Motif Midnight in Poe's Stories Literature Essay Sample

Edgar Allan Poe was an American author, poet, and critic. He was born on January 19, 1809, in Boston, Massachusetts. He lived a presumably sad life. His wife, Virginia Clemm Poe, died in 1847 and could never get over her passing. He is notably famous for his mystery, murder, and gore stories. Occasionally, his writing had more depressing and sad writing, like Anabel Lee and The Raven. In Edgar Allen Poe's stories, the motif midnight was used to start or reveal strange or malicious acts.

An example of the motif midnight is encountered in Hop-Frog. Hop-Frog, a jester, set out a plot to seek revenge on a very selfish and cruel king and his seven advisors when he was given the task of planning the king's masquerade. He dressed the king and the advisors up as Orangutans, and at midnight, his plan was ready to unfold. "The eight ourang-outangs, taking Hop-Frog's advice, waited patiently until midnight (when the room was thoroughly filled with masqueraders) before making their appearance. No sooner had the clock ceased striking" (Poe, 1850). Later, something unexpected happened. The joyful silly night had turned into a display of horror. "In less than half a minute, the whole eight ourang-outangs were blazing fiercely, amid the shrieks of the multitude who gazed at them from below, horror-stricken, and without the power to render them the slightest assistance."(Poe, 1850). This act committed by Hopfrog was truly vengeful and malignant. 

Another example of midnight's motif in Poe's writing is The Tell-Tale Heart. During midnight for a whole week, the man watched the older man sleeping, waiting for the right moment. "And every night, about midnight, I turned the latch of his door and opened it — oh, so gently! And then, when I had made an opening sufficient for my head, I put in a dark lantern, all closed, closed, so that no light shone out, and then I thrust in my head." (Poe, 1843). The narrator waited for the right moment to take the older man's life. "I placed my hand upon the heart and held it there for many minutes. There was no pulsation. He was stone dead. His eye would trouble me no more."(Poe, 1843). The narrator was quite mad in this story, and did strange things which further proves how midnight was used in Poe’s stories. 

Lastly, the motif midnight was used in The Cask of Amontillado. Montresor, the narrator, tricks Fortunato into going into an eerie cellar where he buries Fortunato into a wall. It was now midnight, and my task was drawing to a close. “I had completed the eighth, the ninth [[,]] and the tenth tier.” (Poe, 1846). Perhaps it would be thought that Montresor could not get any more diabolical. He proceeds to do the unthinkable. “I thrust a torch through the remaining aperture and let it fall within. There came forth in return only a jingling of the bells. My heart grew sick — on account of the dampness of the catacombs.” (Poe, 1846). 

In Poe's stories, the motif midnight was used to start or reveal strange or malicious acts. This motif is found in Hopfog, The Tell-Tale Heart, and Cask of Amontillado, as well as other stories written by Poe.