“For the most wild, yet most homely narrative which I am about to pen, I neither expect nor solicit belief. Mad indeed would I be to expect it, in a case where my very own senses rejected their own evidence.” In every writing by Edgar Allan Poe, he uses numerous Gothic techniques inspired by his depressing past which are used usually to make a character or situation. Gothic techniques appeal to one’s senses to make one feel the hair stand up on their arms or see the vivid pictures he paints with words in a dark way. Throughout Poe’s literature, he uses many different Gothic techniques such as grotesque, unreliable narrators and dark and gloomy settings to enhance the writings.
By using the Gothic technique, grotesque, Poe is able to paint …show more content…
By doing this, it makes the literature more alluring. The narrator “The Black Cat” suffers from alcoholism, which makes a person incapable of controlling their actions. “Our friendship lasted, in this manner, for several years, during which my general temperament and character--through the instrumentality of the Fiend Intemperance--had (I blush to confess it) experienced a radical alteration for the worse.” The narrator blames alcohol for his actions by calling his problem a “Fiend Intemperance” and also, a “disease” and it makes every situation worse and unclear. In “The Pit and the Pendulum” the crazy narrator struggles with his incarceration. “Down--steadily down it crept. I took a frenzied pleasure in contrasting its downward with its lateral velocity. To the right--to the left--far and wide-- with the shriek of a damned spirit; to my heart with the stealthy pace of a tiger! I alternately laughed and howled as one or the other idea grew more predominant.” As the pendulum grew farther and wider, or moves left or right, he laughs. The actions by these unreliable narrators are not actions that a sane person would take. Also, in these stories the narrator’s situations seem unrealistic or they skip what could be important details, which makes the Gothic technique quite
By using the Gothic technique, grotesque, Poe is able to paint …show more content…
By doing this, it makes the literature more alluring. The narrator “The Black Cat” suffers from alcoholism, which makes a person incapable of controlling their actions. “Our friendship lasted, in this manner, for several years, during which my general temperament and character--through the instrumentality of the Fiend Intemperance--had (I blush to confess it) experienced a radical alteration for the worse.” The narrator blames alcohol for his actions by calling his problem a “Fiend Intemperance” and also, a “disease” and it makes every situation worse and unclear. In “The Pit and the Pendulum” the crazy narrator struggles with his incarceration. “Down--steadily down it crept. I took a frenzied pleasure in contrasting its downward with its lateral velocity. To the right--to the left--far and wide-- with the shriek of a damned spirit; to my heart with the stealthy pace of a tiger! I alternately laughed and howled as one or the other idea grew more predominant.” As the pendulum grew farther and wider, or moves left or right, he laughs. The actions by these unreliable narrators are not actions that a sane person would take. Also, in these stories the narrator’s situations seem unrealistic or they skip what could be important details, which makes the Gothic technique quite