Edgar Allen Poe’s short story, “The Pit and the Pendulum” is heavily descriptive and suspenseful in the most extreme level. The story is centered around a mans questioning his very sanity and perception of the conscious world. As this man endures the promise of death and questionable, torturous situations, Poe's character is forced to deal with the guilt of his unnamed crime. The mysteriousness of Poe's writing style creates a feeling of the darkness exemplified in the era of Dark Romanticism. This aspect of Romanticism is filled greatly with suspense and darkened, warped views on human life and situations. This story shows this nature in the tone, mood, and the dark views of his main character.
The mood of the short story is obvious even in the very first parts of the story. His first sentence is a perfect example of the way he writes most of his works. He describes the character as sick, dying, and in agony (Poe 263). The struggles of the main character are clear straight from the introduction. It is clear that the tone is dark and gloomy. You know right from the start that the author is trying to create a negative, tense feeling. You are directed into the psychological aspect of the character, rather than his behaviors and actions. The fear he feels is obvious and extreme as the reader is introduced to the fact that the character is going through a legal matter in which it is quite possible that he could be sentenced to death (Poe 263). The terms he chooses are also used to portray the feelings of the Dark Romanticism era. Some of the words he commonly uses are "agony," "death," "torture," and "horror," which make the reader realize a greater sense of the initial tone (Poe 263-275).
This short story goes deeper into the human mind than others of different eras. You get to see what actually happens when people are compromised and lose a sense of true reality. The main character is using only animal instinct and the small sense of rational thought to try and solve his problems. This leaves the reader in a state of constant curiosity and causes you to wonder how far he will end up going. May creates a perfect description of the problems being dealt with my the character. “The narrator's task is simply to save himself, but in order to survive he must know where he is; the first crucial task he undertakes is to try to orient himself. However, his efforts are complicated by his moving back and forth between sleep and waking; each time he falls asleep, he must reorient himself all over again," (May). As you can see, the character never really knows what is real and what is not.
It is obvious that the author had a direct message to give when writing "The Pit and the Pendulum," but there is an underlying, thought-provoking effect given to the reader. It almost leave the reader questioning his or her own consciousness, questioning reality and delusion. The messages hidden behind the text will never be completely clear.
May, Charles E. "In Edgar Allan Poe: A Study of Short Fiction- Alternate Forms of Reality" Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1991, Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishing, 1998. (Updated 2007.) Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= BMSSEP39&SingleRecord=True (accessed November 4, 2012).
Poe, Edgar A. "The Pit and the Pedullum." Glencoe Literature. Ed. Jeffery D. Wilhelm. Columbus: McGraw-Hill, 2009. 263-73. Print.
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