[New]Text Response - Edgar Allen Poe [really need feedback]

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“In his stories, Poe creates nightmarish worlds inhabited by characters in turmoil”

In numerous works of Edgar Allen Poe he conveys worlds, for the reader and for the characters, of nightmarish significance based around their personal delusions, obsessions and turmoils.  However Poe further creates worlds in which characters at times premeditate their actions and revel in the intelligence of the horrific acts they commit. Poe often creates worlds in which characters are obsessive, which participate in monomaniacal behaviour and obtain thoughts or images which ultimately lead them towards the committal of gruesome and heinous acts. However, these are not Poe’s only explorations. He also projects worlds in which characters are particularly methodical in their actions, unmoved by the irregularity of their deeds and seemingly pleasured by the thought and perpetration of the act. However, Poe’s writing does not only influence the characters within his stories. Poe also seeks to provide a world in which the reader can empathise with characters in his stories and in doing so provides moral messages about the ability for the sane, to enter a world of insanity. Furthermore he seeks, through the use of literary techniques, to create a sense of realism for the reader in which, they too, experience the delusions, obsessions and turmoils felt by the characters.

Poe creates nightmarish worlds in which his characters experience various delusions and obsessions, which inevitably causes them to act in an often violent way, leading to an overall feeling of turmoil. Poe’s stories depict characters which embark upon the journey from sanity to insanity.  Such an occurrence is witnessed in his story, ‘Black Cat’, in which the narrator describes that he “knew myself no longer”. A common situation can be seen in ‘Berenice’, where the narrator describes a period where “total inversion took place” and his life was filled with “monomaniac character”. Each of these stories respectively, conveys that the characters delve into a world of nightmarish events, a point in which they cease experiencing a sense of normality. Upon the arrival of such a juncture, Poe’s characters often fall further into their personal obsessions and delusions; creating a terrifying world for the occupant. Such behaviour can be viewed in ‘Black Cat’, where the narrator describes his incessant thoughts of the cat created “unutterable fear”, one which by day or by night he had “no power to shake off”. Conversely, a surprising correlation can also be seen in ‘Berenice’ where the narrator also describes a fear of “insufferable anxiety”, due to his “phrenzied desire” for the teeth. Such delusions, and in the case of ‘Berenice’, a medical monomania, already cause a world which is haunted by turmoil to the point of its culmination- one of clearly nightmarish significance. Not only has the aura of terror already been achieved by Poe, he endeavours to continue such realities for his characters which cause them, as he describes in ‘Black Cat’ to act on the “primitive impulses of the human heart”. These impulses, as a primary result of their delusions and obsessions, cause acts which lead the character to further experiences of turmoil. For the narrator of ‘Black Cat’, his crimes lead him to the gallows; for ‘Berenice’, his behaviour leads him to a memory “replete with horror”. Such outcomes epitomise the nightmares and terror experienced by the characters of Poe- which he has crafted to create a sense of turmoil and melancholy in their lives.

Poe, however, also creates worlds in which characters are methodical in their behaviour and show a sense of sanity, reason and pleasure from their participation and perpetration of criminal behaviour. A common occurrence in the stories of Poe, are a sense of premeditation and rationalisation of the violent acts to follow. Such forethought can be ascertained from his story ‘The Cask of Amontillado’, in which the narrator seeks to “not only punish” his enemy Fortunado, but to “punish with impunity”.  This forethought can be implied through the narrator’s seek to avoid punishment for his revenge against Fortunado, as an ill-judged plan would certainly not achieve this purpose. Such thought into the committal of a crime cannot be interpreted to be as a result of a character in turmoil, as such thinking requires the behaviour and mental processes required of a sane individual- the narrator is free of such confusion and delusion. Poe further illustrates the sanity of his characters through his emphasis on their methodical natures- in particular, their calmness in the presence of calamity. This categorical approach can again be evidenced in his story ‘The Cask of Amontillado’, where on page 502 the narrator conveys a sense of rationality when he tells of how each tier of brick was lay- to cover and prevent the escape of Fortunado. Poe evokes the methodical nature of the act by describing the character as emotionless in his efforts, or, at least far from the experience of turmoil felt characters in his other stories.  Lastly Poe not only creates worlds in which characters are unmoved by the effects of their actions; he endeavoured to also provide instances where characters experienced a sense of pride or pleasure as a result of their crimes. Such a feeling is seen in ‘The Cask of Amontillado’, in which the narrator describes that he has “ceased my labours” to gain further “satisfactions”, from the misfortunes felt by Fortunado. The experience of such an event is also illustrated in ‘Black Cat’, where the narrator describes that he had felt “glee at my heart” and a sense of “bravado” for his perception of the intelligence of his crime. Here Poe has made an attempt to capture his characters revelling in a sense of accomplishment for their crimes- an experience unlikely to be felt by those in turmoil and subject to a nightmarish world. Thus Poe does not only create characters which suffer turmoil, however also seeks to create characters which are determined, well-reasoned, methodical and at times pleasured in conducting their acts of violence.

