IB English
October 11th, 2012
October 11th, 2012
Commentary: “The Pit
and the Pendulum”
The
40 lines of “The Pit and the Pendulum” by Edgar Allan Poe make clear that true
horror is not the physical experience of death, but the moment in panic when
one realizes that there is no choice but to die. The first person narrator
emerges out of despair but reaches a state of hopefulness despite the threat of
the pendulum. Through figurative language, Poe crafted a text that makes the
reader feel the sensations of the narrator and the atmosphere in which he is
situated: A terrible, panic-evoking torture.
The narrator seems completely present with his mind and strictly examines how the pendulum makes its way more and more close to him. It is notable that he claimed at the beginning of the short story that he has lost the capacity of sensation, but in this excerpt it is obvious that he has a sharp perception. The despair and anxiety of the narrator becomes clear through “proximity of the steel (line 28)” he describes. He knows that the pendulum will eventually kill him, which makes him panic. His feelings are emphasized by the anaphora “down (line 1, line 6, line 12),” because it emphasizes suspense and creates a dangerous, pinnacling atmosphere. While observing the pendulum “steadily cre(eping down) (line 1),” he personifies the pendulum and compares it with a tiger of “stealthy pace (line 3)” and a “damned spirit (line 3).” Despite his fright, however, he is still capable of thinking quite rationally. For example, he calculates that “some ten or twelve vibrations would bring the steel in actual contact with my robe.” After that observation, he begins to think, “for the first time during many hours (or) days (line 23-24)” as he claims. He realizes that he has gained hope, especially after “the unformed half of (an) idea of deliverance” appears to him. Although in the given 40 lines the reader does not get to know what exactly the narrator’s idea is, one assumes that he is somehow going to unwind himself and detach “the bandage, or surcingle, that enveloped (line 25)” him. This creates a shift in the atmosphere; now there is still the sense of danger, but a glimmer of audacity, determination, and willful hope have joined.
It is unusual for Edgar Allan Poe to end a story hopeful like this. Apart from this abnormity, the story is similarly horrid. At first one is not completely certain whether the narrator will survive or will be killed by getting sliced in half by the swinging pendulum because Poe creates so much suspense and panic. His usage of many rhetorical devices chain the reader to the story just like the narrator is chained to the wooden board.
The narrator seems completely present with his mind and strictly examines how the pendulum makes its way more and more close to him. It is notable that he claimed at the beginning of the short story that he has lost the capacity of sensation, but in this excerpt it is obvious that he has a sharp perception. The despair and anxiety of the narrator becomes clear through “proximity of the steel (line 28)” he describes. He knows that the pendulum will eventually kill him, which makes him panic. His feelings are emphasized by the anaphora “down (line 1, line 6, line 12),” because it emphasizes suspense and creates a dangerous, pinnacling atmosphere. While observing the pendulum “steadily cre(eping down) (line 1),” he personifies the pendulum and compares it with a tiger of “stealthy pace (line 3)” and a “damned spirit (line 3).” Despite his fright, however, he is still capable of thinking quite rationally. For example, he calculates that “some ten or twelve vibrations would bring the steel in actual contact with my robe.” After that observation, he begins to think, “for the first time during many hours (or) days (line 23-24)” as he claims. He realizes that he has gained hope, especially after “the unformed half of (an) idea of deliverance” appears to him. Although in the given 40 lines the reader does not get to know what exactly the narrator’s idea is, one assumes that he is somehow going to unwind himself and detach “the bandage, or surcingle, that enveloped (line 25)” him. This creates a shift in the atmosphere; now there is still the sense of danger, but a glimmer of audacity, determination, and willful hope have joined.
It is unusual for Edgar Allan Poe to end a story hopeful like this. Apart from this abnormity, the story is similarly horrid. At first one is not completely certain whether the narrator will survive or will be killed by getting sliced in half by the swinging pendulum because Poe creates so much suspense and panic. His usage of many rhetorical devices chain the reader to the story just like the narrator is chained to the wooden board.
No comments:
Post a Comment