Aubrey, Bryan. Critical Essay on "The Black Cat," in Short Stories for Students, Gale, Cengage Learning, 2008 This source analyses the story and the author in a psychological viewpoint. From analysis of the text, the author points out that there is no clear cause as to why the narrator kills his wife and cat and suggests that psychological problems are at hand due to some of the vocabulary presented in the story. The author also takes note of the time frame in which the story was written, claiming that Poe presented the mysterious side of nature during a period in which religion and science strove to discern everything.
DiYanni, Robert. Literature: Reading Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. 6th. McGraw-Hill Company, 2008. 132-144. Print. This textbook briefly details Poe’s life before and after his writing of horror, suspense story. He was a journalist and magazine editor before writing short stories that have an eloquent vocabulary that creates a mysterious, suspenseful read. The textbook presents many of his short stories, including The Black Cat, The Cask of Amontillado, The Fall of the House of Usher, and The Purloined Letter. The text includes criticism of Poe’s work towards the end of the section. Christopher Benfey’s criticism of The Black Cat states that Poe’s killers talk excessively more than they kill excessively. He decides that the killer has a need to confess and that concealment would be unbearable for him, which Poe’s story seems to confirm by its long narrative confession.Gargano, James. "The Question of Poe's Narrators," in College English, Vol. 25, No. 3, December 1963, pp. 177-81. This author presents a criticism of those who condemn Poe’s works by saying his cheap, gothic style prevents him from being taken as a serious writer. The author presents both Poe’s defenders and critics but ultimately says that Poe should be judged by the whole of his work, not by its components (ex: his style or vocabulary). Proposing that Poe’s intention is for the reader to see the mentally disturbed narrator from thoughtful point of view, the author claims that the reader should be analyzing the story and situation rather than sharing empathy with the narrator on a personal level. Conclusively, the author asserts that Poe is an author that intelligently explores and probes the psyche of his characters.
Giodano, Robert. “A short biography of Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849).” 27 June 2005. 8 March 2007 < http://www.poestories.com/biography.php > This website source briefly depicts Poe’s childhood as a son who was adopted after his mother’s death in his early childhood. It also details his teen life as a heavy drinker who later joined the army after being shunned by his adoptive father. This source helps put Poe’s early life into perspective and will help give an insight to the life of Poe in hopes of finding a relation to his experiences in his writing."The Black Cat." Short Stories for Students. Ed. Ira Mark Milne. Vol. 26. Detroit: Gale, 2008. 26-47. Literature Resources from Gale. Web. 7 Dec. 2011. This source from the IRSC’s online database has a very thorough paragraph concerning Bryan Aubrey’s criticism and interpretation of the short story ‘The Black Cat.’ It helped me to understand some of the more hidden elements of the work, and also lends an insight as to whether the narrator is actually insane or not. He notes some of the more supernatural elements at work in the story as well.
"Who is Edgar Allan Poe?"Poe's Life. Poe's Museum, 2010. Web. 10 Oct. 2011. <http://www.poemuseum.org/life.php> This source includes a brief summary and timeline of events of Poe’s entire life, from his childhood to his death. It includes his working career in magazines and also his writing career consisting of short stories. Using his summation of his life, one can understand Poe’s background in application to his writing style and experience.
Womack, Martha. "Edgar Allan Poe's The Black Cat." The Poe Decoder. N.p., 1997. Web. 28 Nov 2011. <http://www.poedecoder.com/essays/blackcat/#style> This source details The Poe Decoder organization's views and information on Poe and his various works. It contains personal information on Poe's life and also critical reviews of his many works.
