A Look into the Macabre: A Psychoanalytic Study of Poe and His Selected Works

Abstract

This research explores the elements of “fear” in the literary st yle of Gothic Literature, particularly in Edgar Allan Poe’s writ ings. It also ident ifies how Poe uses mediaeval settings and various situational and fictional anomalies to amplify mystery and horror, which affect readers on a psychological level. Allowing for the realisat ion, in turn, of Poe’s unique take on the horror genre and his own persistent shadow of the unconscious and desires in his protagonists in all their entirety. This work will utilise a psychoanalytic approach and micro-reading of four of Poe’s greatest works to determine how fear is used in Poe’s works. The selected texts belong to the Gothic Horror genre and an in-depth deconstruction and reconstruction will be done- not of the texts in their ent irety, but the protagonists in each story. Using Freud’s Iceberg Theory, character development, history, needs and objectives, dominant emotions, and of course, fears will be dissected and compared. The results will provide a comparative-contrastive insight into the individuals and how they all connect within one intricate web of the various stages of neurosis. This will allow for revelat ions of similarit ies between the characters and Poe’s psychology, and in turn, help relate the pacing of the story arcs from beginning to end to reveal the various inflexions of Poe’s mind. This will solidify the theory that Poe indeed channels his inner struggles into his stories and characters, resulting in the fabrication of timeless works of fiction.