Edgar Allan Poe, perhaps the greatest gothic writer of his era, was known to inspire many dark and brooding feelings within his readers. Gothic is a writing style that often invokes fear, horror, and extreme romanticism. This style of writing often includes gloomy setting, a mysterious and often incomplete atmosphere, and odd elements of nature. Accordingly, Poe’s own life was very bleak, as he was orphaned at the age of three, and never made enough money off his works to keep a home. The author channeled his own sorrows into his writing, where he used these gothic elements to create fear in his readers. The audience is often horrified at what occurs in his stories, mainly because of how Poe utilized and emphasized his gothic elements. Edgar…show more content… In this story, the author creates a damp, eerie setting that becomes the resting place of the main antagonist. As they enter the catacombs, Montresor states, “Together on the damp ground of the catacombs of the Montresors...We had passed through walls of piled bones, with casks and puncheons intermingling, into the innermost recesses of the catacombs.” (Poe 2). The setting surrounding the two men as they trek down into the catacombs is extremely dark and unsettling. Moreover, bones cover the ground, and that in some cases, some of them are piled up to such a degree that a wall of bones appears. These elements are meant to inspire a scared and anxious feeling in the reader, so that they become emotionally vested in the outcome of the story. Poe’s descriptions are so detailed that it allows the reader to picture the setting of the story around themselves, which is truly frightening. As the story continues, Poe describes the setting in such detail that the reader is forced to picture those dark catacombs in their own imagination. This is a brilliant way to use the gothic setting, and Poe uses it extraordinarily well in many of his works. Additionally, the legendary gothic writer also preferred to create an unfinished, mysterious atmosphere in his…show more content… The atmosphere is often unfinished and left for the reader to interpret, and Poe often uses this as his default atmosphere because of the uncertainty it creates in his readers, which is shown in “The Cask of Amontillado.” Montresor thinks to himself, “The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne best I could; but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge.” (Poe 1). Later, when Fortunato begins to cough, Montresor replies, “Nitre...how long have you had that cough.” (Poe 2). In the first quote, Poe gives the audience, but not Fortunato, the knowledge that Montresor planned to get his revenge. Now, he displays that Montresor sees some of Fortunato’s weaknesses and is planning his attack. This creates a mysterious and threatening atmosphere, as the reader knows Fortunato will die, but doesn’t know how or when it will happen. Since we do not know when he is going to die, the readers are on the edge of their seats, as they wait for the attack to occur. The atmosphere is threatening because an attack is going to occur, the degree and viciousness of which are unknown to the reader. Due to the simple fact that Fortunato’s wrongdoings are left out, the reader never truly knows why Montresor seeks revenge. Furthermore, Montresor never outright states when he is going to attack Fortunato, or how. The
