illustration of a blade on the end of a pendulum swinging above a man's head

The Pit and the Pendulum

by Edgar Allan Poe

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The Pit and the Pendulum

In "The Pit and the Pendulum," Edgar Allan Poe employs various literary devices to enhance suspense and thematic depth. These include a faux epigraph to set the historical context, first-person...

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The Pit and the Pendulum

General Lasalle's arrival in "The Pit and the Pendulum" seems like a lucky coincidence, but it is intended to be more allegorical than realistic. The dramatic rescue, marked by apocalyptic imagery...

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The Pit and the Pendulum

"The Pit and the Pendulum" alludes to the Spanish Inquisition through references to "condemned cells at Toledo" and "inquisitorial voices," which evoke the historical tribunal's notorious practices....

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