Traditional Gothic features were originally exemplified by Horace Walpole's Otranto Castle. This text was the first novel of its kind to introduce an atmosphere of suspense, ancient prophecies and a metonymy of horror. Novels and stories frequently revisit the same elements when creating a Gothic tale, but can also use other features to create the same essence of Otranto Castle. Edgar Allen Poe's The Black Cat uses an abundance of adjectives to create a dark scene, but also uses the emotional distress and supernatural curiosity of the narrator to structure the gothic tale. Edgar Allen Poe is widely known for writing some of the greatest Gothic texts, but also exhibits very distinct characteristics throughout his work, drawing inspiration from Walpole, but also creating a standard for future texts. Most of Poe's works are easily identified as Gothic due to the theme of death and decay, although this is not always the theme depicted in the story until later in the work. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an Original Essay “The Black Cat” as an Example of Gothic Literature In The Black Cat, it is evident that death is a common topic, but that the beginning is primarily an internal struggle within the narrator. As a writer, Edgar Allen Poe must create characters with depth, who add to the suspense of the story. In response, most of his characters suffer from some sort of mental illness or end up going insane. Reading from the narrator's point of view, readers worry about their storyteller's mental state, but sometimes forget the context of the story being told. In the opening of The Black Cat, the narrator says "Yet I am not mad", proclaiming his mental state early on, allowing the reader to delve deeper into his character, but forgetting the setting given in the same page. The opening also tells readers that the narrator is telling this story the day before his execution, allowing readers to try to create a story before the narrator crafts his confession. He says that he married young and that his "character was not incompatible with mine", quipping how happy his wife made him, but that she would later literally be the hand of his unhappy fate. It becomes clear early on, after stating that recent domestic events have horrified the narrator, that this is a Gothic text, but with some telling features missing, such as a castle. Continuing the story, Poe's black cat character named Pluto, is introduced and creates a foundation on previous events. Looking at Pluto analytically, Pluto is the Roman God of the underworld, which makes sense because it creates this theme always present in Gothic texts, but not yet mentioned in The Black Cat; death. This theme is not stated outwardly, but must have been interpreted when introduced to this character so early on. Death is an apparent theme later in the text, but it is often featured in Gothic texts. When the narrator finally kills Pluto, the connection between his name and his fate is presented, when he "reappears" as an apparition in the fire. If the cat Pluto is represented as a god, then we can assume that he can reincarnate to terrorize the narrator who killed him. Poe chose to keep the theme of death hidden to add suspense and a more iconic ending although usually presented from the beginning. In the following scenes, the narrator, who is still not ill.