On The Elements Of Horror In Edgar A.Poe's Short Stories

Edgar A. Poe is the master of the horror literature, and his representative works such as Berenice, The Black Cat, The Tell-Tale Heart, and The Fall of the House of Usher are regarded as the classics in the American literature. The key feature of these works is the omnipresent elements of horror.Scrutinizing the elements of horror in Poe's short stories, we can easily find the root of these horrors lies in Poe's miserable life, and the omnipresence of the elements of horror is exactly the application of Poe's literary principles in his short stories, which is mainly about the realization of the expecting effect in the process of reading. And based on the classification and interpretation of Poe's five types of elements of horror, we find Poe's intention of using these elements is to achieve the purpose of effect and to express his personal consciousness and unconsciousness as well. Because of the fact that reading process is the readers' subjective imagination and reformation from the plots in the short stories, the elements of horror in Poe's short stories are functioning well in this system. Though their deep meaning neglected by the readers in his time, Poe's elements of horror are imitated, studied, and developed by his followers till today.Part One of this thesis introduces Edgar A. Poe's life and the fact that the elements of horror can be found almost in every piece of Poe's short stories as a main feature, especially in his representatives. And exactly these elements of horror originate in Poe's life, at the same time they are the vehicle to express Poe's principle of literary creation.Part Two mainly illustrates five types of elements of horror in Poe's short stories, which are imagery and symbolisms suggesting horror, the synchronization of peak and emotional explosion, the description of dark unconsciousness, the description of the death and resurrection of beauty and the trapped and helpless 'I'. Among these elements of horror, we can also find Poe's aesthetical opinion and philosophical belief towards his life expressed in his writing.Part Three shows the readers' psychology as the factors affecting the functioning system based on the essence of reading process, which is exactly readers' subjective reformation from the text. And due to the readers' instinct of fear, the readers' concealed evil unconsciousness and the readers' expectation of the shocking entertainment, Poe's short stories functionefficiently to horrify the readers.Part Four, by illustrating and analyzing the applications of Poetic elements of horror in fictions and movies, shows the imitation and development of the elements of horror by Poe's disciples.In Part Five the conclusion is drawn that the significance and effectiveness of Poe's elements of horror in short stories are based on the nature of them, and the principles of Poe's literary composition. Poe's style has made his works model to his followers to express their ideas in a more direct and effective way. The consequence of the elements of horror in Poe's story is not only their entertaining function but also the fact that we may have more profound comprehension of the nature of horror of our own, and its illustration in the society.