Suspense In Edgar Allan Poe's The Black Cat

There is something about horror that always captivated humans. We are engaged with fright because it boosts our adrenaline and curiosity. Over the years, humans have found many ways to satisfy this morbid fascination such as watching scary movies or reading terrifying stories. Edgar Allan Poe was a famous writer for his wide range of horror stories he offered to his readers. In his work, Edgar Allan Poe communicates the meaning and purpose of the stories through complex moods. Poe’s “The Black Cat” creates a disturbing mood by introducing a sense of mystery in the exposition, using violence during the rising action, and keeping the readers under a feeling of abhorrence during the climax. In contrast, “The Masque of the Red Death” creates a suspenseful mood by keeping things enigmatic in the exposition, building up the suspense in the rising action, until the climax when Edgar Allan Poe reveals the mystery of the story. The exposition of the Black Cat is intended to introduce the reader into the story, although the narrator keeps things suspicious and confusing. Right from the beginning of the story, the narrator explains (says), “I neither expect not solicit belief”, which creates mistrust in readers’ minds. “But to-morrow I die, and to-day I would unburthen my

The exposition is meant to give the reader an idea of the fatal pestilence that conquered the country. The Red Death is represented by pain, blood, swiftness, and horror, and builds up a dark mood. Yet, Prince Prospero “was happy and dauntless and sagacious” and lives in a magnificent castle, isolated and far away from the Red Death, at least he believes so. His ignorance towards the welfare of his population arouses hatred within the readers. In the same time, the suspense and curiosity grow, and the readers are willing to find out what will happen to Prince