Poe’s tone varies across and within these 11 stories, but they are all joined by an element of passion and obsession. Each of these tales chronicles characters undergoing various degrees of madness, and many are told by an unnamed narrator looking back on past events (for example: “The Fall of the House of Usher,” “Legia,” “The Black Cat,” and “William Wilson”).
Through these stories, Poe thinks through the psychology of mental illness, the power of memory, and the ties and lines between the living and the dead. It is important to be able to distinguish between the often frenzied or crazed state of Poe’s narrators and the actual tone of these stories. Stylistic choices like epigraphs and moments of third-person narration can provide clues as to the tone of the given story. Poe’s pacing is deliberate and controlled, with each revelation carefully planned. Additionally, the subjects Poe chooses to explore are almost exclusively dark, serious matters, and he treats them accordingly, with proper gravity and seriousness. Tales of broken hearts, untimely death, vicious murder, financial ruin, political malfeasance, and dissociative identities abound throughout Poe’s Stories, and yet each is handled with care, even with Poe’s penchant for melodramatic flair.
