, is a novel in which tension and expectation play essential roles to the reader's experience. The audience, generally well educated widely read adults, would appreciate this novel as a recollection of a clearly insane man. In order to "tell you the whole story"' Poe has written somewhat of an early psychological thriller, creating a mental portrait of a mad protagonist, who details the killing of an old man, and later hears his victims 'relentless heartbeat.' The opening sets up a contrast of sanity versus insanity, creating a psychological chaos that enraptures the reader. Drama intention is portrayed through a variety of ways, all working cohesively with one another to create an over all sense of embossed insanity and powerful emotion. The way in which the opening is written gives the reader an immediate clue to the mental state of the protagonist. The very first line; "True! - nervous - very dreadfully nervous I had been and am; but why will you say that I am mad?" uses all three tenses within one shortened period. This reflects the narrator's excitement, suggesting that his mind is jittery, jumping about with different thoughts and ideas. An elevated use of punctuation reinforces this effect, as it means the text
How effectively do Poe and Bradbury use narrative voice, narrative structure and language to create an atmosphere of suspense and horror in The Tell Tale Heart and The Fruit at the Bottom of the Bowl?
How effectively do Poe and Bradbury use narrative voice, narrative structure and language to create an atmosphere of suspense and horror in The Tell Tale Heart and The Fruit at the Bottom of the Bowl? Introduction Both of these short stories deal with murder, each centring on a killer: Poe's neurotic young man is driven to kill his elderly housemate by a fixation with the other's eye, while Bradbury's obsessive, hallucinatory William Acton murders the man with whom his wife has been having an affair. Both writers use narrative voice, structure and language to create in their stories an atmosphere of suspense. I will look at the different methods used by the two writers, and compare their effectiveness. Narrative Voice Poe uses first person narration, placing himself in the mind of his young killer as he meticulously plans, carries out and attempts to cover up his crime. Meanwhile, Bradbury uses third person narration, using the narrator's omniscience to move in time and space more freely than he could were he bound within the confines of a particular character's voice. In The Tell Tale Heart, the use of first person narration is effective in several ways. It allows us to see inside the mind of the very disturbed young man at the story's centre, showing us the true nature of a madman. As both of these stories centre on the psychosis of their central characters, it is surely
Compare and contrast the narrative techniques used in three or more of Edgar Allan Poe's tales.
Compare and contrast the narrative techniques used in three or more of Edgar Allan Poe's tales. Edgar Allan Poe was born in Boston on January 19th 1809. He became a writer unlike many others at that time, writing stores of crime or horror literature. Several people say his disturbing and unusual stories were the result of his own life and situations he had been through, and although he was an American, his writing strongly followed in the examples of European gothic stories. During his life he wrote many of the finest representations of gothic literature, these stories include many essentials that differ them from original stories, such as a melodramatic plot, themes of terror and torture, sinister locations, heightened emotions, and can they also be based on old superstitions or fears. Another example of gothic literature in the 19th century was "Dracula" wrote by Bram Stoker (1897), this genre of horror and torment has remained to be popular until the present day, with modern authors such as James Herbert and Stephen King. "The Cask of Amontillado" is a short gothic story wrote by Edgar Allan Poe, about the narrator named Montresor, describing how his friend Fortunato has offended him repeatedly in the past, and how he is now planning to seek revenge upon him. Using a vintage amontillado as bate he guides him down to the catacombs below his house where a space in the wall
An appreciation of 'The Tell Tale Heart' by Edgar Allan Poe and 'The Confession' by Charles Dickens.
