“A fearful idea now suddenly drove the
blood in torrents upon my heart, and for a brief period I once more relapsed
into insensibility. Upon recovering, I at once started to my feet, trembling
convulsively in every fiber” (Poe 265). This quote is not something that would
typically be thought of as romantic, but this quote gives an example of what
Romanticism is. The dark, mysterious, physiological thrill is exactly what
Romanticism writing embodied, and exactly what “The Pit and the Pendulum” describes
as we see the narrator go through intense struggle to save his life while
trying to figure out what was going on around him. Poe’s short story
exemplifies Romanticism, and more specifically Dark Romanticism in several
ways.
To begin, one overall Romanticism trait
the short story has is its very descriptive wording. The way Poe writes gives
such specific details the reader can almost feel, smell, and sense what the
character is feeling. When the narrator awakes to discover the pendulum
swooshing closer and colder to his chest, Poe describes it in such a way the
reader can almost feel every heart beat of the narrator getting faster and faster
in anxiety and fear. This type of descriptive writing was a very common trait
of the Romanticism time period.
Additionally, Dark Romanticism
traits are also exemplified in “The Pit and the Pendulum”. A major emphasis in
this kind of romanticism writing is physiological fear, emotions, and mystery.
It is safe to say that all of these points are shown in Poe’s short story. The
narrator is put through this prolonged torturous death, with this pit and
pendulum used to force the man to fight for his life or face the painful death
(Poe). The fear this puts on the man in addition to the fading from conscious to
not make this even more of a challenge. He must wake himself from the befuddled
haze of the drugged water enough in order to defend himself against the next
strike thrown at him. In addition, emotions play a huge role in these fears as
he must decide to fight, how to do it, or just give up. The fear itself is enough
to make a person not able to function and make rational, quick decisions. Along
with that he must deal with the death he faces. He does not even want to open
his eyes because the emotions from the fear of what surrounds him are too great
to handle (Poe 265). Overall, characteristic of mystery ties all of these
elements into one great fearful situation of unknown circumstances faced by the
narrator as he is thrown into this undiscovered chamber (Poe). This situation is
so fearful for him; the way he deals with it is really a test of his character
and nature.
Furthermore, this short story brings
out an additional characteristic of Dark Romanticism. The human nature of the
people being put though these physiological fears and mysteries are observed
and described in this style of literature. Poe explains what is going through
the narrator’s head as he is being nudged closer and closer to the put. This
vivid description was something the people of the time had never really seen
before, which made it all the more intriguing. The reader never knows what will
happen next, how the man will handle it, and if he will still continue to fight
(Poe).
Overall, the writing of Poe in “The
Pit and the Pendulum” very much so exemplifies the Romanticism period, and Dark
Romanticism characteristics. The way the story is so vividly detailed and mysteriously
attention holding give the story an overall sense of human nature and fear,
exactly the Romanticism style. Poe does a beautiful job of detailing each and
every feeling the narrator has as he goes through this physiological fearful
situation.
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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