The Black Cat

About Author

Edgar Allan Poe was born in Boston, Massachusetts, to parents who were itinerant actors. His father David Poe Jr. died probably in 1810. Elizabeth Hopkins Poe died in 1811, leaving three children. Edgar was taken into the home of a Richmond merchant John Allan. The remaining children were cared for by others. Poe's brother William died young and sister Rosalie become later insane. At the age of five Poe could recite passages of English poetry. Later one of his teachers in Richmond said: "While the other boys wrote mere mechanical verses, Poe wrote genuine poetry; the boy was a born poet."

One the greatest and unhappiest of American poets, a master of the horror tale, and the patron saint of the detective story. Edgar Allan Poe first gained critical acclaim in France and England. His reputation in America was relatively slight until the French-influenced writers like Ambroce Bierce, Robert W. Chambers, and representatives of the Lovecraft school created interest in his work.

Introduction

"The Black Cat" is one of Edgar Allan Poe's most memorable stories. The tale centers around a black cat and the subsequent deterioration of a man. The story is often linked with "The Tell-Tale Heart" because of the profound psychological elements these two works share.

"The Black Cat" first appeared in The Saturday Evening Post on August 19, 1843. This first-person narrative falls into the realm of Horror/Gothic Literature, and has been examined in association with themes of insanity and alcoholism. Following is the complete text for Poe's tragic and horrific tale.

Discussion

"The Black Cat" by Edgar Allan Poe is about a kindhearted man who loves animals. However, the man's obsession for cats mixed with his alcohol addiction causes him to go crazy. Eventually, his madness leads him to murder his wife, whose death he tries to cover up. Edgar Allan Poe uses elements of fiction very well to make his story exciting and thrilling to his readers. Most importantly, the use of inciting force and crisis is very apparent in Poe's story. These parts of the plot are used in the introduction scene and in the final scene of his story.

         The initial conflict that gets the reader interested and gets the story started is called an inciting force. In Poe's story, the inciting force occurs in the beginning scene. "For the most wild yet most homely narrative which I am about to pen, I neither expect nor solicit belief.” The narrator begins by saying that he is about to tell a story that the reader will not believe; nor does he expect the reader to believe it. The first sentence of the story is what stirs the initial conflict and gets the reader interested in what is going to happen. The reader becomes curious to know what the narrator could have done that is so serious. The narrator goes on to say, “Mad indeed would I be to expect it, in a case where my very senses reject their own evidence.” Here the narrator is saying ...