Edgar Allan Poe was an American writer, editor, and literary critic best known for his poetry and short stories which were primarily his take on mystery and horror. Poe was born on January 19, 1809 in Boston, Massachusetts and was the second son of two actors. His father abandoned the family and his mother died the following year. Being an orphan, he was taken in by John and Francis Allan where he spent his days as a neglected child and away from many military activities and schools, but ultimately failed to become a cadet at West Point. Poe was an extraordinary and influential writer throughout the world. His use of literary devices, being an influential author among many famous modern authors and writers, simultaneously inspires an artistic movement, "Art for Art's Sake", and an in-depth analysis of "The Black Cat" that helps define the horror. We say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original EssayPoe was known for using literary devices in his short stories and poems. Varying from foreshadowing, dramatic irony and many others such as alliteration and repetition. The use of foreshadowing in “The Barrel of Amontillado” shows Fortunato's troubling adventure that ultimately led to his death. He also uses dramatic irony (when the character thinks something is true but the audience of the story knows the real truth) in “The Cask of Amontillado” by showing that Fortunato was not aware of what would happen to him in the catacombs. His use of alliteration, rhyme, onomatopoeia, assonance, and repetition in the poem “The Raven” helps the reader by providing this melodic nature and visual setting of his gothic depiction. “As I reflected weak and tired” is alliteration and the Crow's “TAP TAP TAP” is an example of onomatopoeia. Poe's repetition of the word "Nevermore" after each line of the poem leaves the reader with his sadness, thus creating this tone for the entire poem. Poe was a master of symbolism and uses it to the best of his ability in each of his works. In the story "The Pit and the Pendulum" there are multiple examples of symbolism. The pit represents hell and he once managed to escape but the walls pushed him back into the pit. The pendulum represents how impossible it is to stop time and swings to the rhythm of the narrator's heartbeat. In “The Raven,” the raven itself enters the room assertively, always constantly reminded of death. The bust of Pallas symbolizes Pallas Athena, Greek goddess of wisdom on which the raven lands and perches. This shows that the Raven has such wisdom just like the Greek goddess. Anadiplosis is used when the last word or words of a sentence are used as the first words in the next sentence. Poe uses it very well in “The Pit and the Pendulum”. He writes “…That I could not force my imagination to consider unreal. Unreal, even as I breathed…” and “For the moment, at last, I was free. Free and in the hands of the Inquisition...". The literary device offers a more dramatic aspect and enhances the effect of the situation the narrator was in. Edgar Allan Poe's story "The Black Cat" is a story of pure horror and uses shock to hold the reader's attention. With many themes ranging from violence, alcoholism and remorse for his actions. The story is told from first person point of view and at the beginning of the story the narrator shows the reader that his house was doing well. Being a young married couple with similar interests in animals despite having plenty of them. Unfortunately this is a Poe story and things go horribly wrong. The domestic scene quickly shifts to the scene of a relationshipviolent domestic violence and a murder. Ultimately destroying and devastating his life with his own irrational decisions and behavior. The black cat in the question at the beginning was named Pluto, who the narrator loved dearly. Poe loves to use the names of the gods and goddesses of Roman and Greek mythology in his work and the name given to the black cat is also the name of the Roman god of the underworld. The cat's name is metaphorical and has a hidden meaning. The story is also a great example of how destructive alcoholism is as the narrator began drinking and domestically abusing his wife and neglecting the animals. This could also be Poe's interpretation of the “Temperance movement”. The Temperance movement was a popular genre in Poe's time in which attempts were made to convince public society of the dangerous habit of drinking/alcoholism. Due to the nature of alcoholism, the narrator soon turns to violence. The narrator soon developed a bad temper which led to gruesome acts such as gouging out the black cat's eye which eventually progressed to hanging the poor cat to murdering his wife with an ax to the head. Ultimately the narrator has completely destroyed his family due to his violent tendencies and temper. At the beginning he says: “But tomorrow I will die, and today I would like to lighten my soul.” where he is in his prison cell writing about how everything led to his death in an attempt to free his soul. Poe's influence after his death sparked a movement known as the “Art for Art's sake” movement where he was known as a predecessor of the movement in the nineteenth century. Poe's theory on successful literature is divided into two points. The first is that the work must create a unity of effect on the reader. Two: the production of this single effect should not be left to the risk of chance or inspiration, but should be the result of the author's rational reflection into the minutest details of style and subject. In the essay “The Poetic Principle” Poe states: “We got it into our heads that writing a poem simply for the sake of poetry […] and recognizing that this was our plan would mean confessing ourselves radically. lacking true dignity and poetic force: - but the simple fact is that if we would only allow ourselves to look into our own souls, we would immediately discover that under the sun there does not exist and cannot exist any work more completely dignified, more supremely noble, than this very poem , this poem in itself, this poem which is poetry and nothing more, this poem written solely for the love of poetry. Which explains that a poem doesn't have to have a very deep meaning to be a poem. In fact, it's just as useful and might even be better. You would realize that there is nothing better than a poem written for no reason than simply writing a poem. Art for art's sake was a concept that rejected art's usual role in political or religious use, but instead opened artists, authors, and poets to greater artistic freedom. In short, it is the concept that art needs no justification and that art itself is beauty. The jingle 'Art For Art's Sake' is linked to the history of English art and letters to Don Walter Pater of Oxford and his followers of the Aesthetic movement. In many cultures, art was a form used to express religion and was often used extensively in religious practices. The Art for Art's Sake movement was a rebellion against this. In the nineteenth century, many academic painters felt a duty to present art with conservative morality and Christian values, while modernists called for greater freedom of expression in their art. Modernists argued that art should not be produced for the benefit of the public, but for.