Comparing Poe's The Landlady And The Tell-Tale Heart

Edgar Allan Poe both wrote science fiction. Both Poe and Dahl were known for using personifications in their writing, to make the story more alive. Also, foreshadowing can be found in both stories, to build the suspense of what was about to happen.Dahl and Poe both had some tragic losses of loved ones early on in their life, which influenced both of their writing styles. As far as Roald Dahl's “The Landlady” and Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Tell Tale Heart,” there are some very similar themes. in both stories, they would convince you that they were a normal good, person. But in reality, would twist the story into a horror.

When Roald Dahl was 4, his sister passed away from a burst appendix. Then weeks later, his father passed away from pneumonia.

These events were some of Dahl’s first childhood memories, which lead him to later in his life, show the depressed side in him, and write “The Landlady,”and others. In “The Landlady,” the main characters are Billy Weaver, and the Landlady. This short story is about how the Landlady persuades Billy to stay at her bed and breakfast, but later shows her evil side, when she puts poison in Billy’s tea, and taxidermies him. Roald Dahl had an amazing writing style, but in some stories had a very twisted mind. Roald Dahl’s writing style consisted of creative, humorous writing for children. The setting of “The Landlady,” takes place in a bed and breakfast, in Bath, England. A theme that is shown in “The Landlady,” is exploitation. This means that the Landlady was treating Billy unfairly, so she could benefit from it.

Edgar Allen Poe had a very short life, dying at the age of 40 from an unknown illness.

Some of his background in childhood included his father and mother both passing away before he was 3 years old, and was put into foster care for several years before being adopted. Therefore, that greatly impacted his writing style.Poe also suffered from recurring depression, which lead him to creating such dark stories. This is what separates him from some of Roald Dahl’s writing.The setting of one of Edgar Allen Poe’s books, “The Tell Tale Heart”, is in an unknown house.The main characters in this story, is the narrator, (the killer,) and the old man. There are some other people included in the story however, like the neighbor who heard the scream when the killer attacked the man. Also, there were police who came to the house, to inspect where they neighbor said she heard the noise from. And finally, some themes that are commonly seen in his book “A Tell Tale Heart,” are guilt, consequence, as well as madness. These themes are shown in the beginning of the story, when the narrator is trying to convince you that killing the old man because of his eye, wasn't a horrible thing.

In my opinion, I personally like Edgar Allen Poe’s “A Tell Tale Heart” better. What amazes me the most, is how he thought and saw this all in his head. Even though this can be conceived as a bad thing, it is fascinating to me how he is able to think about it, write it down, and make it into a story. Also, I love Poe’s

choice of vocabulary. Some words like vexed and audacity, words that I never knew before, make me want to look into what their meaning is, to understand the story. Once I know the words, the story really comes to life for me, in the madness that the killer was going through.

In conclusion, Roald Dahl and Edgar Allen Poe are very similar in some ways, but also very different. Roald Dahl was mostly known for his creative, fun writing, such as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. But Poe, always wrote horror stories. Both of these authors were influenced by their tragic losses when they were young.These talented writers were known for their use of foreshadowing, as well as personifications. This helps the plot move along, build more suspense, and also bring the story to life.