Maya Ahmad
Mrs.Webb
10 Honors English
27 November 2012
The Pit and the Pendulum Style Essay
Introduction
1st Body Paragraph (Diction): Edgar Allen Poe uses diverse styles of diction to impact the reader’s mood in different ways. The connotations of negative words affect the reader’s attitude in a pessimistic manner. “Sick unto death with that long agony” (Poe 4). When Poe begins the narrative, the narrator is in a negative mindset. This aids the audience in getting a feel for what the narrator is actually feeling throughout the course of the narrative. The negative connotation of diction also assists the readers when picking up on the mood of the anecdote. This affects the readers in a negative way because their mood has changed from neutral to somber within the audience.
2nd Body Paragraph (Imagery): Poe uses many literary techniques to portray the scenes through to the audiences’ minds. The use of imagery aided the audience in picturing the events that the narrator overcame. “I saw them write with a deadly locution. I saw them fashion the syllables of my name…” (4). Poe projects the scene of the narrator receiving what he thinks to be his doomsday news to create a grave mood to the readers. The imagery that Poe exhibits makes the readers realize how serious this is in the time of the narrator. Being sentenced to death by the pit and the pendulum is nobody’s dream, so when the narrator found out that that was his death sentence, the hope of him surviving this dreadful occasion seems far out of reach. This use of imagery by Poe affects the readers’ moods.
3rd Body Paragraph (Details): Poe included many details throughout the course of the narrative, The Pit and the Pendulum. The details helped in creating more suspense and drama throughout the course of the story. “So far, I had not opened my eyes” (5). When Poe included the fact that the narrator had not opened his eyes, it is dramatizing the fact that the narrator is so scared to see what