Edgar Allan Poe's Use of Setting Setting is the physical background of a story. Normally explained at the beginning, it tells the time and place of the story's action. Words take the place of paints in describing textures, images, sounds, colors, and sometimes even tastes, creating a picture in the reader's mind in which he or she can place the story's characters and actions. In identifying the setting, one should start by determining the town …showed first 75 words of 1772 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1772 total…an idea of what will happen without giving away the whole story. In three of his short stories, "The Cask of Amontillado," "The Pit and the Pendulum," and "Fall of the House of Usher," he uses setting to paint a dark, desolate atmosphere in the reader's mind. Easily associating darkness with death, Poe is able to set the mood of the story before any action has taken place, preparing the reader for a horrendous journey.