Dark Origins – Nursery Rhymes, Fairytales and Stories: The Pit and the Pendulum by Edgar Allan Poe
Posted: January 25, 2023 Filed under: Uncategorized 58 Comments
Overview
I am kicking off Dark Origins 2023 with an analysis of the origins and historical accuracy of The Pit and the Pendulum. This short story by Edgar Allan Poe is set at the height of the Spanish Inquisition.
The story begins with the unnamed narrator being condemned to death. As the judges announce his fate, the narrator focuses on seven tall candles. The light of the candles initially appears to him like angels and he feels comforted. He is soon, however, overcome by horror at his fate and the candles disappear when he collapses into semi-consciousness.
When the narrator awakes, he is initially to scared to open his eyes. When he does open them, he finds himself in complete darkness and spends some time imagining the tortures of the Inquisition. After some time has passed, he musters the courage to start moving and tries to make sense of his surroundings by using his sense of touch. Falling asleep at one point during his navigation of the cell walls, he wakes up to find water and bread which he consumes. After completing his tour of the cell walls, he attempts to walk across the chamber and almost falls into a deep, circular pit. He discovers more bread and water and falls asleep again.
Awaking from his second sleep, he realises that his water is drugged and also that his prison is much smaller than he thought. He also discovers that the walls are made of metal and not stone and that he is now tied on his back to a piece of wood with only his left hand up to his left elbow free. He is very thirsty due to the salty food but the water pitcher has been removed. Looking up at the ceiling, the narrator sees a painting of Father Time holding a large and slow moving pendulum.
The narrator is distracted by rats scurrying about the floor of his prison and when he looks up thirty minutes later, he realised that the pendulum has a razor-sharp blade attached to it and it is moving down towards his body. The author’s intention with this depiction of Father Time holding a deadly weapon is to remind readers that we are all fighting against the clock which ticks steadily towards our inevitable ending.
The narrator devises a clever plan to escape death by being chopped by the pendulum which was designed to cut into his heart.
The pendulum is withdrawn from the room after his escape from his bonds and death by the pendulum, making it obvious that his torturers are watching his every move. The next torture is a mixture of heat and the walls closing around him and forcing him towards the pit. As death gallops towards him, he lets out a piercing scream and there is a blast of trumpets and the walls roll back. The narrator is rescued and the torture of the Inquisition is over.
Dark Origin
The Pit and the Pendulum is about the torments endured by a prisoner of the Spanish Inquisition. It is interesting that Poe made no attempt with this story to be historically accurate and there are three areas where his short story differed significantly from historical facts, as follows:
- The narrator’s rescuer – the narrator is rescued by General Lasalle who was a French cavalry general during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars, in particular, the Peninsular War which took place between 1808 and 1814. The Spanish Inquisition was at its height between 1480 and 1530, centuries before this war. The detailed tortures described in Poe’s story have no historic parallels in the activity of the Spanish Inquisition at any time, and particularly not at the beginning of the 19th century when only four persons were condemned under this regime.
- The original source of the pendulum torture method is one paragraph in the preface of The history of the Inquisition of Spain published in 1826 by Spanish priest, historian and activist, Juan Antonio Llorente. The paragraph detailed the second-hand account by Llorente of the release of a single prisoner from the Inquisition’s Madrid dungeon in 1820. Llorente included a description by said prisoner of the pendulum torture method. This description has been dismissed as factually inaccurate by modern historians. It is believed that Llorente misunderstood what he heard and that the prisoner was actually referring to the strappado (garrucha), a common Inquisition torture in terms of which the prisoner’s hands are tied behind his back and he is hoisted of the floor by a rope tied to his hands. This method is also called the “pendulum”.
- Poe places a Latin epigraph (phrase, quotation or poem) before the story describing it as “a quatrain composed for the gates of a market to be erected upon the site of the Jacobin Club House (the Jacobin Club was the most influential political club during the French Revolution of 1789) at Paris”. Poe did not invent this epigraph as this inscription was composed with the intention of placing it on the site, but the market was not built as intended and did not have any gates and, thus, no inscription.
Summary
Poe’s intention with this short story appears to be to capture the horrors of confinement and torture and the terrible realization by the victim that he is going to die regardless of the choices he makes i.e. the pit or the pendulum. The Spanish Inquisition setting would thus appear to be merely a convenient setting for the tale. Consequently, Poe was not limited by historical accuracy with his descriptions of the torture chamber and methods or the rescue of his hero.
