The Pit and the Pendulum
by Edgar Allan Poe
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See Also
- Theory of Short Fiction (Critical Survey of Short Fiction, Second Revised Edition)
- Edgar Allan Poe (Dictionary of World Biography: The 19th Century)
- Edgar Allan Poe (Critical Survey of Mystery & Detective Fiction, Revised Edition)
- Edgar Allan Poe (Critical Survey of Short Fiction, Second Revised Edition)
- Edgar Allan Poe (Critical Survey of Poetry: American Poets)
- Edgar Allan Poe (Cyclopedia of World Authors, Fourth Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Edgar Allan Poe
- First Published: 1842
- Type of Plot: Gothic
- Time of Work: May, 1808
- Setting: Toledo, Spain
- Characters: The narrator, The narrator’s unseen tormentors, General Lasalle
- Genres: Short fiction, Gothic fiction, Horror literature
- Subjects: Religion, Death or dying, Cruelty, Time
- Locales: Europe, Spain, Toledo, Spain
The Story
The first-person narrator informs the reader that he is trying to recall and write down everything that happened to him earlier. He describes the Spanish Inquisition’s sentencing him to death, a sentence that he could not understand because of his extremely nervous state. When he regained consciousness temporarily, he felt himself being carried down and down into an apparent abyss. Later, when he was fully conscious, he knew that he was lying on his back in an oppressive, damp environment. Finally daring to open his eyes and finding himself in absolute darkness, he...
(The entire page is 1277 words.)
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