Dark Elements in Edgar Allan Poe’s short story

【摘要】：Abstract：Edgar Allan Poe’s short story is well-known all around world for its sense of terror and weirdness. Dark elements in Gothic novelare vital important in Poe’s short story， which make the story attractive. This paper aims to explore the dark elements in Poe’s short story from narrative perspective and image analyses by close reading.

【Key words】： dark elements， first-person narrative， frightening settings， animal images， scene images

1. Introduction

Poe has been acclaimed the master of horror tales. His short story is famous for it’s Gothic style， which is mystery， horrible， incredible， weird， butfascinating and attractive. Gothic elements are frequently used in his stories. The objectives of the paper is to find the dark elements from narrative perspective and image analyses by close reading.

2. Literary Review

Poe’s short story has been researchedfrom perspective of Gothic style， death theme， aesthetic of horror， effect theory， narratology and psychoanalysis. Gothic style is a main feature of his story by somber settings， weird characters and thrilling storylines. “The grotesque stands as a striking characteristic of Poe’s short tales as a whole， it is characterized by bizarre distortions， especially in the exaggerated or abnormal depiction of human features （Xu Bing， 2005： 4）”.Death within Poe’s works can’t be no more beautiful，“No matter how absurd， miserable and horrific his description is， death will evoke a kind of aesthetic charm， inspiring people to pursue the true meaning of life”（Ji Kaixuan， 2013： 59）.

3.Narrative Perspective

First-person narrative is one of dark elements. It refers to that narrator exists at the same level of existence as the characters. “In a first-person narrative， the narrator speaks as ‘I’， and is to a greater or lesser degree a participant in the story” （Abrams， 2004：231）. And the story is written in the omniscient point of view. “I” in Poe’s short story is both narrator and narratee. It is more efficient to express main character’s inner feeling and easier to communicate with readers. For author， the choice of first-person ”I” helps to vividly demonstrate the heart of darkness. It is special that protagonist directly tells readers his resentment and cruelty. In The Tell-Tale Heart， the murder of the old man and its aftermath are told with dazzling clarity， a clarity that itself obscures the meaning of the act and calls into question the emotional stability of the unnamed narrator. In The Black Cat， “...the fury of a demon instantly possessed me...grasped the poor beast by the throat， and deliberately cut one of its eyes from the socket” （Poe， 2013： 162）. The dazzling clarity and emotional stability after killing somebody brutally without gory description make readers feel inner terrified more. "For readers， pretending to be “I” in the story can shock readers， it’s a good way to convey a sense of reality. While reading the horror story， readers regard themselves as the narrator or protagonist by using “I”， readers can get immersive experience but no actual harm be felt， which makes Poe’s short story thrilling and more attractive.

4. Image Analyses

4.1 Frightening settings

Frightening setting is a dark element. The description of horrific circumstance gives reader an impression of terror， it arises readers’ curiosity and paves way for what will happen naturally. In The Fall of the House of Usher， the description of environment lays melancholic tone of the whole story. “mere house”， “vacant eye-like windows”， “bleak walls”， the atmosphere is permeated with somber and gloomy and it indicates that everything becomes worse and worse. All the frightening settings not only pave for the development of story but also reflect protagonist’s mind.

4.2 Animal image

There are many animal images in Poe’s works which show the abnormal mental state of human being. The animals are lonely， depressed， paranoid sick， horrific in short stories， and it reflects that in the capitalist society， everybody pursuit wealth， but through the prosperous society， people are alone， alienated and irrational to live in the unreasonable social and living environment of the shackles of humanity. Every animal is a symbol to convey death theme. The black cat Pluto is a typical animal image， in western culture， it’sa symbol of evil， weirdness and gloomy， Pluto is also the name of the ruler of Hell and Hades in Greek myth; the mark of white hair--GALLOWS， the black cat symbolizes Death and sentences the protagonist to death.Animals not only symbolize death but also represent the distortion of human nature.

4.3 Scene image

Some stories take place in and around an old castle， and mostly are abandoned. The castle often contains secret passages， secret rooms， dark or hidden staircases. The empty and bleak architectures always indicate terrific stories. Crypt tomb means death， it is the end of life， so many stories take place in or around there. Things in nature are meaningless， but all of them are given special meaning by people. People have lively minds， they correlate different images in nature and imagery in mind to create great fear.

5. Conclusion

Poe’s short story is normal without description of bloody scene， but it is a horror in soul because of dark elements. First person narrativeenhances the horror effect of the stories and makes the story more fascinating. Images mentioned above are vital important in Poe’s works， such as frightening settings， animal images and scene image. The reasonable collocation of all dark elements can create a desirable effect.

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