Structure

The short story “The Premature Burial” by Edgar Allan Poe begins with a long introduction, in which the narrator describes several cases of premature burial, as well as the impact they had on him. He greatly fears the same thing happening to himself. He also describes his own disorder which was believed to be catalepsy, and which he believes to be the reason for his phobia. 

There are several instances of foreshadowing in the text. The mention of the “sudden and unaccountable illness” of the lawyer’s wife in Baltimore foreshadows the narrator’s later confession that he suffers from a disease similar to catalepsy whose “causes, and even the actual diagnosis (…) are still mysterious.” The case of Edward Stapleton who has been ‘galvanized’ back to life foreshadows that the narrator will also regain his vita...