An Edgar Allan Poe Syllabus
A self-study guide to suspense with a master
Ben and I recently watched The Fall of the House of Usher, the latest Mike Flanagan installment on Netflix (The Haunting of Hill House, Midnight Mass, and more). Each episode was named for a piece of writing by Edgar Allan Poe, and the show borrowed many names, images, and full stories from the old master of suspense. I enjoyed the show well enough but it fell a little flat for me compared to some of Flanagan’s other stuff. I started off trying to analyze what hadn’t worked for me but quickly realized all I really wanted to do was go back to the master himself—Poe—for self-study.
Here are a handful of Poe’s short stories, all free to read online. Each is suspenseful1 and there is a throughline in common with the show: themes of justice or just deserts. There are probably other Poe classics that fit the bill; these are just the ones I’d already read!
So, here is a syllabus of sorts for studying suspense from an early great. Each story is a one-sitting read, and I’ve posed some questions to ask yourself after you’ve finished. I think it would be worth it to do this for only one story, but more if you have time!
And a final thought before you embark: if you’re a suspense writer (or just a nerd), you may want to track what you’re feeling as you read the story—interest, intrigue, dread, excitement, horror, actual fear? Scribble it on a notepad as you read or print the story and write in the margins, you know? Really study the thing if you’re going to take the time to read it!
“The Tell-Tale Heart”
What did you feel as you read and finished the story? Do you think Poe achieved his intended effect? (If you noted your feelings as you read, review those notes now!)
How does this narrator’s voice and attitude affect your reading? How did you feel as the narrator detailed how carefully he went about the preparation and the actual murder of the old man?
Did his use of the senses engage your own? When the old man’s heart pounded in the dark, aware that he was in danger, did you feel your own beat faster? Could you hear the heartbeat? See the eye?
How did Poe build suspense before the murder? Did you feel relief when the old man was finally dead, only to feel the tension start building again as the narrator’s mood changed?
Did the narrator’s guilty conscience make the story more suspenseful? Was there a part of him that wanted to be caught? Who is the narrator trying to convince of his sanity? (Who are “you” in the story?)
“The Cask of Amontillado”
When did you know what was going to happen?
How did you feel at the end of the opening lines? When he chained Fortunato? When only Fortunato’s bells answered his last call?
Is this a reliable narrator? How does Poe tell you whether this narrator can be believed? How does your understanding of the narrator’s reliability influence the emotions you feel as you read? (Go back and re-read the opening and closing for easy fodder. E.g. When his heart grows sick “on account of the dampness.”)
Is it just me, or does the word “impunity” slap so hard in the opening paragraph? The narrator’s family motto, written in Latin in the story, is “no one attacks me with impunity.” What makes this word choice so strong?
Is this a story of revenge, or something else? How does your sense of justice influence what you feel as you read?
Did your feelings about Fortunato or the narrator change, and can you track when the changes happened?
Compare and contrast: “Hop-Frog”
This one was recommended by an English teacher friend (hi Lauren!) and it’s a great compare-and-contrast piece for the “Cask of Amontillado,” if you’re already familiar with that one.
Where is the terror/horror in this story?
When did you know what was going to happen?
How did you feel toward the characters at the start and end of the story?
Compare and contrast with Cask of Amontillado. Think: narrator’s believability; characters’ and reader’s sense of justice; where is the emotion coming from?2
“The Black Cat”
Was this story suspenseful to you, and if so, where and how? Did it come from waiting to see what would happen to the housemates of this madman, waiting to see whether you’d get to see him caught, or something else?
How did Poe build dread from the opening paragraph?
As per often with Poe, was this a reliable narrator? How did that affect your experience? (Is an unstable narrator more suspenseful?)
Did the ending surprise you? Did the fate of the wife, or the narrator?
Was the first cat real? Was the second?
Did you hate him more for killing the cat or his wife? Why? Did he care more about his cat or his wife? How can you tell?
Meanwhile, I’ll be reading a few Poe pieces this fall that were clearly referenced in the series that I haven’t ever read. I plan to do similar homework!
Did you watch The Fall of the House of Usher, or do you plan to? Have you read any of these short stories, or will you now that your teacher has assigned them?
Personally, I found each of these stories suspenseful back when I first read them. Even on a re-read, I found my heart pounding as I drew closer to certain lines and images that had stuck with me.
To me, in “The Cask of Amontillado,” revenge is the problem. In “Hop-Frog,” revenge is the solution. In “Hop-Frog,” you have the benefit of a reliable narrator, which makes it easier to be satisfied that justice was done. In “The Cask of Amontillado,” you move from being excited to see what will happen to someone “bad” to feeling terrified by what was done to him. In “Hop-Frog,” you move from being horrified by the ill-treatment of an apparently powerless man to being excited to see him get his revenge on his tormentor.
I need to read more Poe! Thanks for inspiring me to do so!
Impeccable use of GIFs in this post! 🤌🏼