The King in Yellow Literary Elements

A collection of short stories, horror

Almost all events take place in the United States and France in 20th century. All stories are filled with the supernatural and mysteries.

Narrators change, for every story has its own. They are mostly told from the first-person point of view.

Tone is worrying while mood is mysterious.

The protagonists change in every story. The King in yellow is the antagonist.

The main conflict is man vs. the supernatural.

The climax happens when characters realize that they are doomed and there is no way to save their lives. The majority of them start hearing a voice inside their heads, that it is the voice of the King in Yellow.

Although the story of Boris Yvain isn’t the first one in the collection, a reader knows how he is going to end up, for it is mentioned in the very beginning. He created a marble group “Fates” which decorate an entrance of the Lethal Chamber. That is when a reader learn Yvain’s fate.

When the Governor says that “the community will be benefited by the removal” of people with mental illness, he underestimates their lives.

These stories allude to Shakespeare, Norte Dame.

Imagery is actively used to create mysterious and uneasy atmosphere. Detailed descriptions of appearances, interiors and feelings of characters help readers to immerse in the atmosphere of horror and suspense.

Destroyed, preserved, how can we tell?
To destroy and to preserve are verbs with different meaning, that is why they create a paradox.

I watched the fountains ripple and sparkle.
Ripple and sparkle rhyme.

We shall be in the best of society. (Synecdoche)
The best of society means social elite.
Bring England into the question.
England is metonymy, where England stands for its government.

“They are very beautiful - these moors,” she said quietly.
“Beautiful, but cruel to strangers,” I answered.