Poe and Dahl
I will be writing a essay about the famous writers poe and dahl’s style.The areas I will be covering in this essay are going to be comparing and contrasting poe and dahls use of irony and foreshadowing .Also how their background and childhood affected their style of writing.With that i will be also using examples from their stories to prove my point.Overall i want to make this paragraph helpful for you, so you can pick a author whose book or short story you want to read at the end of this book.
Irony
Poe and Dahl extensively use irony in their stories.In the Tell tale heart Poe used irony when the character said “i heard all the things in heaven and in the earth”.i heard many things in hell.How,then, am i mad.This quote demonstrates dramatic irony.it is dramatic irony because the readers know that the narrator is crazy .Well it is poe’s style to make the characters different than normal people so it can make the readers scared and not know what’s going to happen.So i think this element is pretty much connected to his style.Dahl used irony too in The Landlady. He found the guest-book lying open on the piano, so he took out his pen and wrote down his name and address. There were only two other entries above his on the page, and, as one always does with guest-books, he started to read them. One was a Christopher Mulholland from Cardiff. The other was Gregory W. Temple from Bristol. That’s funny, he thought suddenly. Christopher Mulholland. It rings a bell. Now where on earth had he heard that rather unusual name before? Most of the symbols in "The Landlady" are acting as foreshadowing. These build dramatic irony, as the reader slowly realizes that the landlady is up to something sinister and, eventually, that Billy Weaver will not make it out of the house. One example of this is the guestbook. Even though they both use dramatic irony they use it differently.Roald Dahl uses dramatic irony(a case when the reader knows something the characters don't) to create suspense in the reader and leave them wanting more.Because everyone knows that he always has that suspense and mystery in his stories using irony most of the time especially in lamb to the slaughter. Also Dahl uses a lot of dark humor in his irony to make the story interesting.Whereas Poe uses irony more to create horror and fear also to create that dark and evil theme.Also Poe doesn’t has suspense or mystery because in the tell tale heart story he tells that he killed someone in the beginning but dahl keeps the mystery about the woman till the end and gives only a few clues about the lady mixing cyanide into billy's drink and then him just dying.Dahl doesn't ever actually tells us about it he just makes you imagine what’s going to happen next.One last example of them both using irony differently is:That in the “Umbrella Man” , Roald Dahl ticks the reader into thinking he is a true gentlemen.At the end of the story , the reader learns that the man was the exact opposite{an alcoholic and a thief}.In the tell tale heart , the narrator murders an old man and hides him under the floorboards.However it is iconic that his is the one to confess the crime, he so cleverly concealed out of his madness.Though these both stories end in an unexpected twist,Dahl’s use of irony is a little more mischievous rather than Peo’s, which ends in a dark or evil mood.
Foreshadowing
Foreshadowing has been used by Poe and Dahl both plenty of times maybe because they both have that darkness mood in their story somewhere no matter what book it is.Dahl used foreshadowing in landlady when “There was a baby grand piano and a big sofa and several plump armchairs,and in one corner he spotted a large parrot in a cage.Animals were usually a good sign in a place like this,Billy told himself”.This is foreshadowing because the animals are stuffed ,and that will soon be Billy’s fate if he stays at the bed and breakfast.Also there is used foreshadowing when the old lady says “It’s already for you my dear”.This foreshadowing because the landlady is accenting on all,like she has something more planned besides the room.It also includes creepy feeling but it’s funny how it’s written.Because when you imagine it ,it seems funny.Also Dahl is always having his readers imagine what’s going to happen next and this is a tip off where he gives a hint about the situation.Now this is where it becomes a Dahl book because of its mystery which is seemingly strange.It's strange because of the old lady and her parrot which is turned out to be not a alive parrot but a stuffed one.Poe uses foreshadowing too In tell tale heart. “It is impossible to say how the idea first entered my head : but once conceived , it haunted me day and night.”This foreshadowing has no mystery which is totally different from Dahl’s foreshadowing.Also this has no humour unlike Dahl’s foreshadowing this foreshadowing is intense fast moving how he uses long sentences with commas describing how he is feeling.in Poe’s foreshadowing you feel what’s going on but in Dahl’s foreshadowing you guess or imagine what’s going on.But one similarity they both have is that darkness in their writing.One last example of their foreshadowing:Both poe and dahl give the reader small hints to look back on once the story has been read.In the ‘Umbrella Man’ by Dahl,the woman's suspicion foreshadows that the man is actually a thief and a bad person.After reading ‘The Tell Tale Heart by poe, the simile that states “a sound as a watch makes when enveloped in cotton”foreshadows that the narrator will hear the same sound at the end of the story.Once the reader reads the story twice, he or she may identify this element of foreshawdowing.In both poe and dahl's writings,these sneaky parts of the story pop out to the reader and grant them a wider understanding of the plot.Also these both lead to the end of the story.
