The abundance of stylistic devices in Poe's horror stories

Edgar Poe is the master of imagery and the greatest genius of the literary world. To immerse readers into a somber atmosphere and convey the main idea of the story the author resorts to various stylistic devices.  To render the essential symbols of the story Poe uses vivid examples of personification such as: "Time", "Beauty", "Darkness", "Decay", "Death". Moreover, all these notions are deliberately capitalized to draw readers' attention. One more example of personification concerns the ghastly disease which is compared to a living creature: "the pestilence raged furiously". These are the integral categories of  human existence which rule our lives. It's a meaningless task to rebel against these immortal almighty authorities.The highly expressive set of epithets is used to depict the luxurious abbey and the insane splendor of the court : "august taste", "deep seclusion", "madman fashion", "delirious fancies", "voluptuous scene", "gaudy, fantastic appearance ". The astonishing beauty of the castle and it's glaring  сhic are highlighted by means of periphrases: "the creation of the prince's own eccentric,yet august taste". The same function serves the usage of the framing repetition, enumeration and asyndeton in the sentence: "There were buffoons, there were improvisatori, there were ballet-dancers, there were musicians, there was Beauty, there was wine. " By means of metonymy Poe turns the gay crowd of knights and dames  into faceless "maskers" and "costumes".The general atmosphere of terror and tensity is intensified by the following metaphors; "the redness and the horror of the blood", "the masquerade license of the night ", "the impulse of despair", "the iron voice of the clock", "the brazen lungs of the clock". The numerous cases of inversion emphasize people's fear of death and hopes that: "Without was the "Red Death.""   However, in the end The Red  Death  is presented by means of simile as a quiet, cold-blooded, deft criminal who steals our souls: "He had come like a thief in the night. "