Characterization of Poe’s Works

The first characteristic that these two stories share is the use of psychological horror. An author will use psychological horror to show the reader what a character is going through. It can be defined as the torture or horrors of ones mind by someone or something. In “The Pit and the Pendulum”, Poe uses it a couple of times in the part where the man is on the wood table with the pendulum above. He is given a dish of seasoned meat without water, which he usually receives. Not having the pitcher of water is a big problem because the seasoned meat is spicy. This tortures the man because he

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The examples given above show that Edgar Allen Poe’s writings are very similar. Most of the time these elements appear in the form of darkness, ghosts, torture or basic fears. By seeing these common elements in Poe’s stories, it is easy to understand how a tale of a black bird and a tale of a death sentence can be similar. In both stories Poe sets surroundings in clear and distinct ways. The purple drapes on the windows and the bust of Pallas on top of the chamber door both appear in the study. The main character describes the dungeon with “moist and slippery stone floors”. This is when the character starts to get angry at the raven. Once again, the reader knows immediately that this story will tell of some form of torment for the main character. His feeling toward it changed mainly because it wouldn’t say anything besides “Nevermore”. Poe writes in such a unique way creating a frightening and gloomy mood for the readers. Another example of Gothic elements in “The Raven” is when Poe writes

“ ‘Prophet!’ said I, ‘thing of evil--prophet still, if bird or devil!’” By referring to the bird as evil and a prophet, Poe is giving the bird supernatural powers. In “The Raven”, Poe uses psychological horror one main time. At first he just laughs at the bird but eventually he grows mad at the bird. Another example of psychological horror in “The Pit and the Pendulum” is when the man notices the slowly descending pendulum above him.

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Approximate Word count = 765
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

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