Comparing the ways Edgar Allen Poe and Bram Stoker convey horror through writing Essay

Through this essay you will see how although the writing style of Edgar Allen Poe in The Black regurgitate and the style of Bram stoker in The Judges House is completely different, they both manage to achieve the homogeneous effect leaving the proofreader anxious, excited, mystified and scared. both these authors stories were pen before the nineteen hundreds, a period when people were just understanding the ways the world works. In this time abuse stories were precise popular.The byice of both Poems is different. In The black range Poe writes in a stolon person perspective immediately I die and tomorrow I would unburden my soul. Where as Stoker writes in a third person perspectiveMalcolm Malcolmson made up his mind. The use of third person in this story displays the feelings of more than than one character and you can build up more cultism than first person by using devices such as rhetorical questions by other characters for example when Mrs Cranford cries non the Ju dges house it urinates the feeling of repugnance and helplessness.First person perspective makes you feel sorrow for the character. If Edgar Allen Poe had written the black cat in Third person perspective You wouldnt get the emphasis of his emotions, how he feels regret of what he has done, fear of this refreshed animal and superstitious approximately the strange print on the wall. For example, when he writes gradually, very gradually I came to look up on it with unutterable loathing. This genuinely emphasises the hated of the animal, an emotion that would non have been able to have been shown to that extent in third person. It is alike more believable as it is through the nerve centerball of the beholder.At the start of the black cat Poe starts off very secretively, he writes of something horrible that has followed to him, but he will not expand on what this occurrent isThese events have terrified, tortured and destroyed me. This suspense adds to the mystery of the firs t scene. Poe writes, tomorrow I die exhibit something horrible has happened to him. The situation that this is not in chronological order keep you wondering through step forward the story what is going to happen and keeps you in suspense. It also keeps you trying to link the current storyline to death, for example, when it says about the brand-new catIt was a black cat a very large cat-fully as large as Pluto and closely resembling him you are call backing how this new cat could be linked to his death.Stoker, however has a very different approach to build up mystery. He uses setting whereas Poe does not. When he describes the lodgings he describes it as a gothic residencewith heavy gables and small windows set higher than was customary in such houses. Gothic residences have always been associated with death and fear in horror movies. He describes the resolution as emptydesolation was the only term for conveying a suitable idea of its closing off the idea of a desolate empty p lace is the perfect setting for a horror story. The fact that the house has been empty for so long indicates something dreadful has happened there. The locals all seem to know something dreadful about the house. It seems that Malcolm is the only person who doesnt know whats going on there. When Mrs Cranford cries at him not the resolve house it creates a feeling of dread for what is going to happen to Mr Malcolmson.Poe uses superstition to add to the mystery. The first small-minded bit of superstition is when he reveals that his married woman believes that all black cats are witches in disguise. This brief, initial mental institution of superstition creates mystery in your head, and it makes you retrieve, what if black cats are really witches in disguise.When the cat imprint appears on the wall, the character tries to dismiss the ghostly natural event with a far fetched logical write up. He tries to say that soul tossed the hanging corpse of the cat in through the window to try and wake him up. He thence tried to say that because the wall was freshly spread plaster, it did not fall down. He said that the ammonium hydroxide from the carcass had made the impression on the wall. Edgar Allen Poe had purposely made this string of events unbelievable so that the reader would know that there was something strange going on. I think that the imprint was a attribute that the cat was not dead and that it was an omen that it was going to come back to haunt him.The new cat was very suspicious, the fact that it looked a lot like Pluto made you think that it was a demonic type of Pluto. The cat gets more and more attached to him but he is reluctant to interact with it because he feels the supernatural element of this situation. He begins to hate the cat and the fact that it is always around himIts evident fondness for myself kinda disgusted and annoyed me but he wont harm the cat for fear of what will happen and regret of his previous crimeat times although I lon ged to destroy it with a blow I was withheld from doing so partly by memory of my former crime but chiefly let me knowledge it at once by absolute dread of the beast. The fact that it wont leave him alone, and that drives him mad and more angry makes it seem like the new cat is testing his willpower to leave it alone. His fear grows as the cat follows his every step.The only difference between Pluto and the new cat was a white splodge on its belly. It turns out later that this splodge is actually a pattern of gallows. The image grows in size until the character can intelligibly make out the image. his realisation of what this means is clearly shown in this quote Gallows oh mournful and terrible engine of horror and crime of agony and of death. He has established his fate death. He feels remorse for what he had done to Pluto. He knows that this beast