Structure

The short story “The Outsider” by H.P. Lovecraft is structured around the narrator’s decision to leave his dark castle and to look for light. His determination leads him to discover that he is a monster.

The story includes an epigraph consisting of four lines from John Keats’ poem “The Eve of St. Agnes”. The lines talk about nightmares involving supernatural creatures such as witches and demons. The epigraph sets the scene for the rest of the short story by establishing a frightening atmosphere and leading the reader to expect the presence of supernatural elements. 

The beginning of the story introduces some reflections from the narrator:

Unhappy is he to whom the memories of childhood bring only fear and sadness. Wretched is he who looks back upon lone hours in vast and dismal chambers with brown hangings and maddening rows of antique ...