Characters are not the only target of Poe’s creation; and he intends to provide the reader his viewpoint on the realities of life and the ease in which sanity can delve into insanity; in order to display how each individual may come to experience a world of nightmares and turmoil. These messages are often in intertwined within the story and allow the reader to ponder upon the ways in which characters are subjected to suffering; and feel empathetic for the characters, knowing such suffering could apply to them. The use of these techniques are conveyed in Poe’s story ‘Black Cat’, in which he describes the commonality of the “spirit of perverseness”, in which we have “inclinations” to commit “wrong for the wrong’s sake only”. Furthermore Poe describes that we have a “perpetual inclination” to commit such atrocities as these impulses are “primary faculties” to which create an individual’s character. Such language choice, attempts to show a hidden ability for all individuals to delve into insanity and become under the control of the “primitive impulses of the human heart”. This creates a world of nightmarish properties for the reader as they are provided evidence of their similarity to the criminals portrayed in the story; and come to realise their own capabilities to commit violent acts. Such inclusiveness is also seen within Poe’s short story “Premature Burial”. Within this story, prior to his description of his own obsessive monomaniacal fear of catalepsy, the narrator attempts to provide the reader with other instances of the disease. This is an act by Poe perpetrated for the intention to allude the reader that each person should not take their sanity for granted and should be thankful for a “merciful God”. The narrator, to this end, continues to describe the disease has “frequently, very frequently, so fallen” and that the boundaries which divide life and death are “shadowy and vague”. Once again this is applied by Poe in order to create unassured feelings within the reader and leaves them feeling vulnerable to the diseases, obsessive behaviours and nightmarish worlds experienced by his characters. Thus Poe is able to create feelings of nightmare and turmoil in the reader, in addition to the characters he creates.

Characters are also subject to Poe’s creation of realism and exposed to a feeling of vulnerability through the use of literary techniques to manipulate his writing- causing them to enter the worlds of terror and turmoil created by him. Such literary techniques are commonly adopted by Poe in the form of long-winded and conjoined syntax, and aim to place the reader in the position of the character- often in moments of obsession, confusion and terror. These sentences can be seen primarily in his story ‘Berenice’, in which Poe provides a literary manifestation of the monomaniacal thoughts of the character into his text. Poe does this through his use of anaphora, shown on page 155 of the story, to emphasise the intricacies of his mind in the “contemplation of even the most ordinary objects in the universe”. The language in use on this page not only seeks the reader to gather an understanding on the monomaniacal condition; it further attempts to place them in a similar situation by focusing on the intricate details, in an obsessive way, of the condition itself through the conjoined syntax. Poe does this to the extent that creates an overpowering sense of realism for the reader and leads them to become absorbed into the world of nightmares and turmoil characteristic of his writing. However, Poe further creates feelings of empathy in the reader by, in many stories, portraying the universality of the protagonist. This anonymity can be viewed in many stories such as ‘Black Cat’ and ‘The Cask of Amontillado’, in which the character appears nameless. The use of this technique can be interpreted as an action aimed at portraying the character as one which represents “the spirit of perverseness” in all of humanity.    This allows the reader to feel empathy for the characters within Poe’s stories, as they are put in a position to view horrific deeds and actions as commonplace- or as of being in the capabilities of all persons. This also works to create a sense of realism for the reader and forces them to suspend disbelief- allowing the reader to enter the worlds of terror and perverseness. Then it can be seen Poe is capable, through the use of literary techniques, of providing a realist experience of the events in stories, often causing readers themselves to enter the world of turmoil.       

Poe is able to create worlds of nightmarish significance for both the characters within the story and for the readers of the story through the use of inclusiveness and literary techniques- in which both experience the turmoil intended by him. However, these are not the only worlds Poe creates. Poe has also has created circumstances in which characters within the story obtain a level of premeditation in their actions, they are able to perform gruesome or demented tasks with categorical or methodical ease and at times experience a sense of pleasure, endearment and pride in the acts which they perform. Poe, then, is able to provide a suspension of disbelief for the readers of the story-  allowing them to fully experience the angst and fear created by the situations and societies filled with nightmarish circumstance and demented acts.