Irony Essay (Poe)
The Pit and the Pendulum
In the story, The Pit and Pendulum, Poe had a lot of things going to help keep interest of the reader. Irony played a vital role within the text to make the plot intense and hold the readers attention. In particular there were examples of verbal, and dramatic irony throughout the story.
Verbal irony is the difference between what a character says and what the character actually means. Within the story they’re some distinct examples of verbal irony. For instance, there was a point where when he first reached the pit or place of imprisonment and he says, “What of it there remained I will not attempt to define, or even to describe; yet all was not lost. In the deepest slumber -- no! In delirium -- no! In a swoon -- no! In death -- no! Even in the grave all was not lost. Even though he said he would not attempt to describe he did exactly that to show the situation he is was in, which was actually quite comical.
Furthermore, Poe uses situational irony, which is the shocking difference between what is expected and what actually happens. For example, throughout the story he fell asleep or lost consciousness. Upon waking there’s was always something for him to eat or drink, until towards the end where he only received water. Even then he still received something, which is ironic in the sense that prisoners are usually tortured or starved but his only punishment for the moment was the torture of the darkness and uncertainty. For the most part he was well nourished and able to eat every time he awoke from whatever state he was in.
As you can see irony was a huge part of Edgar Allan Poe’s literature. In particular, The Pit and the Pendulum, contains situational irony and verbal irony as well throughout the story. Irony, which is the use of words to convey a meaning opposite of its literal meaning is great tool used amongst authors worldwide. Poe used this literary tool to keep the readers interest and create a suspenseful,...