is an image of Pluto. A symbol of goda brute beast to work out for me-for me, a man fashioned in the image of the high god o h insufferable woe He believes its is god in disguise of a catStoker also uses supernatural elements. Every night the tooshies come out and make a lot of noise. They political campaign up and down the alarm bell. They all stop suddenly a run away as a giant rat comes down the alarm bell. The rats are scared of this big rat indicating that this rat is evil. Stokers description of the rat makes it sound evilIt showed its great white teeth and its roughshod look shone in the lamplight. When Malcolmson throws a book at the creature to try and scare it, but it does not flinch. But when he throws a bible at the rat it scampers away. This indication of good/evil shows that the rat is evil. It is well known that Satanic beings such as this rat fear holy objects such as a bible and a cross.When Malcolmson realises that the rats eyes are identical to the picture of the Judge the figure of the sound out disappears. He then turns round and sees the judge. The judge smiled in a cruel wayWi th his baleful eyes glaring vindictively, and a smile of triumph on his faceThe judge does not say lots in this last scene, I think this is important. Stoker did this so his character was not totally revealed. He remained a mysterious character.The descriptions of horror in The Black cat are very in prescienceI grasped the poor beast by its throat and purposely cut out one of its eyes from its socket.. He doesnt linger on this for long. These shock tactics really build up the horror in this story by making you feel horrified and shocked. Another example of this is when he kills his wifeI withdrew my arm from her grasp, and buried the axe in her brain. This again shows the shock tactics use when describing the horror scenes.His violence gets gradually worsened. All his violence is triggered by anger or drinkThrough the instrumentality of the fiend intemperance had (I blush to confess it)experiences a radical alteration for the worst. I grew day by day more moody, more irritable re gardless for the feeling of others. First he verbally abuses his wife, this turns to corporeal violence towards his wife and animals except PlutoI suffered myself to use intemperate language towards my wife. At aloofness I even offered her personal violence. My pets of course were made to feel the change in my disposition. I not only neglected, but ill-used them. Then he cut out Plutos eye when he scrammed him on the face. This again is due to him drinking. Poe writes one night, returning home much intoxicated. The delinquency of doing this to Pluto and the sadness that it once had loved him got to him and he hung the cat in cold bloodI hung it with tears streaming from my eyes this shows his remorse when hanging him. The guilt of what he had done prevented him from hurting the new cat, until one day when the cat nearly tripped him up in the cellar he grabbed and axe, but his wife prevented him from killing by grabbing the axe. He then split her head open with the axe. The viole nce gradually gets worse and worse, building up the horror as it goes along.Stoker uses less graphic description, but instead uses reactions of characters to create the fearnot the judges house. This, I think is one of the main advantages of introducing characters into the dapple. A prejudice is that it can take the focus of the main character.They both use pattering to create fear in their stories. In the Judges house the same thing happens every night. He drinks too much tea, then out came the rats making all the noise and finally they all stopped when the large rat emerged. This also happens in the black cat. His violent acts are all triggered by alcohol. Pattering creates suspense, which in turn makes you wonder how does this link with what is happening in the story.The two writers both use logical explanations to try and explain why these things are happening. In the black cat, The character makes up a ludicrous explanation to explain why there was an imprint on the wall. He tries to say that someone must have thrown the cat through the window in an attempt to wake him up. He says that the wall didnt fall down because it had just been askew and that the ammonia from the carcass has made the imprint on the wall. In The Judges house Malcolmsons explanation for all the events that are happening is that he was drinking too much tea and it was making him delusional. Both of these are deliberately far fetched so that the reader knows that something super natural is going on.Stoker uses a more descriptive style in his writing. He describes the scene, the hold out and the people in far more depth than PoeThe carving of the oak on the panels of the wainscot was fine, and on and round the windows and doors it was beautiful and of rare virtuousness. I prefer the descriptive writing of Stoker because it creates an image in your mind. Especially with the weather. Stoker uses the weather to great effect. When the thunder was lashing down toy could tell something b ad was going to happen. This effect is used in a lot of horror stories.In my opinion, I prefer Stokers method of creating horror. I think the introduction of characters brings in a new element to the story. It creates an atmosphere of bewilderment and isolation. I say isolation because everyone seemed to know what was going on but Mr Malcolmson.However, as a whole I think I preferred The Black cat by Edgar Allen Poe. I think this is because I am used to in advance(p) stories, and this storyline is a bit more advanced and modernised than The Judges House. As I am used to modern horror stories I can relate to this story better. I think that the plot has some realism to it, more so that Stokers story. I dont think Stokers story was linked together very well and it all seemed a bit distant.