Edgar Allan Poe Gothic Analysis

In Edgar Allan Poe’s works, such as Raven, The Tell-Tale Heart, Annabel Lee, and The Fall of the House of Usher, Poe attracts his readers with his one-of-a-kind genre of gothic. Much of his gothic genre in his writings have been influenced by past event in his life. First of all, Poe had never really known his parents because his father had left the house and his mother had died of tuberculosis when he was only three years old. For these reasons, he went to live with Frances and John Valentine Allan, who helped him get into West Point. Unfortunately, Poe was kicked out of West Point because of his alleged poor handling of his duties and later married his cousin, Virginia, who was only 13, when he was 24 years old. Poe later becomes to grieve

For example, in the poem “The Raven” starts when the narrator hears a knock on his door and just thinks that is a visitor. However, a raven is actually warning the narrator and the poem is essentially about him regretting and grieving over his love, Lenore. Throughout the entire poem, in the last line of almost every stanza, the Raven says “Nevermore” (Stanza 2), which is a hint and foreshadowing of what is going to happen next. By repeating the word, “Nevermore,” the literature writer makes sure to get the message through of what is actually happening in the poem. This gives the audience a further understanding of the true message of the raven. When the author starts to realize the unexpected situation and reaches the end of the poem, it creates a gloomy tone that shocks the reader. Furthermore, Poe uses the same technique in “The Tell-Tale Heart,” a short story that is one of Poe’s most famous work, which is about an anonymous man, who kills an old man because of his eye and afterwards becomes sane while explaining the murder, which he committed, to the police. Amidst of all the guilt going on in the man’s head, Poe uses repetition to tell what the man was feeling and hearing. “I talked still faster and louder. And the sound, too, became louder… Louder, it became, and louder. Why did the man not go? Louder, louder” (Pg. 4). Poe

In the poem, “Annabel Lee,” the narrator is mourning for his wife, who had just died and is reminiscing about past memories with her. A similar experience had happened to Poe when his cousin and wife Virginia died of tuberculosis and this poem was inspired by this dismal happening in his life. The gothic writer uses hyperbole, a figurative language device where words are exaggerated. “With a love that the winged seraphs of heaven Coveted her and me” (Line 11-12). In this situation, there love was not actually coveted by winged seraphs of heaven. However, the gothic author uses this figurative language to portray how precious there love was to the author and evokes strong feelings from the audience. This signifies what kind of impact and change was going to be brought upon the narrator’s life, which may have been the author’s purpose to share his experience and how his own personal life changed after the loss of his wife. Another instance is in “The Fall of the House of Usher,” which is about a mysterious and eerie mansion. The narrator is lead here because of his friend, Roderick, who sent him a letter and is having a difficult time mentally and almost seems possessed by an evil spirit. They had buried Roderick’s sister, Madeline, because she had “died” due to a mysterious illness. A few days later, after spending time with his friend in the house, the narrator and