Abstract

ABSTRACT:

Critics and authors alike have labeled Edgar Allan Poe a master of horror fiction, foregrounding in particular his creation and deployment of the affect of terror. In his 1846 essay, "The Philosophy of Composition," Poe discloses a relevant principle: rather than following "the usual mode of constructing a story" by focusing on plot, he "prefer[s] commencing with the consideration of an effect." This emphasis on "effect" is crucial to understanding Poe's ability to create terror. But how was he able to imbue his work with an affect strong enough to trigger the transmission of terror so successfully across his texts? To explain the origin of Poe's terror, it might seem obvious to point to his preoccupation with death, to his inherently creepy interest in macabre topics. But these are the stuff of narrative—of plot—and the writer has given us cause to go beyond such explanation. In this article, I employ methods of data analysis and close reading—focused on "The Fall of the House of Usher" (1839) and "The Premature Burial" (1844)—to address the question, paying close attention to Poe's deployment of overwhelming sensorial description and perspectival variety in his fiction.

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