摘 要

埃德加·爱伦·坡是美国文学中的先锋作家之一，他以创作哥特式小说闻名。本论文旨在通过对坡经典的哥特式短篇小说《一桶白葡萄酒》的研究，分析爱伦·坡为了营造出哥特效果而采用的独特艺术手法，主要包括紧凑的情节设置、古怪病态的主人公、阴森恐怖的背景设定。这也体现了爱伦·坡恐怖小说极高的文学技巧和艺术魅力。

关键词：埃德加·爱伦·坡；《一桶白葡萄酒》；哥特效果；艺术手法

Contents

1. Introduction------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1

2. Demonstration---------------------------------------------------------------------------------3

2.1 The gothic effect achieved by the compact plotting ------------------------------------3

2.1.1 The “confessional” ending correlated with the revengeful beginning--------------3

2.1.2 The progressive plot of the grotesque walling-up of Fortunato --------------------4

2.1.3 The open ending of Fortunato ----------------------------------------------------------5

2.2 The gothic effect created by the eccentric and psychopathic characters ------------5

2.2.1 The malicious, monster-like Montresor -----------------------------------------------6

2.2.2 The ignorant, never-fortunate Fortunato ----------------------------------------------7

2.2.3 The conversations between the two characters -------------------------------------- 7

2.3 The gothic effect rendered by the gloomy atmosphere and setting-------------------8

2.3.1 The terror of Montresor’s house --------------------------------------------------------9

2.3.2 The terror of the corridor-----------------------------------------------------------------9

2.3.3 The terror of the deep vault ------------------------------------------------------------10

3. Conclusion------------------------------------------------------------------------------------11

Works Cited-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------12

Bibliography------------------------------------------------------------------------------------13

On the Construction of the Gothic Effect in Edgar Allan Poe’s The Cask of Amontillado

1. Introduction

Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849) is a nineteenth-century American poet, short story writer and literary critic. He enjoys a special position in the history of American literature because he has made great contributions to American literature and world literature. He was the first American writer to write the true Gothic novel as well as the first to illustrate the theory of Gothic fiction creation systematically.

Born in Boston, Poe was the second child of two actors. His father abandoned the family in 1810, and his mother died the following year. Thus orphaned, the child was taken in by John and Frances Allan, of Richmond, Virginia. Poe attended the University of Virginia for one semester but left due to lack of money. Poe quarreled with Allan over the funds for his education and enlisted in the Army in 1827 under an assumed name. It was at this time that his publishing career began, albeit humbly, with an anonymous collection of poems Tamerlane and Other Poems (1827) credited only to “a Bostonian”. Later failing as an officer’s cadet at West Point and declaring a firm wish to be a poet and writer, Poe parted ways with John Allan. Poe switched his focus to prose and spent the next several years working for literary journals and periodicals, becoming known for his own style of literary criticism. Later, he acquired a great success in novels, and published a series of famous works, such as The Fall of the House of Usher, Ligeia, The Murders in the Rue Morgue, People in the Crowd. His work forced him to move among several cities, including Baltimore, Philadelphia and New York City. In January 1845, Poe published his poem The Raven to instant success. His wife died of tuberculosis two years after its publication. For years, he had been planning to produce his own journal The Penn (later renamed The Stylus), though he died before it could be produced. On October 7, 1849, at age 40, Poe died in Baltimore. The precise cause of his death is still unknown and has been variously attributed to alcohol, brain congestion, drugs, heart disease, suicide, tuberculosis and other agents.

As a prolific writer, Poe has written many works in his short life, including poems, novels, detective stories and gothic stories. Gothic stories have brought Poe an international fame. One of his classic gothic stories The Cask of Amontillado was written in 1846 as a successful short story in Poe’s later writing period. The story is told in the first person point of view. Montresor, the narrator, is confessing his crime to a silent audience, describing vividly the whole process of the murder of Fortunato committed by him 50 years ago. Most studies concerning this story probe into it from the perspectives of symbolism, writing skills, narrative skills etc. This paper focuses on the construction of the gothic effect in this short story.