Quotes from The Pit and the Pendulum
The Pit and the Pendulum is one of the most famous of Poe’s works together with The Tell-Tale Heart, The Cask of Amontillado, The Fall of the House of Usher and the Masque of the Red Death.
Famous quotes from The Pit and the Pendulum are as follows:
“And then there stole into my fancy, like a rich musical note, the thought of what sweet rest there must be in the grave.”
“I call to mind flatness and dampness; and then all is madness – the madness of a memory which busies itself among forbidden things.”
“In death – no! even in the grave all is not lost. Else there is no immortality for man. Arousing from the most profound slumbers, we break the gossamer web of some dream. Yet in a second afterward, (so frail may that web have been) we remember not that we have dreamed.”
About Roberta Eaton Cheadle
Award-winning, bestselling author, Roberta Eaton Cheadle, is a South African writer and poet specialising in historical, paranormal, and horror novels and short stories. She is an avid reader in these genres and her writing has been influenced by famous authors including Bram Stoker, Edgar Allan Poe, Amor Towles, Stephen Crane, Enrich Maria Remarque, George Orwell, Stephen King, and Colleen McCullough.
Roberta has two published novels and has horror, paranormal, and fantasy short stories included in several anthologies. She and is also a contributor to the Ask the Authors 2022 (WordCrafter Writing Reference series).
Roberta also has thirteen children’s books and two poetry books published under the name of Robbie Cheadle, and has poems and short stories featured in several anthologies under this name.
Roberta’s blog features discussions about classic books, book reviews, poetry, and photography. https://roberta-writes.com/.
Find Roberta Eaton Cheadle
Blog: https://wordpress.com/view/robertawrites235681907.wordpress.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/RobertaEaton17
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/robertawrites
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Roberta-Eaton-Cheadle/e/B08RSNJQZ5
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Reblogged this on and commented:
I am kicking off Dark Origins 2023 with an analysis of origins of The Pit and the Pendulum, a short story by Edgar Allan Poe set during the height of the Spanish Inquisition. Thanks for hosting, Kaye Lynne Booth.
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This is his scariest story for me. A good summary.
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Hi Darlene, I thought it was really interesting that Poe interposed the setting and used complete poetic license for the story. Of course, you have to know a bit about the torture and death sentences of the time to pick it up.
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Robbie, excellent description and analysis of one of Poe’s most memorable stories. I first read it as a kid, and it scared the hell out of me!
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Hi Dave, I am glad you enjoyed this post. I researched it because I read up on the Spanish Inquisition a while ago and thought the form of torture described was a bit sophisticated for the time period. The knowledge doesn’t detract from the absolute brilliance of Poe’s writing.
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A very detailed look at a classic piece of literature. I haven’t read this story since junior high, but as with all of Poe’s works, his stories linger!
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Hi Mae, you are right, his writing is brilliant and few writers can match it. I thought this information was very interesting. Modern writers go to such pains to be historically accurate.
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I read a lot of Poe as a kid. I loved his work!
Congrats on Dark Origins!
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Thank you, Penny. I enjoy writing these posts.
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An excellent analysis of Poe’s work, Robbie. Like so many others, I read a few of his books in high school–all were terrifying. Your summary is right-on: he wrote to capture horror and not to be historically accurate.
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Hi Gwen, exactly and it is interesting given how modern writers strive for historical accuracy sometimes at the expense of the story. I suppose it’s just to easy to fact check now with the internet.
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I love that Poe went for effect rather than historical accuracy. Great analysis and summary, Robbie. Thanks for sharing. Hugs 💕🙂
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Hi Harmony, I’m glad you enjoyed this article. I think a modern writer would be hauled over the proverbial coals if they took such liberties with historical facts.
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Thanks, as always, for the historical context. The true horror, as you state, is that there is ultimately no escape from death. (K)
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Hi Kerfe, exactly right, and in this case the death would be extremely grisly.
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I too read this story at about age 12 and found it both terrifying and fascinating. It’s full of memorable phrases, like the ones you quoted. I particularly remember something about “wildly familiar faces in coals that glow.” I’ll have to read the story again.
Thanks for the historical details!
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Hi Audrey, it is interesting how Poe digressed from history in this story. I was on a Poe binge last year.
