The Pit and the Pendulum

Edgar Allen Poe, the author of "The Pit and the Pendulum", was a writer during the Romanticism period of American literature. The Romanticism period was a time when writings were based on emotion and elements that caused emotion."The Pit and the Pendulum's" supernatural elements, mystery, and use of fear are some characteristics of Romanticism and create emotion. 

One characteristic of Romanticism that "The Pit and the Pendulum" contains is supernatural elements. The supernatural in this story makes it very creepy and heightens the emotions of the reader. This is critical in Romantic writing styles because it is all about human emotion over logic. An example of supernatural elements in this story is when the main character is describing his judgement at the Spanish Inquisition (263). In "The Pit and the Pendulum" the main character, who remains nameless throughout the story, says, "I saw the lips of the black-robed judges. They appeared to me white, whiter than the sheet upon which I trace these words, and thin even to grotesqueness; thin with the intensity of their expression of firmness, of immovable resolution, of stern contempt of human torture. I saw that the decrees of what to me was fate were still issuing from those lips." (Poe 263). This description of the judges makes them seem like hideous monsters (Poe 263). From this description the reader is just imagining a person made of horrible and gross lips declaring the main character's fate. By making the judges appear more supernatural then human Poe expresses the character's absolute fear. It is also an emotional appeal to the reader to sympathize with the character in his experience in the prison.

Supernatural elements, however, is not the only characteristic of Romanticism in "The Pit and the Pendulum". This story also includes mystery, which is a property of Romanticism. Mystery can be seen often in this story. For example, in the story many things are very vague such as the character's name. The reader also does not know what the character did to receive such a punishment, or even who is behind the scenes watching the main character and inflicting the tortures upon him (Poe 272).  At one point the reader is unsure whether the character is dreaming or not (May). The use of mystery in the story heightens the readers interest in the story. The reader wants to know all of these things that Poe is not telling, and it makes them keep reading so they can eventually find out. Poe, however, does not give in and never resolves the mystery of the place the main character was in. 

In addition to supernatural elements and mystery, "The Pit and the Pendulum" also uses fear which makes it a writing of Romanticism. Fear may be important in Romanticism writings because it is very emotional. Fear is irrational and can not sorted out by logic. This may appealed to writers of the Romanticism period because it was the something that the writers of the Rationalism period could not work out with their logic and very emotional. Since logic can not get rid of fear, it places fear and other emotions over reason. An example of fear in this story is when the character is afraid of the rats crawling all over him (Poe 272). The main character is terrified of the rats, but he cannot move because he is tied up and the pendulum with the blade is getting closer to him (Poe 272). This means that the character must get over his fear of rats or die an awful death by the pendulum (Poe 272). The character chooses to conquer his fear and calms himself down (Poe 272). When he calms down he finds that the rats have chewed through his bondage (Poe 272). This enables the character to get out of the way of the swinging pendulum before it skewers him (Poe 272). This shows the individual conquering fear. Since the character was able to work out his fears emotionally he was able to win in the end. This shows that Poe felt that the emotions of the individual could conquer fear. The fear also engages the emotions of the reader and make them feel connected through the story because they too fear and can empathize with the character. 

In conclusion, "The Pit and the Pendulum" contain many characteristics of Romanticism. These characteristics include supernatural elements, mystery, and fear. By using all of these elements, Poe was able to evoke emotion, which was the main goal of Romanticism writers. 

Bibliography: 

May, Charles E. "Alternate Realms of Reality." In Edgar Allan Poe: A Study of Short Fiction. Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1991, pp. 96–97. Quoted as "Dreams and Reality in the Story" in Harold Bloom, ed. Edgar Allan Poe, Bloom's Major Short Story Writers. 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 5, 2012).

Poe, Edgar Allen. "The Pit and the Pendulum." Glencoe American Literature. N.p.: McGraw Hill, 2009. 263-73. Print.