The Pit and the Pendulum by Edgar Allan Poe (PT 1)
Feb 3, 2020
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Explore the gripping tale of a man facing psychological tortures in a dark pit, contemplate consciousness and memory in swoon-like states, experience dread and isolation in the dungeon, navigate through a mysterious dungeon with limited resources, and feel the protagonist's torment in a grim prison cell.
48:34
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Quick takeaways
The narrator's cunning and quick thinking saved him from a deadly pendulum of death.
Facing unimaginable torment, the narrator found unexpected rescue from the French army at the brink of oblivion.
Deep dives
Escaping Death
The narrator narrowly avoids the pendulum of death, which threatened to cut through his bonds and his body. Using strategic movements and the distraction of rats, he manages to free himself just in time to dodge the deadly blade, showing his cunning and quick thinking under immense pressure.
Fiery Trials
As the pendulum threat subsides, the narrator faces a new ordeal as the room transforms into a blazing pit. He experiences the rising heat and intense terror as the room shifts its shape, leading him to the brink of despair. The inquisitorial vengeance escalates, subjecting him to unimaginable torment.
Desperate Measures
In a final act of desperation, the narrator embraces the chilling well as a respite from the impending fiery doom. As the room morphs into a lozenge shape, crushing him towards the pit, he is consumed by the agonizing realization of his fate. With a heart-wrenching scream of despair, he faces the ultimate edge of the abyss.
Unexpected Rescue
At the brink of oblivion, as the walls close in on the narrator, a sudden reprieve arrives in the form of General La Salle and the invading French army. The narrator's fate takes an unexpected turn as he is rescued from the clutches of the Inquisition and the impending death, marking a dramatic and unforeseen conclusion to his harrowing ordeal.
Next to The Tell-Tale Heart, this short tale by Poe is one of his most famous today. It is the story of a man captured by the Spanish Inquisition and sent to a dark pit where he received the worst psychological tortures.
We tend to think of Poe as purely a horror writer, which he is. But in Part 2 of this show I will discuss more of Poe's contributions to science fiction, which are present even in this work.
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