Gothic literature authors emphasize literary elements in their stories to create tension and suspense. In “The Devil and Tom Walker” Washington Irving uses satire to make the reader think about what will happen later in the story. Another instance of literary devices creating tension and suspense in gothic literature is Edgar Allen Poe’s use of personification in “The Fall of the House of Usher.” Other than foreshadowing and personification both authors also use mood to develop suspense and tension. In “The Devil and Tom Walker” Irving's use of satire creates tension throughout the story by making unreasonable statements. One instance of this is when Tom Walker meets the Devil he does not feel afraid of him and is even willing to sell himself for the pirate Kidd’s treasure. Despite this, he did not agree to the Devil’s deal right away because “he was determined not to do so to oblige his wife; so he flatly refused; out of the mere spirit of contradiction.” Irving creates tension with his use of satire through Tom Walker’s …show more content…
When the narrator arrives at the House of Usher he describes it as having, “vacant eyelike windows.” The narrator’s description of the house creates tension and suspense by helping the reader understand how the house looked by personifying its characteristics. Both Washington Irving and Edgar Allen Poe used mood to create suspense and tension in gothic literature. Throughout the story “The Devil and Tom Walker” Irving develops the mood of the story by describing the setting as being a “land of famine.” Similarly, the narrator of “The Fall of the House of Usher” called the area around the House of Usher, “dull, dark, and soundless” with “clouds hung oppressively low.” Both authors describe the setting using words with negative connotations as a way to develop the mood and by doing this they create suspense and tension within their