A virtuoso of suspense and horror, Edgar Allan Poe is known for his gothic writing style. His style is created through the use of punctuation, sentence structure, word choice, tone, and figurative language. As for punctuation; hyphens, exclamation points, semicolons, and commas are Poe's favorites. His sentences vary greatly; their structures are influenced by punctuation. Much of his word choice sets the tone for his works. Figurative language colors his descriptive writings. This is seen in the similarities between two of his most famous short stories, "The Cask of Amontillado" and "The Tell-Tale Heart." To begin with, Poe valued punctuation in his ability to make a point. The correct use of punctuation allowed the reader to perceive the full effect the sentence was intended to have. All of this is demonstrated in the first sentence of “The Tell-Tale Heart,” “True! - nervous - very, very terribly nervous I had been and am; but why will you say I'm crazy?" Here the dashes take the place of the comma to create the tension of the story from the first line. It draws the reader in, so that the reader has to determine whether the narrator is sane or not. Also, use semicolons to lengthen and support a sentence, usually by joining multiple sentences together. With a period instead of a semicolon, the relationship between the first and second sentences is not emphasized as much as it could be. A semicolon emphasizes the narrator's insistence on his sanity. Finally, the use of exclamation points shows the narrator's mood, thoughts, and emotions. Without the exclamation point in the first line, the impact of the narrator's statement would not be as great. Yet, observing the punctuation, one can hardly fail to notice the relationship that it stands... at the center of the paper... in which the stale air made our torches shine, rather than burn brightly", prefigure Fortunato's outcome in his research of Amontillado. The sense of uneasiness that the reader feels increases the suspense of the story. By using specific figurative language, he is able to evoke emotions in the reader that set the tone. In conclusion, Edgar Allan Poe's distinctive writing style comes from his use of punctuation, sentence structure, word choice, tone, and figurative language. Commas, dashes, semicolons, and exclamation points appear frequently in his writings. At the same time, they influence the organization and duration of its sentences. The choice of words sets the tone. Literary devices imbue it with life. Comparing "The Cask of Amontillado" and "The Tell-Tale Heart", we observe this.Works Cited"The Cask of Amontillado" by Edgar Allan Poe"The Tell-Tale Heart" by Edgar Allan Poe