The Premature Burial

“It is the fact—it is the reality—it is the history which excites. As inventions, we should regard them with simple abhorrence.”

The end of the opening paragraph introduces The Line Between Truth and Fiction. The narrator attempts to persuade that reality is scarier than fiction. The use of repetition in “it is the fact—it is the reality—it is the history” is used for persuasive effect and emphasizes that the events being described are based on real events and have a weight of truth to them.

“The boundaries which divide Life from Death are at best shadowy and vague. Who shall say where the one ends, and where the other begins?”

This quote exemplifies some of the story’s main themes. It uses rhetorical questions to create a sense of mystery and wonder. Additionally, the use of metaphorical language such as “boundaries which divide Life from Death” creates a sense of contrast between the two states and uses physical attributes to concretize abstract ideas. Lastly, the use of the word “shadowy” uses imagery to create a sense of uncertainty and ambiguity, further exploring the story’s themes to suggest that the boundary between life and death is not always clear.

“Some unseen mysterious principle again sets in motion the magic pinions and the wizard wheels. The silver cord was not for ever loosed, nor the golden bowl irreparably broken. But where, meantime, was the soul?”

This quote uses personification in phrases such as “magic pinions” and “wizard wheels” to create a sense of mystery and wonder, suggesting that there is something magical or supernatural at work. The use of metaphors, such as “silver cord” and “golden bowl,” creates a contrast between the physical body and the soul. The suggestion that the silver cord was not forever loosed and the golden bowl was not irreparably broken implies that the soul may still exist, even if the physical body appears dead.

“After much suffering she died, or was supposed to die. No one suspected, indeed, or had reason to suspect, that she was not actually dead. She presented all the ordinary appearances of death. The face assumed the usual pinched and sunken outline. The lips were of the usual marble pallor. The eyes were lustreless. There was no warmth. Pulsation had ceased.”

The literary device used in this quote is irony. The situation is ironic in that the woman is believed to be dead but is not. The passage also uses vivid imagery to describe the physical signs of death, such as a “pinched and sunken” face, pale lips, and lack of warmth and pulse, all of which contribute to the dramatic effect of the situation. The description of the woman’s apparent death creates a sense of horror and suspense.

“We know of nothing so agonizing upon Earth—we can dream of nothing half so hideous in the realms of the nethermost Hell. And thus all narratives upon this topic have an interest profound; an interest, nevertheless, which, through the sacred awe of the topic itself, very properly and very peculiarly depends upon our conviction of the truth of the matter narrated.”

The narrator makes use of hyperbole, or exaggeration, to create a sense of terror and horror, emphasizing the intensity of his fear of premature burial while attempting again to persuade readers of his perspective. Additionally, the use of parallel structure in “very properly and very peculiarly” helps to emphasize the idea that the interest in narratives about death and dying depends on one’s belief in their truth.

“For several years I had been subject to attacks of the singular disorder which physicians have agreed to term catalepsy, in default of a more definitive title. Although both the immediate and the predisposing causes, and even the actual diagnosis, of this disease are still mysterious, its obvious and apparent character is sufficiently well understood.”

The narrator reveals that he is suffering from a condition that he thinks could be the cause of his paranoia. The quote is an example of the narrator’s tendency to use language that approximates scientific or medical jargon, perhaps to sound as well-informed and reasonable as possible. This highlights the theme that despite his rationalization, an irrational and mysterious fear influences—and even controls—his behavior.

“In all that I endured there was no physical suffering but of moral distress an infinitude.”

Despite the narrator’s attempts to demonstrate the contrary, fiction and the imagination are more distressing and terrifying than reality. Physical suffering has a foreseeable limit or end in death itself, but moral distress exists internally, in the world of emotions and imagination, which the narrator claims has no end. This also serves as another example of hyperbole used for melodramatic effect to exaggerate how deeply the narrator suffers.

“I remained, until the crisis of the disease restored me, suddenly, to perfect sensation. At other times I was quickly and impetuously smitten. I grew sick, and numb, and chilly, and dizzy, and so fell prostrate at once. Then, for weeks, all was void, and black, and silent, and Nothing became the universe. Total annihilation could be no more. From these latter attacks I awoke, however, with a gradation slow in proportion to the suddenness of the seizure. Just as the day dawns to the friendless and houseless beggar who roams the streets throughout the long desolate winter night—just so tardily—just so wearily—just so cheerily came back the light of the Soul to me.”

This quote demonstrates Poe’s use of imagery to illustrate the narrator’s physical and mental state, emphasizing the severity of his fears and illness. The use of simile, such as “just as the day dawns to the friendless and houseless beggar,” is used to contrast the darkness of the narrator’s illness with the gradual return of his senses, emphasizing the importance of the latter.

“‘Is it not—oh! is it not a pitiful sight?’—but, before I could find words to reply, the figure had ceased to grasp my wrist, the phosphoric lights expired, and the graves were closed with a sudden violence, while from out them arose a tumult of despairing cries, saying again: ‘Is it not—O, God, is it not a very pitiful sight?’”

Again, this quote uses rhetorical questions to inspire uncertainty and wonder. The quote also uses allusion in its reference to God, emphasizing the emotional and moral significance of the situation and highlighting the idea that being buried alive is not just a physical horror but also a moral and spiritual one.

“But, alas? what avails the vigilance against the Destiny of man? Not even these well-contrived securities sufficed to save from the uttermost agonies of living inhumation, a wretch to these agonies foredoomed!”

The narrator realizes that his attempts to control death and prevent his premature burial could not save him from his agony. In addition to devices previously mentioned, such as rhetorical questions and hyperbole, the phrase “the uttermost agonies of living inhumation” is an example of paradox: “Living inhumation,” or being buried alive, seems impossible and contradictory, yet the sentence describes it as a horrifying reality.

“‘What do you mean by yowling in that ere kind of style, like a cattymount?’ said a fourth; and hereupon I was seized and shaken without ceremony, for several minutes, by a junto of very rough-looking individuals. They did not arouse me from my slumber—for I was wide awake when I screamed—but they restored me to the full possession of my memory.”

This passage brings the story’s theme about Conquering Fear or Else Succumbing to It to a conclusion. Remembering where he is and realizing that he is not, in fact, being buried alive, the narrator survives what he thought was his greatest fear being realized. The use of bathos at the climax of the story creates a humorous and somewhat absurd situation that adds to the overall satirical tone of the passage. The use of regional language, seen in the words “yowling” and “cattymount,” adds a sense of authenticity and realism to the dialogue. Also, the use of hyperbole in the phrase “shaken without ceremony for several minutes” exaggerates the severity of the physical action, providing a sense of danger and urgency.

“My soul acquired tone—acquired temper. I went abroad. I took vigorous exercise. I breathed the free air of Heaven. I thought upon other subjects than Death.”

Occurring just after the narrator faces his fear and cures his catalepsy, these sentences use parallelism to create a sense of progress and transformation in the narrator’s life. The repetition of “I” emphasizes the personal nature of the transformation.

“There are moments when, even to the sober eye of Reason, the world of our sad Humanity may assume the semblance of a Hell—but the imagination of man is no Carathis, to explore with impunity its every cavern.”

This quote uses allusion to refer to Carathis, which is a possible reference to a character from William Beckford’s Vathek (1786). This suggests that the human imagination cannot fully explore the depths of the world’s suffering and despair without consequences.