The term gothic is often portrayed as dark, mysterious,...

The term gothic is often portrayed as dark, mysterious, horrific, and suspenseful. During the eighteenth and nineteenth century gothic writing became a successful genre in the world of fiction. Many fictional works during this time period were gothic and known for being dark and creepy leaving the reader in a state of pleasing terror. Edgar Allan Poe became one of the most popular gothic poets of his time, and mostly known for the unusual and disturbing themes throughout his poems. A common theme throughout his two works, â€Å"The Raven† and â€Å"The Cask of Amontillado†, was sanity and where the narrator lacked thereof. â€Å"The Raven† begins with a man being disturbed by a knock at his door and is eventually driven mad by a raven who can only recite†¦show more content†¦The narrator finds a raven perched above his door, and begins to question the bird that can only respond with the word â€Å"nevermore.† The narrator becomes curious about Len ore, and whether she ascended to heaven or went to hell, but the raven’s only response is â€Å"nevermore.† Infuriated, the narrator gradually drives himself mad because the bird cannot answer his questions about Lenore. From the beginning of the poem, the setting is dark, dull, and gothic. The narrator is in a dark room lit by a lamp, on a bleak December night with a fire slowly dying, as he sulks about his recent loss. Reminiscing, â€Å"for the rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore.† He remembers her as perfection and symbol of life. On the contrary, the black raven is symbol of darkness and death in which the narrator has faced with Lenore. As the narrator tries to distract himself from the loss of his lover, the annoying raven only makes matters worse driving the man mad because the bird cannot answer questions about Lenore. Black, the color of death or sometimes even considered colorless. The raven covered in black feathers is a continuous re minder to the narrator of Lenore’s death. The loss of the narrator’s sanity is an accurate portrayal of Poe’s personal loss of Virginia. This bird is haunting the narrator, as Poe was haunted about Virginia’s death. This is considered gothic because death is difficult and can leave people in obscure places mentally, especially whenShow MoreRelatedThe Rise Of Poe By Edgar Allan Poe1635 Words   |  7 PagesThe Rise of Poe The words people use and how they use them holds so much power within themselves. It seems that, people are always searching for the right words to express their true emotions towards a certain subject. Artists and authors manage to make a living off of knowing how to use the right words to reach through to their platform. Though within his time, Edgar Allan Poe did not have an established platform and was seen as estranged; he still dabbled as an author and has made many famous shortRead MorePoe and Perversely1719 Words   |  7 Pagesand explain how someone is perverse would have to be Edger Allan Poe. Two of his works that show perversely the best would be â€Å"The Black Cat† and â€Å"The Imp of the Perverse.† Poe was really able to explain perversely very well. 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