Abstract

Edgar Allan Poe, a well-known American poet, short novelist and literary critic in the 19th century, has been worldly recognized as the master of short stories, forerunner of American detective stories and father of science fiction. The first-person point of view is adopted in most of Poe’s short stories, which helps create great artistic effects and aesthetic charm in Poe’s works. This paper is a detailed study of three short stories, respectively The Tell-Tale Heart, The Black Cat and The Cask of Amontillado, with the focus on how the first-person point of view is employed in various ways to help the characterization, plot development as well as atmosphere creation. 

Key Words: Edgar Allan Poe; First-person point of view; The Tell-Tale Heart; The Black Cat; The Cask of Amontillado; Unreliable narratives

摘  要

埃德加•爱伦•坡是美国19世纪诗人、短篇小说家和文艺批评家。他在小说创作方面开启了美国侦探小说和现代科幻小说的先河，用演绎心灵的创作手法提升了哥特小说的艺术地位。坡非常擅长采用第一人称视角进行叙事，使小说呈现出独特的艺术效果和审美吸引力。本论文以坡的三部作品——《泄密的心》、《黑猫》、《一桶白葡萄酒》为研究对象，重点探讨坡如何运用第一人称视角来塑造人物形象、发展故事情节以及渲染哥特式恐怖氛围。

关键词：埃德加•爱伦•坡；第一人称叙事视角；《泄密的心》；《黑猫》；《一桶白葡萄酒》；不可靠叙事

1. Introduction
Edgar Allan Poe (January 19, 1809 — October 7, 1849) was a well-known American poet, short novelist and literature critic in the 19th century. In light of Edgar Allan Poe’s impact on the history of literature and arts, his works deserves appreciation. From the late 1820s through the next two decades, he created some of the finest short stories, the most memorable poetry and the most insightful and perceptive criticism ever written. Nowadays, Poe has been worldly recognized as the originator of short stories, forerunner of American detective stories and father of science fiction. As is known to all, many of Poe's best short stories are concerned with terror and death, and he always takes first-person point of view as the narrative method in his work, which fully reflects his literary creativity at that time.