Poe's Horror Stry

Poe's Devices for Heightening the Effect of Terror and Horror in Short Stories (Martynova Ann) Edgar Allan Poe, an American poet, critic and writer of the XIX-th century, is a world- recognised master of the horror genre. Poe's Tales of Arabesque clearly demonstrate his talent for cultivation of mystery, terror, and macabre. The process of this horror cultivation is very subtle and complicated. Poe, like an artist of arabesque who intertwines and interlaces flowers into an elaborate pattern, weaves a net of mystery and horror and entangles the reader in it. Poe starts any work 'with consideration of the effect' it would have on the reader. All other stages of story creation and literary devices used for it depend on that main effect. Thus, the genre of Poe's works, their plot structure, type of narration, word choice, and imagery are the devices, with the help of which Poe creates and heightens the effect of terror and horror. Such works as 'The Cask of Amontillado', 'MS Found in a Bottle', and 'The Fall of the House of Usher' serve as vivid examples of Poe's sophisticated but very effective horror creating technique. The effect produced by the work on its reader largely depends on the genre of this work. It is no mere chance that Poe chooses the genre of a short story for his works of horror. On the one hand, a short story provides the writer with enough space to intrigue the reader, to rouse his interest in the plot. 'MS Found in a Bottle', for example, invites the reader to take part in a fantastic adventure in the midst of the stormy ocean. On the other hand, the plot unfolds very quickly, leaving no time for reasoning and meditation, keeping the senses heightened and sharp. Thus the perception of horror deepens and strengthens. Short forms of a short story bind the reader to pay closer attention to every word, to every comma and exclamation mark. Words used to create the atmosphere of terror and mystery become more colourful, more significant and