The original CliffsNotes study guides offer expert commentary on major themes, plots, characters, literary devices, and historical background. The latest generation of titles in the series also feature glossaries and visual elements that complement the classic, familiar format. Edgar Allan Poe is celebrated as the genius of the gothic horror story. Emphasizing the grotesque, the mysterious, the desolate, and the horrible, he arouses fear in readers. He is the champion of storytelling that gives us a nervous sense of the ghostly and the supernatural. CliffsNotes on Poe's Short Stories takes you inside the mind of this one-of-a-kind American author. Consider his place in the Romantic movement and examine his critical theories with the insightful essays in this book. In-depth critical commentaries cover the following stories and more: "The Fall of the House of Usher" "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" "The Black Cat" "The Cask of Amontillado" "The Pit and the Pendulum" "The Tell-Tale Heart" "The Masque of the Red Death" Classic literature or modern modern-day treasure - you'll understand it all with expert information and insight from CliffsNotes study guides.