How Does Edgar Allan Poe Create Suspense

Will Smith once said, “The only place that fear can exist is in our own thoughts of the future.” This quote is saying people worry too much about the future they theoretically fear themselves to death. Edgar Allen Poe and Washington Irving use many different literary elements to create tension and suspense in their stories. The prompt asks to compare and contrast both authors' styles: to explain what literary elements are used to scare the readers, and which of the elements are used to create tension and suspense in the stories. Both authors Poe and Irving use very similar writing styles. Poe and Irving integrated the literary element of foreshadowing to create suspense and tension in their stories. Poe uses foreshadowing to convey Roderick’s

In paragraph 11 Roderick Usher realizes his fear of the outcome of his future, “not in [the events] themselves, but in their results.” He is scared that his sister will die and leave him as the last Usher. Since Roderick is becoming more and more fearful that his sister is going to die and he will be the last Usher, he is also leaving the readers tense at the consequences of his fear. Poe uses another example of foreshadowing in the text to create suspense in the story. In paragraph 5 the narrator adds “Yet all this was apart from any extraordinary dilapidation. No portion of the masonry had fallen;” The narrator sees that the house looks awful but still hasn’t fallen yet, which foreshadows the events that lead up to the house collapsing when both of the Ushers Madaline and Roderick usher die. Irving uses

Poe uses the literary element of symbolism in the story to represent Roderick’s mental state throughout the story. He utilizes a lot of examples of symbolism throughout the story such as in paragraph 5 the narrator says “Perhaps the eye of a scrutinizing observer might have discovered a barely perceptible fissure, which, extending from the roof of the building from the front, made its way down the wall in a zigzag direction until it came lost in the sullen waters of the tarn.” The narrator is explaining what he sees when he first walks up to the house of ushers and it represents Roderick Usher's state of mind is in at that point in time of the story and can give the readers suspense because they don’t know what to expect when the narrator enters the house. Another way Poe uses symbolism in his story is in all of Roderick Usher's art pieces. All his art represents his life and all of the things in his life; In paragraph 17 the narrator states “A small picture presented the interior of an immensely long and rectangular vault or tunnel, with low walls, smooth, white and without interruption or device.” The narrator notices a picture that Roderick has painted and sees what looks to be like a vault this symbolizes when he and Roderick bury his sister alive in a vault because of her rare disease. This quote creates tension because they know what is to come