When was The Pit and the Pendulum by Edgar Allan Poe published?

Answer 1

"Arousing from the most profound of slumbers, we break the gossamer web of somedream. Yet in a second afterward, (so frail may that web have been) we remember not that we have dreamed."

Edgar Allan Poe, The Pit and the Pendulum

Answer 2

Poe places the narrator/protagonist of "The Pit and the Pendulum" in a situation of bounded isolation: he cannot escape his surroundings nor can he directly communicate with anyone, even his torturers. Like several other characters in Poe's tales, the narrator's situation is one that provides no exit. Given this, some scholars have interpreted the story as an existential allegory about the human condition at large. Even if individuals are fortunate enough the escape the accidental death of the pit, all mortals are subject to the relentless approach of inevitable death from Time.

The protagonist is not identified by name. The story is written in the first person perspective, so we get a clearer idea of who the character is (mentally) than we do of who he is specifically. We don't have a clear idea of what he did to deserve it (the implication, actually, is that he didn't do anything) but he is being punished by "black-robed judges" for the unknown offense. If he did do something it was religious in nature, as implied by the final sentence of the story which mentions the inquisition.

Answer 3

Edgar Allan Poe wrote The Pit and the Pendulum.

Answer 4

"The Pit and the Pendulum" by Edgar Allan Poe was first published in 1842.

Answer 5

1843