Poe's Obsession With Death

Edgar Allan Poe was best known for his writing pieces that incorporated mystery and gothic literature. The theme of death was prominently used in his stories and he used many literary devices to achieve it.  As a young man, he was an alcoholic and his loved ones died around him. Most of his stories have drawn parallelism from his life.  The idea of death is also shown though foreshadowing and irony. His obsession with death is depicted in his works “The Black Cat,” “The Red Death,” “The House of Usher,” “The Cask of Amontillado,” and “The Tell Tale Heart.” Edgar Allan Poe portrays his fascination with death through the use of imagery, foreshadowing, irony, parallelism, and symbolism.

The theme of death was strongly conveyed in the story “The House of Usher.”  Powerful imagery conveyed the atmosphere of the house. The narrator described the house saying “In this there was much that reminded me of the specious totality of old wood-work which has rotted for long years in some neglected vault, with no disturbance from the breath of the external air” (Poe, The House of Usher 3). Poe’s description of the house could almost describe a dead body that has been buried. The concept of death is constructed in the readers’ mind as they read through the passage and imagine the forbidden and eerie home. The vivid details of the house exemplify Poe’s internal thoughts about what is grim and lifeless.  His depressing thoughts about death are used to describe the house. Like a dead body, the house looked as if it were forgotten and left to decay. The passage also foreshadowed the events that are to follow.

Poe successfully used foreshadowing in illustrating his obsession with death. Commonly used in “The Cask of Amontillado,” Poe used foreshadowing to create suspense in the story. At the beginning of the story, Montresor decided to take revenge on his friend Fortunado for unknown reasons and invited him to try Amontillado, a type of wine. When Montresor lured Fortunado into the crypt, Fortunado began to cough because of the nitre found on the walls. Montresor suggested that they come back another time when he is feeling better, but Fortunado could not resist the temptation of the wine and said “Enough, the cough is a mere nothing; it will not kill me. I shall not die of a cough.” Montresor, knowing his true destiny replied, “True-true” (Poe, The Cask of Amontillado 6). Montresor knew that the cause of his death would be from leaving him in the catacombs and was telling the truth when he said that. The foreshadowing used was Poe’s way of reminding the readers that death is the only thing guaranteed in life.  It was his way of saying that no matter what the cause, a person will ultimately die. He included different hints in the story that would make death the fate of Fortunado. Irony and foreshadowing are both perceived in the quote.

The irony in the story was that Fortunado did not die from cough; instead he was murdered by Montresor. Irony was also shown when Montresor are going down to the catacombs and Montresor describes his conservation with Fortunado, “I passed down a long and winding staircase, requesting him to be cautious as he followed” (Poe, The Cask of Amontillado 5). Montresor plans on killing Fortunado, but warns him to be careful walking down the stairs. Poe used this opportunity to incorporate the idea that death would occur in the story. He made a point to exemplify the concept of death as it occurred in a variety of his publications. Poe also incorporated events from his life into his stories that communicate the theme of death.

Edgar Allan Poe’s work can be compared to his life.  The characters were parallel to Poe. In “The Tell-Tale Heart,” the main character admitted that he had an illness when he said, “The disease had sharpened my senses- not destroyed-not dulled them” (Poe, The Tell-Tale Heart 3). The narrator was captivated by the blue eyes of the old man until one day, he killed and dissembled his body and shoved it in the floor boards. The narrator admitted that he did not have a reason to kill him. He may have done it just because the old man had something that he was living without. Similar to Poe’s life, he may have known that he had an addiction; he just could not escape his dependence to alcohol. Some believe that he was drunk shortly before his death and that his illness had killed him.  As described in the “The Black Cat” the alcoholic husband clarifies “My immediate purpose is to place before the world, plainly, succinctly, and without comment, a series of mere household events. In their consequences, these events have terrified – have tortured – have destroyed me” (Poe, The Black Cat 1). In The Black Cat, the main character murdered his wife and cat because he felt his soul changing and found pleasure in abusing the ones who loved him. Parallel to Poe’s life, he also suffered from the deaths of his close family that deeply scarred him. Imitating his sorrow, Poe wrote stories that reflected his tragic life as an output. Death influenced his writing. Just like how the narrator of The Tell-Tale Heart couldn’t handle the old man’s blue eyes, Poe couldn’t endure the misfortune that he faced of losing his loved ones. His fixation with death was directly associated with the plots of his stories.

Poe frequently used symbolism in his writing. In the story “The Red Death,” many different symbols are used. The most apparent symbol is the main character Prince Prospero. His name meant prosperity. It described him as a character; rich, prosperous, thriving, and wealthy. The town that he lived in was suffering from the plague. He decided to invite all of his friends to live in his palace for company and to protect them from the disease. A few months later, he decided to throw a party.  As the guests mingled, they noticed an ill dressed man among themselves. “The figure was tall and guant, and shrouded from head to foot in the habiliment of the grave” (Poe, The Red Death 3). The man’s appearance frightened the healthy party guests. The Prince became angered by the man’s appearance and wanted to hang him. He chased him through his palace and tried to kill him. After a struggle, the Prince was ultimately killed. The prince tried to defeat Death but in the end he still lost despite what he achieved in his lifetime. Poe used symbolism to show that no one can cheat death. This was the moral of the story. Death is the final destination of all mortals. Poe was infatuated with death and represented it as an eternal being that would always win.

Poe creatively wrote death into his works. In every story, death is attached by some literary device. He grasped the fear and emotions that readers face with death and wrote them so they felt like reality to the reader. Poe used events from his life to hint that a loss of life would occur in the story. This made death was a common theme of his stories. His preoccupation with death allowed him to do this successfully. These characteristics make him one of the most respected authors of Gothic literature.

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·         Poe, Edgar A. "The Black Cat." By Edgar Allan Poe. Poe Stories. Web. 15 Mar. 2012. <http://poestories.com/read/blackcat>.

·         Poe, Edgar A. "The Masque of the Red Death." By Edgar Allan Poe. Poe Stories. Web. 15 Mar. 2012. <http://poestories.com/read/masque>.

·         Poe, Edgar A. "The Tell-Tale Heart." By Edgar Allan Poe. Poe Stories. Web. 15 Mar. 2012. <http://poestories.com/read/telltaleheart>.