Narrator and point of view

The short story “The Premature Burial” by Edgar Allan Poe is told by a first-person narrator who is also the main character. His perspective is highly subjective because of his phobia of being buried alive, which controls every aspect of his life. 

The narrator addresses the reader directly at times, for instance: “I need not remind the reader that, from the long and weird catalogue of human miseries, I might have selected many individual instances (...).” In addressing the reader directly, the narrator appears to seek the sympathy and understanding of the others. 

The narrator comes across as honest, both in his accounts of cases of premature burial, as well as when it comes to his own condition and experience. He spares no details in telling his story, including the full extent of his suffering. He ...