Jace Miller
Professor K. Wooten
ENG-231-750 AE
April 3, 2023
Gothic elements in both “The Cask of Amontillado” and “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe is renowned for incorporating Gothic themes into his writing. Both "The Cask of Amontillado" and "The Tell-Tale Heart" make use of Gothic motifs to heighten the ominous mood of their respective tales. Poe employs isolation and darkness to create a claustrophobic atmosphere in "The Cask of Amontillado." Poe is well renowned for using gothic imagery, and "The Tell-Tale Heart" is no exception. Through the narrator's denial of insanity, the depiction of the old man's eye, and the use of specific words again throughout the narrative, Poe establishes a spooky, unsettling mood.
A typical gothic location, the underground catacomb is where "The Cask of Amontillado" takes place. Inside of the story, the narrator had “passed through long walls of piled skeletons, with casks and puncheons intermingling, into the inmost recesses of the catacombs” (Robert). The story's foreboding atmosphere is heightened by the wet, cramped, and dark settings. A typical theme in gothic fiction, the narrator's scheme for getting revenge on Fortunato is both dark and twisted. The idea of the grotesque is evident in the narrative, where the
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These elements stand for the more sinister facets of human nature that Poe was known for exploring in his writing, such as retaliation and insanity. Gothic themes were essential in giving tales like "The Cask of Amontillado" and "The Tell-Tale Heart" depth, mood, and intrigue “allowing the readers to feel more connected to and therefore more afraid for the characters”(u.s. national park service). These components establish symbols and themes, drive the storyline, and eventually add to the story's resonance and cultural relevance years after it was first