![]() ![]() ![]() The gothic concept of the sublime refers to the psychological state of metaphysical beauty and perfection the narrator describes when the pendulum’s blade is within inches of his chest. While gothic fiction often includes elements of romanticism-such as a love of nature, a reverence for beauty, and a rejection of science (which are apparent in Poe’s poems ‘‘Annabel Lee’’ and ‘‘The Raven,’’) there are few if any romantic elements in ‘‘The Pit and the Pendulum.’’ The story’s power is in its ability to evoke horror through the predicament of a protagonist fated to die. The gothic tradition began in England around 1764, when Horace Walpole published his novel The Castle of Otranto, which concerns a doomed family cursed by legend and haunted by supernatural events. ![]() Gothic writers strive to stir the reader’s emotions, be it a feeling of the sublime or horror. Gothic fiction is characterized by a preoccupation with death, mystery, decay, madness, and terror. ![]()
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