Childhoods/backgrounds
Both poe and dahl went through alot during their childhood and even when they were grown up.On January 19,1809,American horror story writer Edgar alllen Poe was born in Boston to Elizabeth Arnold Poe and David Poe, Jr. His parents were traveling actors. His family was dirt poor.His father abandoned him and his family when he was only 3 years old after that
the same year his dad left him his mother died of tuberculosis in Richmond, Virginia. Later news arrived that even his father died of the same disease. Later on Edgar was separated from his siblings and taken in by the family of John and Frances Allan, a well-to-do Richmond couple unable to have children of their own. He added his foster family's name to his own, becoming Edgar Allan Poe.He was close to his foster mother, Frances, but never with to foster father, who always thought Edgar was a punk, shamefully ungrateful for all the couple did for him. From 1815 to 1820, the family lived in England, where young Edgar got a good education at a school outside of London. In 1824, when he was fifteen and back in Richmond, Poe penned his first poem: "Last night, with many cares & toils oppres'd,/ Weary, I laid me on a couch to rest."When poe attended the University of Virginia,his foster parents did not give him enough money to help pay for his education. Poe then turned to gambling to cover the costs,but soon ended up in debt.When Poe returned home to find out from his neighbor and his fiance were engaged to someone else.Heartbroken,Poe left the Allens.In 1830 Poe attended West Point, a military academy but was later let go due to his poor handling of his duties.Poe then started focusing on writing full time.In search of opportunity ,Poe lived in New York City,Baltimore,Philadelphia,and Richmond.From 1831 to 1835,Poe lived with his aunt and his cousin,Virginia,in Baltimore.His cousin ,Virginia soo became a literary inspiration to him as well as his love interest.The couple married in 1836 and Virginia was only 13 years old.One of Poe's greatest literary works is “The Raven”.Poe later was overcome by grief after the death of his wife in 1847.Poe continued to work,but suffered from poor health and struggled financially ,his death still remains a mystery and no one knows for sure what caused his death.Edgar Allan Poe’s life experiences influenced his writing style because of the tragedies and tremendous amount of grief Poe faced .Also maybe that's the reason he always writes about dark and depressing stuff and never and happy stories.
Roald dahl was born on September 13,1916 in Llandaff,Cardiff.Both of dahl's parents were Norwegian. Dahl's father passed away when he was only 4 in the year 1920.Dahl received his his early education at Llandaff Cathedral school.Dahl did not have the most fortunate childhood ,for he spent most of his summer vacations at his grandparents house in Oslo .Because dahl's disruptive behaviour at many schools,he was forced to leave and move quite a bit,making his life a struggle.Dahl was eager for adventure when he was done with school{which he did not excel at}.Dahl wanted to work for a company that would sent him to faraway places.Dahl started writing and publishing many hilarious children books.Then in 1953 he married his wife Patricia Neal,and continued to write children books.But they got divorced in 1983 and dahls got remarried.Dahl died in 1990 and is still remembered today to be one of the best children book writers.Also dahl's children really affected his writing.Because he said once that he was inspired from his children always when he read them bedtime stories just like his mother.His mother read him always a lot of happy stories and those stories really affected his writing style.One last thing about dahl: before dahl was writing books he was riding planes and he had a serious accident,about which people say that, after that accident he was never the same again .After the accident he started writing books so if you actually think about that if he didn't have that accident maybe he wouldn't be writing books like he did or even writing books at all.Poe and dahl both had a rough childhood but turned out to be writers with two opposite writing styles.Like poe writes depressing,dark,and more sad stuff and not children reading books.One the other hand most of dahl's books are happy , funny and more children reading books also even if he is writing a dark sad book it has though the dark humour of him.They both have different writing styles but they both use a lot of iron and figurative languages in their books. also when poe was writing a book in that process his wife died and Dahl was writing charlie and the chocolate factory and his youngest daughter was going to die but survived.
Conclusion
When people are deciding to read a book there are many parts of that decision which are suppose to be considered.One of The biggest part of it is the author because the author's style is one thing that follows them through each one of their books no matter what’s the theme of their book is.In this essay I wrote about how Poe and Dahl used irony and foreshadowing also how their background affected their writing style .Also I wrote how their both use of of irony is somehow different and same.With the explanation of my opinion I also gave some proof of their writing how they wrote stuff.After that I wrote about how Poe and Dahl had a hard childhood but turned out different because after all Dahl had a mother who was by his side and influenced his writings.In background part it also included both of the writer's life timeline and how Dahl’s plane accident changed him.With the differences I also wrote how they both lost a loved one when they were in the process of writing a book.Last but not the least I hope this essay was effective in a way of describing both of the writers style and what affected it.