An Appreciation of 'The Tell Tale Heart' By Edgar Allan Poe and 'The Confession' By Charles Dickens This assignment asks for an appreciation of the stories by Edgar Allen Poe 'The Tell Tale Heart' and Charles Dickens 'The Confession'. I will start by exploring Edgar Allen Poe's story and style of writing, how it captivates the reader, building suspense and terror. I will then explore Charles Dickens 'Confession' And finally following my analysis of the two stories I will compare and contrast the different styles. Edgar Allen Poe's story 'The Tell Tale Heart' describes how the perpetrator plans and executes a vicious attack on an old man. This story is told in an autobiographical format with the author describing his state of mind, questioning his own sanity. He calmly describes how there was no object or passion that caused him to commit the heinous act of murder as he describes his love for the old man. His only explanation is his victims 'eye' which he describes as vulture like and intimidating. He disassociates the 'eye ' from the old man and it is the eye that drives him to commit the crime. He talks of his dissimulation in planning the old man's death and how e treated him during the week prior to killing him, how he taunted him, stalked him, and preyed upon him at midnight (witching hour), this sinister act of voyeurism is unpleasant and adds to the tension of
The Black Cat
How does Edgar Allan Poe misguide the reader in his story 'The Black Cat'? When I first read the title of the story by Poe, My immediate assumption was that it was a mysterious story about a black cat that may contain superstition and witchcraft, because in literature, black cats are associated with superstition, darkness and evil but as the essay title questions how it misguides the reader, I thought that the story may have nothing to do with the supernatural. This story, 'The Black Cat' is by Edgar Allan Poe. We do not know of what the story is about but we make assumptions from the title and we do not know whether the narrator is male or female because the story is fictional but Poe writes as if it is a personal account and it had really happened to him. His intent of the story is to unburden his soul and I think he wants to confess to everyone and anyone who will listen to him as he says he wants to 'place before the world what has happened' and claims he is going to die tomorrow. The opening is unusual because of his proposal when he says 'tomorrow, I will die'. Also he gives the storyline but without detail, is this to misguide us? We never usually see this in a story. I think the story is about someone who has been involved in a series of unfortunate household events that 'have terrified, have tortured and have destroyed' him. The general tone is a frightened and
Show how Edgar Allan Poe uses language to create atmosphere and describe the state of mind of the murderer
Show how Edgar Allan Poe uses language to create atmosphere and describe the state of mind of the murderer. Consider how the modern reader might respond to this story. In this essay I will discuss the which language techniques Poe uses to create atmosphere and suspence. I will also show how he allows us to get into the mind of the murder and how he conveys his state of mind. 'The Tell-Tale Heart' is the story of a man who decides to murder the old man he is living with. There is no apparent reason for this other than the old man's eye which 'resembled that of a vulture'. In the end he is driven mad by guilt and confesses to the murder. I think that this story was perfect for the time in Europe due to the 19th century fascination with the mind of 'madmen'. However, in America, Poes stories were rejected for their sordidity and gore. Despite this they became very popular in Europe along with the Gothic and Romantic movements in art and literature. The story starts with a very abrupt attention grabbing opening. The word 'TRUE' not only starts the story with a burst of tension, it also makes the reader want to read on further to try and find out what is true. Poe also uses short, intense sentences to increase suspence and atmosphere. He uses this technique throughout the story whenever he needs to renew the tension.Straight away the murderer begins to argue his sanity. This
Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe was born on January 19, 1809 and died on October 7, 1849. He was an American poet, short story writer, editor, critic and one of the leaders of the American Romantic Movement. Best known for his tales of the macabre, Poe was one of the early American practitioners of the short story and a progenitor of detective fiction and crime fiction. He is also credited with contributing to narrative forms of the emergent science fiction genre. Poe died at the age of 40. The cause of his death is undetermined and has been attributed to alcohol, drugs, rabid cat bites, and other agents. Edgar Allan Poe was born to a Scots-Irish family in Boston, Massachusetts, on January 19, 1809, the son of actress Elizabeth Arnold Hopkins Poe and actor David Poe, Jr. Both parents died when Edgar was 3 years old. Poe was then taken into the home of John Allan, a successful tobacco merchant in Richmond, Virginia. Although his middle name is often misspelled as "Allen," it is actually "Allan," after this family. After attending the Manor School at Stoke Newington, Poe attended the Reverend John Bransby's Manor House boarding school in the fall of 1818. The Manor House was located in the village of Stoke Newington, only four miles north of London. Poe moved back to the Allans in Richmond in 1820. After serving an apprenticeship in Pawtucket, Poe registered at the
Edgar Allan Poe 'Tell Tale Heart' and 'the fall of the house of Usher
Show how Poe uses language to create atmosphere and describe the state of mind of the murderer and Roderick Usher. Consider how the modern reader might respond to these stories. Daniel Tiernan 4U Edgar Allen Poe was an American short story writer, editor for magazines and poet during the early to mid 19th century. Two of his short stories, 'The Tell Tale Heart' and 'The Fall of the House of Usher' were both written during the Victorian times when Gothic literature was at it's height in popularity. The main thesis and features of Gothic literature are mystery, terror, supernatural, big decaying houses or castles and the dead. The Victorian readers were fascinated by the supernatural especially, with many still believing in witches and black magic. Ideas like these are still found in horror stories today and also in films, however the main attraction for horror movies has changed from supernatural, to audiences wanting to be frightened. Poe was a prolific idea of Gothic literature, and his main base for writing was madness, which features in both stories that we have studied. His writing does not just include madness, but also its implications and what it can result to if left untreated. In the opening sentences Poe captures the reader's attention with Capitalisation, the use of exclamation mark, repetition and a rhetorical question. 'True! - nervous - very, very dreadfully