The Use Of Imagery In The Cask Of Amontillado By Edgar Allan Poe

When people are troubled by death and depressed by sorrow they often try to escape the reality around them. One way Edgar Allan Poe escaped his tragic life was to write. Many of his loved ones, including his wife, mother, and adopted mother, died of tuberculosis. He was often found in debt and was an alcoholic. Poe was disowned by his adopted father and abandoned by his biological father. Poe’s writing was influenced by the life around him. His demented works more than often had stories of death and mystery. Poe uses literary tools to portray his grim style throughout his short stories and poems.
Poe uses syntax, or the arrangement of words and phrases, to add voice to his grim style. In his short story, “Cask of Amontillado”, Poe uses specific

In “The Masque of the Red Death” Poe describes seven rooms and their coordinating window, however, the last room is different. The room is black, but, “The panes here were scarlet-a deep blood colour” (2). The narrator uses color and further describes the color as “blood”. This imagery could symbolize the dark deed that was soon to be done in the room. In the “Cask of Amontillado”, Poe describes what is down in the catacombs. “Its walls had been lined with human remains piled to the vault overhead, in the fashion of the great catacombs of Paris” (120). It refers to the “great catacombs of Paris” to help us imagine this scenery in our head. Poe tells us where the human remains are located to create a full visual. Poe uses descriptive words for his imagery to create a grim

In “The Masque of the Red Death” the narrator describes the appearance of the stranger. “His vesture was dabbled in blood- and his broad brow, with all the features of the face, was besprinkled with the scarlet horror” (5). He describes the blood as “scarlet horror”. This mention of blood is meant to arouse the fearful emotions in the reader. In the “Cask of Amontillado” the main character traps a person in the dark and deep catacomb. While pausing to trap the person he says, “A succession of loud and shrill screams, bursting suddenly from the throat of the chained form, seemed to thrust me violently back” (121). The tone in this sentence is intense. The main character is surprised by the yelling and almost regrets his decision to kill the person. Poe uses tone and mood to render his grim writing