The Pit and the Pendulum

The Pit and the Pendulum by Edgar Allen Poe is a story about a guy that is in jail. It is a story about his feelings in jail and how he feels about it (Poe). It is a good example of dark romanticism. It is because the guy is sad because he is in jail. If I was in jail, and in the line to die, I would be sad also. Dark Romanticism is a romantic view of life just dark and more depressing. Dark Romanticism is a form of writing that concentrates on sin and self destruction (Dark Romanticism). This means that the writer has their characters in their stories go through a time of turmoil and the have a deep self revelation of who they are and how they are evil. It is kind of scary. I do not like dark romanticism that much. I am much more of a fan of the idea that many things can happen, being happy with nature and not looking for things to call the devil or satin. Romanticism before it was dark was happy and revolved around nature and going with your own thoughts, just like Transcendentalism. It is a very powerful thing and it also can go with Self Fulfilling prophecy. I learned that in Psychology and Romanticist writers went through this. The dark Romanticists are not like this. If they did follow out what they thought and wrote down it would not be a pretty site because there would be devil and bad things all over the place and the whole world would be in extreme chaos. In the story the Pit and the Pendulum, Poe talks about how if a man dies what goes with him to the grave. He also questioned if there is anywhere for a man to go when he is dead. This is dark romanticism because he is questioning the reader on their beliefs and bringing up the question to the table about what happens after death. This is a very deep and personal question. Everybody has different beliefs on what is going to happen to them when they die. Some believe that their bodies go back into the earth, some believe they reincarnate and become animals, and some believe that they will go to heaven with God and live in his kingdom. Another example of dark romanticism is when Poe wrote that the character was thinking "Was I left to perish of starvation in subterranean world of darkness?" (Poe). This shows dark Romanticism because he is referring to nature in a negative way. Romanticism dealt with a lot of nature, that is what it was mainly focused on. It is dark because he is talking about a dark world. A dark world is a scary world where you can not see anything and you do not know what is happening. Poe uses a lot of examples of dark romanticism in the writing of the book "The Pit and the Pendulum". I liked the story!!



Poe, Edgar Allen. "The Pit and the Pendulum." Glencoe Literature. By Jeffery D. Wilhelm. and Douglas Fisher. Vol.American English. New York: Glencoe McGraw Hill, 2009. 263-273. Print.

"Dark Romanticism - New World Encyclopedia." Info:Main Page - New World Encyclopedia. Web. 30 Nov. 2010tp://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Dark_romanticism#Characteristics>.