The Use Of Irony In Edgar Allan Poe's Short Stories

Edgar Allan Poe’s life was very tragic which reflected in his writing. Without Poe’s writing and influential criticism, literature would not be the same today. Poe’s work with short stories has impacted literature in such a way that novels are no longer the best writings, but short stories as well. In his short stories, Edgar Allan Poe created a dark, captivating, and cruel writing style using Irony, Flashbacks, and foreshadowing to make the reader feel intrigued. One of the literary techniques that helped develop Poe’s stories was the use of Irony. Initially, Poe used situational irony in the story “The Black Cat” when The narrator killed his wife. On their way down to the cellar, the narrator, “...buried the axe in her brain. She fell dead

To begin, in “The Tell-Tale Heart”, foreshadowing was used when Poe wrote, “upon the eighth night I was more than usually cautious in opening the door” (Poe 1). The use of foreshadowing here adds to the suspense and captivating aspect of the story. It makes the reader want to know why the narrator is being so cautious, giving the story a dark feelin. Also, in “The Masque of the Red Death”, Poe writes, “no pestilence had ever been so fatal, or so hideous. Blood was its avatar and its seal” (Poe 1). This piece of foreshadowing describes Poe’s writing very well. It is captivating because it makes the reader want to know what it is and what it is going to do, but also a cruel feeling because of the blood and death, as well as a dark vibe. This quote, through the use of foreshadowing covers the description of Poe’s intriguing writing, shows what Poe’s aim for his stories are. One more story that Poe uses foreshadowing in is “The Cask of Amontillado”. The main character said to the antagonist, “‘it is this’, I answered, producing from beneath the folds of my roquelaire a trowel” (Poe 4). This is foreshadowing because it is hinting to what is going to happen later in the story. Again, this quote covers the captivating aspect of Poe’s writings. But this does ad to the dark aspect as well because the reader knows something bad is going to happen, but the antagonist is unaware. Certainly, the literary element foreshadowing adds to the quality of Poe’s