Poe Essay

Edgar Allen Poe is infamous as an author and poet for his dark, sinister writing style. Poe’s own personal life was full of death and despair, and that often showed in his literary works. During his own time period, his writing was renowned for its extremely graphic and frightening imagery and themes. It is even believed that the author was somewhat obsessed with the idea of death. The vast majority of his writing pieces were ridden with dark, gloomy themes. Five of his darker works have been selected to demonstrate his fondness for writing about death and demise. In each, the setting, mood, or entire plot of the story is centered around death or murder. Many of his most well known writings are some of the darkest ones. Poe was sometimes described as an expert and enthusiast on gothic literature, which was popular during his time. Some major components of gothic literature are the ideas of evil, death, and the darker side of human character and reality. Five of Poe’s short stories have been selected to help demonstrate his love and even obsession for writing about death.
Some of Poe’s best stories were written from the perspective of a murderer, some of which were deranged, obsessive characters. Poe was extremely skilled at bringing to life the character of the psychotic, obsessive killer. It almost seems as if the same mad, murderous man was used in multiple short stories. Perhaps Poe used this recurring character as a way of venting and describing his own thoughts and desires through his writing. “The Tell-Tale Heart” is written from the perspective of a man who is totally obsessed with the urge to kill the old man he is living with. It is made clear early on in the story that the main character is quite insane, and possessed by the urge to kill. In the moments before the murder, Poe eloquently describes the main character’s perspective on the idea of death. “All in vain; because Death, in approaching him had stalked with his black shadow before him, and enveloped the victim. And it was the mournful silence of the unperceived shadow that caused him to feel – although he neither saw nor heard – to feel the presence of my head within the room” (Poe, The Tell-Tale Heart). Such an artful description of the idea of death must reflect some of Poe’s own thoughts on the topic. The story goes on to illustrate the murder itself, and the killer’s gruesome strategy of concealing the evidence. “The night waned, and I worked hastily, but in silence. First of all I dismembered the corpse. I cut off the head and the arms and the legs” (Poe, The Tell-Tale Heart). The scene progresses to a grisly description of the blood and gore. The entire plot of this story is centered on the murder and the part that Death plays in the events that take place. This reflects Poe’s own obsession on the idea, being one of his most famous writings.
A similar character is used in “The Black Cat”. This man is also obsessed with murder, and in his story kills not only once, but three times. The entire plot is based on the man’s growing and waning obsession with murder, and the times that he finally succumbs to it. The black cat itself is used as a symbol in the story. Black cats are often associated with evil, bad luck, and witchcraft, all very sinister ideas. Two of these creatures appear in the story. Each slowly drives the main character to madness and over time fills him with the desire to kill. “My original soul seemed, at once, to take its flight from my body; and a more than fiendish malevolence, gin-nurtured, thrilled every fibre of my frame. I took from my waistcoat-pocket a pen-knife, opened it, grasped the poor beast by the throat, and deliberately cut one of its eyes from the socket” (Poe, The Black Cat)! Again, Poe elaborately describes the thoughts that go through the mind of the obsessive killer. This murderous character appears in a few of other Poe’s stories as well. Poe seems to have somewhat of a fondness for this character, for he is used often; and always, this character leaves death in his wake.
Another well known story of Poe’s is “The Pit and the Pendulum”. This is written from the perspective of a helpless victim of Death’s nefarious designs. Recurring themes in this story are darkness, hopelessness, and fear, all associated with death. It takes place in the depths of Toledo, a stronghold used by Spain to carry out religious persecutions, which resulted in the gruesome, torturous deaths of numerous victims. The mind of the victim is occupied by little else but the fear of death throughout the story, and the slim hopes he has of escaping its clutches. “Was I left to perish of starvation in this subterranean world of darkness; or what fate, perhaps even more fearful, awaited me? That the result would be death, and a death of more than customary bitterness, I knew too well the character of my judges to doubt. The mode and the hour were all that occupied or distracted me” (Poe, The Pit and the Pendulum). This short excerpt illustrates the narrator’s terror, the darkness of the setting, and the fact that death is imminent for this poor man. Throughout the rest of the story, Poe uses excellent imagery to set the mood for the story, constantly describing the pervading darkness and the prospect of death that it entails. There is not much blood and gore in this story, but it is repeatedly made clear that a gruesome death awaits this doomed victim.
An excellent example of Poe’s fascination with death is his story “The Masque of Red Death”. The word Death is even used in the title. It takes place in a secluded castle somewhere in Europe, during a time in which a plague had wiped out a large fraction of the population on the continent. Death is already present in the story, right in the beginning during the description of the setting. After that, the mood somewhat brightens, as Poe describes how the fortress has protected all those within from the death that is ravaging the continent. Later on, however, during a lighthearted party the Prince and leader of the stronghold had hosted, it seems as if death itself appears in their midst. As the extremely loud, menacing sound of an ominous clock that often strikes fear into the refugees rings the hour, it seems as if Death itself brings the plague into their midst. “And now was acknowledged the presence of the Red Death. He had come like a thief in the night. And one by one dropped the revellers in the blood-bedewed halls of their revel, and died each in the despairing posture of his fall. And the life of the ebony clock went out with that of the last of the gay. And the flames of the tripods expired. And Darkness and Decay and the Red Death held illimitable dominion over all” (Poe, The Masque of Red Death). In the conclusion of this story, Poe seems to demonstrate that it is impossible to escape death, despite how the refugees deluded themselves in their oasis. Poe lent a detailed, ghastly description of the apparition that appeared to claim the lives of the residents of the castle. The fact that it was Death who personally came forth and claimed countless victims in this story betrays Poe’s fascination with the idea.
The Fall of the House of Usher is another of Poe’s darker stories, with a gloomy mood set through depressing imagery and a mysterious, dismal setting. The narrator often has thoughts on the haunted, creepy feel the house itself gives off. The fact that the narrator himself remains unnamed throughout adds an increased aura of mystery. Another factor that adds to that aura is the fact that the major character Madeline is afflicted by a strange, wasting illness that was mostly mystifying to doctors. As her disease gains a stronger hold on her, the house itself begins to show more signs of decay. Eventually, Madeline appears to succumb to the disease, and is buried within the house. Later on, her twin who also resides in the family abode, Roderick, begins to become mentally unstable. Madeline then seems to return from the grave, and departs her tomb while the narrator and Roderick look on. Roderick dies of fright, and so ends the Usher family line… and the house then succumbs to rot and decay and crumbles to the ground. Again, a story is ended with most of its participants being lost to the always present specter of death in Poe’s stories.
Poe was indeed obsessed with death. The numerous, obsessive, complex thoughts and ideas about it that he enters into his stories had to have been first had by the author himself. With death being his favorite topic, it was easy for Poe to write so many sinister stories that completely revolved around the idea.








Works Cited
Poe, Edgar Allan. "The Black Cat." Poestories.com. Web. 16 Mar. 2012. http://poestories.com/read/blackcat.
Poe, Edgar Allan. "The Pit and the Pendulum." Poestories.com. Web. 16 Mar. 2012. http://poestories.com/read/pit.
Poe, Edgar Allan. "The Masque of the Red Death." Poestories.com. Web. 16 Mar. 2012. http://poestories.com/read/masque.
Poe, Edgar Allan. "The Fall of the House of Usher." Poestories.com. Web. 16 Mar. 2012. http://poestories.com/read/houseofusher.
Poe, Edgar Allan. "The Tell-Tale Heart." Poestories.com Web. 16 Mar. 2012. http://poestories.com/read/telltaleheart.