Damsels in Distress
In "The Raven," this lost woman's name is often referenced by the grieving speaker.
Who is Lenore?
In "The Tell-Tale Heart," the narrator hides the old man's body here, thinking he's committed the perfect crime.
What is under the floorboards?
These are the colors in the seventh room of "The Masque of the Red Death."
What are black and red?
This is the setting of "The Masque of the Red Death."
What is a castle?
The narrator in “The Tell-Tale Heart” hears this which shows his guilty conscience or his insanity?
What is a heartbeat?
The speaker of "Annabel Lee" believed this caused his beloved's death because they were jealous.
Who are the angels?
In "The Mask of the Red Death," the uninvited guest turns out to be this chilling figure, proving no one can escape death.
What is the Red Death itself (or death personified)?
This was the time period most Gothics (and Romantics) were obsessed with.
What is the medieval time period?
This is the primary setting of "The Cask of Amontillado" and it suggests a dark family history.
What are the catacombs?
In "The Black Cat" the narrator calls this the "fiend intemperance," signifying his own lack of accountability.
What is alcohol?
In "The Fall of the House of Usher," this female character's entombment and reappearance serve as the story's ultimate symbol of repressed terror returning.
Who is Madeline Usher?
In "The Raven," the raven is the physical embodiment of this emotion.
What is grief or mourning?
This holiday is being celebrated at the start of “The Cask of Amontillado,” which, when juxtaposed to the dark events of the tale, creates a particularly Gothic ambience.
What is Carnival?
The ebony clock in "The Mask of the Red Death" contributes to the spooky atmosphere because it reminds the revelers of this.
What is the passage of time (or their inevitable death)?
This is the motto of the Montressors and it represents their bloodlust and love of vengeance.
What is "no one provokes me with impunity"?
Poe once said this was the most poetic topic in the world. It is evident in "Annabel Lee," "The Oval Portrait," "The Fall of the House of Usher" and "The Black Cat," making it a tenet to Gothic literature.
What is the death of a beautiful woman?
In "The Tell-Tale Heart" this the reason why the narrator kills the old man, and it symbolizes both a window to the soul and the feeling of always being watched (aka paranoia).
What is the vulture eye?
When the storm overtakes the Usher mansion, this gothic term describes both the beauty, terror, and awe of the experience.
What is the sublime?
The room where the narrator finds the oval portrait in "The Oval Portrait," symbolizing isolation in an imprisoning place.
What is a lone turret in the chateau?
This image appears in "A Dream Within a Dream" and could represent time, loved ones, or sanity slipping from the speaker's fingers.
What is sand?
In "The Fall of the House of Usher," Madeline's death mirrors this crumbling structure in the story.
What is the Usher family mansion?
Fortunado was dressed as this in "The Cask of Amontillado," symbolizing his vulnerability to Montressor's manipulation.
What is a jester?
This is a term that comes from the German word "unheimlich" and was coined by Freud.
What is the uncanny?
This work takes place “Once upon a midnight dreary” “midnight” representing a liminal space between two different days, since our narrator is living between life and death.
What is "The Raven"?
These two names appear in two Poe stories. Both names are symbolic and, by the end of both tales, ironic.
What are Fortunato and Prospero?