The Theme Of Premature Burial In Poe's Poe

The theme of the premature burial is very prevalent in many of Poe’s stories. It is seen time and time again throughout his works because at the time he was writing them, the theme of premature burial or fear of being buried alive was extremely commonplace and it got people talking about his writings. It is clear to see that the theme of burial while alive is so developed and widespread in Poe’s works. This is because it is what the general public were interested in at the time and he was using this to his own benefit to gain more popularity. Poe was completely obsessed with the whole idea of being buried whilst still alive. Death is scattered throughout all his works and many of them are saturated with the theme of being buried alive. My aim

Roger Platizky tells us, ' 'The Cask of Amontillado ' ' (1846). Written just two years after ' 'The Premature Burial’’ (1843-44), ' 'The Cask ' ' is Poe 's last and best known short story dealing with what J. Gerald Kennedy calls Poe 's ' 'obsessive nightmare ' ' (33), his fixation on living interment.’’ (206). I have to wholly concur with this statement because it cannot be denied that Poe is engrossed by the mental and psychoanalysis behind being buried alive. The characters of Fortunato, Montresor and their travels in the underground passages are both catalysts to the theme development. We are aware something sinister will occur come the end of this story, Poe tells us, ‘’THE THOUSAND INJURIES of Fortunato I had borne as I best could, but when he ventured upon insult I vowed revenge.’’ (Cask of

Correspondingly ‘’The Premature Burial’’, is the most obvious story that deals with the theme of being buried alive. Poe confesses his true fears about being prematurely buried, ’’to be buried while alive is, beyond question, the most terrific of these extremes which has ever fallen to the lot of mere mortality’’. (1) We see the development of the theme of being buried alive through the unnamed narrator who becomes more and more anxious about being buried alive due to his untimely fits of catalepsy. Christopher Dribble argues that, ‘’Poe’s unnamed narrator describes in Gothic detail his increasing paranoia and excruciating fear of hasty or untimely burial’’ (3). I concur with this statement as this is how Poe develops the theme burial before death in this short story.
Poe tells us in ‘’The Premature Burial’’ that the anonymous narrator, ‘’was lost in reveries of death, and the idea of premature burial held continual possession of my brain. The ghastly Danger to which I was subjected haunted me