The common cliche "a picture speaks a thousand words" may be overused and overheard, but still rings true today. Through the use of multiple elements, photographs are able to have meanings that can be seen through looking deeper at the image, and become more detailed and vivid. A detailed image can also convey a meaning through the stylistic elements. In the illustration for Edgar Allen Poe's "The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar" by Henry Clark, the use of color, texture, and lines, to convey the message of one of the greatest fears one can think of; being under complete control of someone without being able to get out. 

First, the easiest thing to see in the illustration is the color. There is an immense amount of black in the picture, and it easily outnumbers the amount of white that is put into the image. The black creates a very heavy sense that whatever happened in the image is not good. In the short story "The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar" the patient is put into hypnosis when he is on the verge of death and stays in this hypnotic state for a few months. When he is taken out of hypnosis, his body completely deteriorates immediately and that is what is being captured in the illustration. The fact that Valdemar was unable to get out of this as well, and was under the control of the doctor is a terrifying though, and one that is conveyed through the use of color. The color adds so much to the image because of the contrast between the white and the black. The sea of black above the patient gives the black a very strong feel, but this can also make the white strong as well. If white is used in small amounts, it can highlight things or point out things one normally wouldn't see. The white is placed only on the doctor's hands, and his face. This is done with the purpose of making the powerful statement that the doctor is controlling this whole operation. The white on his face and hands also illuminates him and makes him the center of attention. The color is a factor on the audience in the image as well, because there is less white used on the people watching. This contrast conveys the message that patient is under hypnosis completely against his will, unable to escape the prison the doctor has placed him in. This gives the effect that the people watching are in the background and it gives depth to the image. Depth is a factor with the doorway in the back on the image, of which a small portion of white is used to give the feeling that the doorway is far away and the room is large, which could also read the viewer into thinking there could be lots of people in the room. Again, Valdemar is doing this without any control over himself, or what is going on, and that is represented through the depth of the image. He has been turned into almost an experiment and Is on stage in front of a large audience. Overall, the color choice in the illustration creates a sense of something bad, highlights important characters in the image, and creates depth. The use of these elements showcase the fear of being under complete control of someone very well. The contrast of the hands showing the power the doctor has over the patient and the immense amount of black both contribute to conveying this message. 

Next, texture is an element used in the illustration that is very important. One of the biggest things Edgar Allan Poe was known for was his ability to create very gruesome horror stories. In the story "The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar", there are very few ghastly scenes. The majority of the story is not morbid like a typical Poe story is, but it is at this moment in the story that gives that gruesome nature that most Poe stories have. Henry Clark illustrates this though his use of texture with the decomposing body in the image. The splotchy nature of the body in the illustration makes the body look like its decomnposing. The face of the body has the texture of something that is melting away, along with the rest of the body. The dripping on the side of the bed adds to the texture of the body as well, truly selling the fact this body is melting away. Valdemar's arm seems to almost melt on the bed, and there is no hand visible showing that it has most likely already pooled up next to the bed. Valdemar's leg is also decomposing on the side of the bed, and the texture gives it the appearance that the leg is made up of just a bone and a few ligaments at that point in time. This addition to the texture gives the image a much deeper meaning. It may seem like just a regular gruesome illustration to most, but when one looks into the context, they will find more than just a frightful picture. The foul imagery demonstrates the fear that one can experience when one is under the control of someone else. It the fear of feeling that this person can not escape from the control of the doctor that is demonstrated from the graphic texture in the illustration. The texture is really what defines the illustration as an illustration for one of Poe's stories. This is what identifies the picture Clark does a tremendous job using texture to show how how the body was deteriorating and the gruesome way that it melted on the bed, which gives the illustration a deeper meaning. 

Lastly, lines are an element used in Clark's illustration that convey the fear of being controlled by someone. Lines are usually used to create or lessen the space in an image, or they can point to something in order to highlight it. In this case, the doctor's arms point at the patient which shows the patient is receiving something from the doctor. Of course at this point in the story the patient snapped out of hypnosis by the doctor and immediately dies after. The lines that come from his hands and arms create a sense of power transfer, and the illustration is directly showing that the reason that the patient is dying is because of the doctor. This contributes to the message of fear towards the thought of being controlled by another person. Clark is using these lines to make the image more grim in order to give the image more of an appalling look to get the message across. The viewer can also see the lines used in the detail on the bed. There are a couple different types of lines that Clark uses in order to add more detail to the scene. One of these is the very small lines that are running off the bed all in sync. This is showing a rapid movement of the body material moving off of the bed, and could also be showing where a leg once was. The leg on that is hanging off of the side of the bed is a thicker line, giving it more definition. When one sees the thicker lines they can tell that the smaller lines have melted away and the thicker ones are what remains. Clark uses lines to not only send a message through the use of the doctor pointing at the patient, but shows vivid detail with the use of the thickness of the lines. The use of lines in the illustration create a grisly and terrifying sight to look at on the bed, and the message of fear of being controlled by another person is conveyed through this. 

In conclusion, Henry Clark uses multiple elements to get his frightening point across. He uses the element of color to create a tone for the illustration, and give the illustration depth. The color also gives the image some important contrast that leads to understanding more about what is going on in the picture. Clark also uses the element of texture to truly make the illustration feel like it was based off of a short story written by Edgar Allan Poe and add the gruesome detail that was seen in the story. And finally Clark used lines to put a spotlight on key characters in the illustration and also add vivid detail.  The fear of losing the ability to make one's own choices is shown through the elements in the illustration. A loss of individuality and fear of not being able to make choices is something that humans fear each day. Becoming a slave to not only someone else, but the lack of one's uniqueness is a massive dread. All three of these elements come together to create more detail, and something deeper than just the illustration. The message of becoming a slave to someone else, and losing the traits that make one unique. 

