The Master of Gothic—Edgar Allan Poe
08 Cindy Chen
Mr. de Groof
Grade 11 Composition
2014/01/03
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Fear is an unpleasant emotion caused by danger or pain. However, some of the
things we are afraid of do not present any threat. A sudden noise in the tranquil night,
a human-shaped shadow on the wall, a glimpse of light in the dark—these can all
make us afraid even though they don’t really harm us. Edgar Allan Poe, who is
considered the master of gothic stories, is good at using distinctive themes and the
ominous details to set "a scene of instant gloom.” In both The Cask of Amontillado
and The Masque of the Red Death, the author Poe used a variety of grotesque
elements, similar motifs, and symbols to create a gothic atmosphere, which are
characteristic of his work.
Like any other of Poe’s literature works, The Cask of Amontillado involves a plot
with "extreme situations"—not just murder, but live burials, physical and mental
torture, and retribution from beyond the grave. In the first paragraph, Montresor
claims that "the thousand injuries" and "insult" from Fortunato lead him to retribution
and "punish [Fortunato] with impunity." This declaration foreshadows that he is going
to take revenge, and, in addition, makes Montresor an unreliable narrator. Instead of
murdering Fortunato cruelly or killing him at that moment, Montresor chooses to
fetter Fortunato to the granite and makes him die of starvation so that he could think
of the chances Montresor gives but he loses to escape. Similarly, the naming of the
character, places, and objects all reflect to the ending of this tragedy. Fortunato, which
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means "the fortunate one" in Italian, represents an irony of his death. Also, the vaults
which are "the catacombs of the Montresors" and the wine named "de Grave" both
foreshadow Fortunato’s demise. Usually, catacombs are places that contain an
abundant of rooms under a building where people buried coffins and tomb. In the
same way, graves are places where people bury the dead body.
In addition, Poe used a plethora of symbols in his stories. The bells that
Fortunato wears on his head during the carnival season parade symbolize the
approaching of death. They ring four times during the story, and each time they ring
means that Fortunato is getting closer to death. The first time, they ring when
Fortunato enters the vaults, the place where he was murdered. The second time, they
ring when Montresor drinks with Fortunato and cheers him by saying "And I to your
long life." The third time, they ring when Montresor tells Fortunato the motto of his
family "Nemo me impune lacessit" which implies the purpose of him killing
Fortunato. The last time, they ring when Montresor "fetters [Fortunato] to the granite"
and screams "Fortunato!" loudly with no response. The uses of bells ringing and the
naming of the objects are the symbols and grotesque elements that Poe used to create
the scary atmosphere.
Similarly, in another piece of work by Poe The Masque of the Red Death, he
built up the ghastly ambience with gloomy and gruesome symbols. The rooms of
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Prospero's palace were colored in blue, purple, green, orange, white, violet, and black
from the first to the seventh. Blue usually symbolizes birth in literature while black is
usually associated with death. Poe sequentially introduced the colors of the rooms,
which imply the cycle of life from birth to death. The whole story is permeated with
the life cycle, from the colors of the doors to the route of Prospero chasing after the
masked figure. "It was the eastern or blue chamber in which stood the Prince Prospero
as he uttered these words." Prospero chases after the masked figure from the eastern
room to the western room, which is similar to the path of the sunrise and set.
Furthermore, the clock in the story plays an important role like the bells in The Cask
of Amontillado. The clock reminds both the guests in the story and the readers the
advent of "Red Death" and that it will not exclude anyone no matter rich or not. "The
musicians of the orchestra were consisted to pause" and "a brief disconcert of the
whole gay company" both can be interpreted as the passing of time. One can feel the
gothic ambience through the symbols of the clock and the colors of the rooms.
Both works from Poe, The Cask of Amontillado and The Masque of the Red
Death share many similar parts. First of all, it is said that one of the most important
elements of a gothic story is suspense. In The Cask of Amontillado, Poe built the
suspense by employing foreshadowing. In the conversation between Montresor and
Fortunato, Fortunato's words of "I shall not die of cough" and Montresor's cheer "And
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I to your long life" both foreshadow the future tragedy. Likewise, in The Masque of
Red Death, Poe built the suspense by employing an enormous change of the
atmosphere in the story—from the extravagant masquerade party to the bizarre lapse
of the conversation after the clock ringed and the appear of the mysterious mask
figure. Second, Poe implied the idea of life cycle in both stories, which are the bells in
The Cask of Amontillado and the clock in The Masque of the Red Death. "It was now
midnight, and my task was drawing to the end" from The Cask of Amontillado and
"But now there were twelve strokes to be sounded by the bell of the clock" from The
Masque of the Red Death both indicate that midnight is said to be the end of life’s
journey.
Last but not least, the carnival season parade from The Cask of Amontillado is a
similar motif to the masquerade party from The Masque of the Red Death. Poe used
irony to make up the background of the story. The carnival season is the time for
people to kill animals and celebrate, but Fortunato, the man who joined the parade of
the carnival season, is instead being murdered. In the same way, the masquerade party
in The Masque of the Red Death is for Prince Prospero and his friends to celebrate
escaping from the Red Death, but instead the firm building traps them from fleeing.
Both of these settings are considered gothic because of the irony and the symbols Poe
used built up suspense and made the readers feel anxious.
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Although The Cask of Amontillado and The Masque of the Red Death have
different themes and are distinct types of stories, they still have a lot in common. In
stories, Poe’s freakish elements, motifs, and symbolism created a gothic atmosphere.
The suspense and the anxious feelings Poe built up in the stories definitely make him
one of literature's "most brilliant, but erratic, stars," and a popular author even today.