Suspense is a vivid topic in both “Annabel Lee” and “The Pit and the Pendulum”. “Annabel Lee” is a poem that describes the “love” story between the narrator and his dead love. “The Pit and the Pendulum” is a story that discusses the narrator's experience when he gets caught during the inquisition, and slowly drifts into delirium as he is physically watching his impending death. Both pieces of literature contain concepts that form suspense throughout the story/poem, such as Motif of the Unknown, Motif of Insanity, and Imagery/Diction. One idea of suspense is the Motif of the Unknown. In the poem “Annabel Lee”, the motif of the unknown is present in many parts. In lines 1-2 Poe says, “It was many and many a year ago, In a kingdom by the sea”. …show more content…
In ‘Annabel Lee”, the narrator chooses certain words and phrases that causes the reader to think of disturbing images while reading. For example Poe says, “Nor the demons down under the sea, can ever dissever my soul from the soul, of the beautiful Annabel Lee”. This quote shows the narrator using the word “dissever”, which is usually used in the context of dissection or cutting something. When the narrator uses this word to describe the close bond of their two souls, it gives a distorted image in the reader's mind, which creates suspense throughout the poem. The use of imagery is visible in “The Pit and the Pendulum” as well. “They pressed - they swarmed upon me in ever accumulating heaps” (272). This part of the story is describing how the narrator became free through the use of rats eating through the rope. He begins to describe how along with biting the rope, they are biting his skin, trying to rip through anything they possibly can. This creates a disturbing image for the reader, and causes suspense because the reader is aware that he can not move, because it will scare away the rats and cause him to be cut in half by the pendulum. The imagery causes everything to become more gruesome and graphic, causing more suspense to build up within the