Poe’s Techniques

Edgar Allen Poe was a great writer, writing many short stories and poems such as the “Cask of Amontillado”, but do you really know what happened in his pieces of literature?Poe wrote his words in a specific way for a specific reason. None of the words he used had no purpose. He used each and every one to create an eerie and suspenseful feeling in the minds of the reader. In his short stories, Poe uses suspense, dramatic irony, and imagery to create the mood he wants the reader to feel.

Edgar used dramatic irony to create the atmosphere around “The Cask of Amontillado”. He would always think in his head what he would do and never out loud. We didn’t really know that he would kill Fortunato, but we did know he was planning revenge. One example being when he says “but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge”,(Poe 7).

We know that Montresor, the person saying this, wants to have revenge on Fortunato, but Fortunato has no idea himself of Montresor’s plan. This is an example of the dramatic irony Poe uses. Poe’s use of dramatic irony is just one of the many ways that Poe creates suspense in his short stories.

Poe uses a element called suspense to create the mood in his short story “The Black Cat”. One example of this element being used, was when the narrator grabbed Pluto, the cat, “I seized him; when, in his fright at my violence, he inflicted a slight wound upon my hand”(Poe 28). This creates the suspenseful mood and feeling inside of the reader’s mind. It causes the person reading it to wonder what will happen next since we have just been given a few clues. This usually makes the reader just want to read more which is the goal of the author. Suspense is one of the many techniques used in “The Black Cat” and is one of the most important.

Poe also uses the writing technique imagery to create the scene and mood of the short story “The Black Cat”. One example of imagery being used to create the mood is “I withdrew my arm from her grasp and buried the axe in her brain”(Poe 33). This piece of imagery gives the reader a horrible image of the narrator killing his wife. It just adds to the dark and horrific theme of the story. And as you read on, Poe adds on more and more imagery just like “ tears streaming from my eyes”(Poe 29). This creates even more of asorrowful and horrific mood to the reader. Poe never wastes one piece of imagery to increase the feelings of the reader in the way he desires. Imagery, last of all, is one of the most commonly used elements in Poe’s stories and also, one of the most valuable.

Poe used many techniques and elements to write his legendary short stories. He used all of them for a purpose and reason and never would waste a single sentence. Almost all of them leading to a horrific mood for the reader to feel. He may have used many types of techniques, but the following sentence cannot be denied. In his short stories, Poe uses suspense, dramatic irony, and imagery to create the mood he wants the reader to feel.

Works Cited
Poe, Edgar Allan. “The Black Cat.” Great Tales and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe.New York, 1967. 26-36.