The power of imagination is one of the many characteristics of American Romanticism. This is displayed repeatedly throughout The Pit and the Pendulum. When the character first comes to his senses, he is engulfed in fear. He was desperate to know where he was, but he was afraid that when he opened his eyes, there would be nothing to see. He was correct. He was suffocated by the darkness. He was overwhelmed and his imagination was racing. "I reached out my hand, and it fell heavily upon something damp and hard. There I suffered it to remain for several minutes, while I strove to imagine where and what I could be" (Poe 265). Having his sight taken away, his imagination was only encouraged to think the worst. His imagination also misguided him in the measurements of his cell. He had imagined his dungeon to be twice the actual size of it, which was twenty-five feet (Poe 268). The power of imagination on a person's feelings is what Romanticism feeds off of.
Along with the power of imagination, the longing for individual freedom is another factor of Romanticism. This is what the character hopes for the entire story. He is held as a prisoner both physically and mentally. At first his hope for freedom is through escape, but when faced with the reality of the situation, he sets his sights for freedom through death. "But the moment of escape had arrived. At a wave of my hand my deliverers hurried tumultuously away. With a steady movement- cautious, sidelong, shrinking, and slow- I slid from the embrace of the bandage and beyond the reach of the scimitar. For the momentt, at least, I was free" (Poe 272). This section of The Pit and the Pendulum, this desire to taste freedom, is key to Romanticism.
Lastly, the influence of psychological fear is very important in the Romanticism style of writing. This is all about what is going on inside your head and your internal battles. This is first seen when the character is having troubles distinguishing the difference between his dreams and reality. "This sense of having a memory of that which did not in fact occur is central to the story's ambiguity, for as the narrator tries to remember his experience, it is not clear whether the memory is of a real event or a dream event that has been forgotten" (May). Psychological fear also provided the character with the internal battle between surrounding to death or fighting to stay alive. In the end, his hope is enough to keep him stable. This idea of psychological fear is directed more towards the dark side of Romanticism, which is what Poe is known for.
The power of imagination, desire for freedom, and influence of psychological fear are all key elements to the Romanticism writing style. Henry Allen Poe's The Pit and the Pendulum, uses these elements to reach both the reader's emotions and feelings. This is the main difference between Romanticism and Rationalism. Henry Allen Poe, along with many other writers of this style, succeeded in doing just this.
May, Charles E. "Alternate Realms of Reality." In Edgar Allan Poe: A Study of Short Fiction. Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1991, pp. 96–97. Quoted as "Dreams and Reality in the Story" in Harold Bloom, ed. Edgar Allan Poe, Bloom's Major Short Story Writers. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishing, 1998. (Updated 2007.) Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= BMSSEP39&SingleRecord=True (accessed November 5, 2012).
Poe, Edgar A. "The Pit and the Pedullum." Glencoe Literature. Ed. Jeffery D. Wilhelm. Columbus: McGraw-Hill, 2009. 263-73. Print.
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