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There is something compelling about his writing!
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Yes, I suppose that is why his stories have endured and are so famous.
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With stories like this, it’s easy to see why Poe’s life was a challenge. What went on in his brain between writing?
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HI Jacqui, I think the life events led and the stories were the result of his life challenges. He lost his mother very young and then his young wife to tuberculosis. Very tragic.
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Robbie, I think I read somewhere that he was an alcoholic too. That might have contributed to his wild imagination.
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Yes, you are right about that.
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You found some very interesting contextual information about the story. Since Monty Python, I find it hard to take the Spanish Inquisition seriously. 😮
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Thanks, Liz. I’ve never watched Monty Python, but the Spanish Inquisition was a most terrible time in European history. Mind you, there have been plenty of those times. Europeans are very war-like peoples, even today that still remains.
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You’re welcome, Robbie. The Euoropean bloodbath that stayed with me from history classes is the Saint Bartholomew’s Day Massacre in France.
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I don’t recall that – I’ll look it up. Thanks.
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You’re welcome. It probably stayed with me because my dad’s family were French Huguenots.
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This was always one of my favorite Poe reads, along with the Tell Tale Heart. This was an excellent review, Robbie.
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HI Colleen, I’m glad you enjoyed this peek into the origins of this story. I also like the Tell Tale Heart and it is Poe’s most famous short story.
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I like the way he builds the tension in his stories. We still try to emulate his style today.
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Yes, we do. As I just wrote to Diana, I recently read Message Found in a Bottle and used the opening and closing lines to write my own short story for a South African historical collection I’m working on.
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I look forward to reading that book, Robbie.
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I appreciate your information as much as I appreciate reading EAP. Well done, thank you.
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HI Annette, I am pleased you enjoyed learning a bit more about this particular short story. It really is such a horrifying one, isn’t it?
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This is an excellent study of one of Poe’s great works! I’m not surprised his historical accuracy was off. I’ve read Poe wasn’t always in his right mind. However, his storytelling was superb.
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HI Linda, that is exactly right. Poe struggled with addictions to alcohol and opium. He had a very sad life with first his mother and then his young wife dying. That is why so much of his poetry features the deaths of women.
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I remember this story being a weird one, Robbie. It’s interesting that Poe wasn’t particularly concerned about accuracy in any regard. It’ must have been quite horrific at the time it was published. Thanks for sharing your research. 🙂
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HI Diana, this intrigued me because if a modern writer did this, I think s/he would be slatted by reviewers. People are much better educated now and expect historical accuracy. This is a frightening story that really plays on our fears of dark and the unknown.
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I think your right that modern writers would get an earful. I’m reading a retelling of The House of Usher (What Moves the Dead) right now and it’s totally creepy. *Shivers*
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That one is also in Poe’s top five short stories. I read Message Found in a Bottle and The Oblong Box recently, and they totally creeped me out although they are not in his top ten short stories. I used the opening and closing lines from Message Found in a Bottle to write my own short story.
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I’m going to need to read more of his work. 😀
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I believe I read this when I was in highschool, but don’t remember much about it. Great description of the story and historical comparison, Robbie.
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HI Carla, I am glad you enjoyed this post. I love Poe’s stories, he was a fantastic writer.
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I have a couple volumes of his stories and hope to read them eventually.
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I listed to them as audio books, in case you prefer that route.
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Great article. Gruesome story and horrid torture, Robbie. Sounds like Poe at his best. I thought I had read most of Poe’s stories but the one I remember most is The Tell-Tale Heart. Great writing but scary.
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HI Norah, the Tell-Tale Heart is Poe’s most famous short story. I do like that one too, but The Pit and the Pendulum rankled with me because it was based on true events (sort of). Poe certainly was a brilliant writer.
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I agree with you on that, Robbie. 🙂
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This was very interesting, Robbie. Thank you.
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Hi Jennie, I’m glad you enjoyed this piece of history.
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I did. Best to you, Robbie.
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I haven’t read that story in probably 30 years, but even now it inspires horror. Thanks for the interesting historical background notes.
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HI Bernadette, I’m glad you enjoyed this bit of history. Poe was a master at invoking horror and fear.
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Robbie, that was really intriguing. I’m grateful.
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another brilliant one! I now have to go back and reread with this in mind.
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I’m glad you enjoyed this post. I am a big Poe fan.
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