Dahlia Holbrook
Mr. Provenzano
Honors American Literature
16 March, 2012
Edgar Allen Poe and Death
Death has always been a fascination of the world. Including Edgar Allen Poe, one of the world’s greatest poets and story tellers. Poe had a strange fascination, may even call it an obsession with death. He wrote about it constantly. Death is normally something people shy away from, but not Poe he went head to head with it. This can be proved with five of the stories he wrote.
In the short story “The Masque of the Red Death” is a story about the plaque. When the plaque was spreading everyone was incredibly afraid of death. The plaque practically was death; the time of the plaque was a time of desperation, fear, and death. Poe carefully plays off of this idea to make a story to satisfy the hunger he had to write about it. The obsession was played out as everyone in the story was running away from the idea of dying by going to the party hosted by Prince Prospero. But the thing is no one can ever escape death. Poe constantly reminds the reader of this with all of the symbolism. “It was in this apartment, also, that there stood against the western wall, a gigantic clock of ebony. Its pendulum swung to and fro with a dull, heavy, monotonous clang…(Poe, “The Masque of the Red Death)” The clock is a representation of death. The clock is placed in the room where the death occurs. Not to mention the color of the room, this is black with a red tint. Red representing blood and black has always been tied with death. Every time the clock chimes it brings death a second, a minute, an hour, closer. “And now was acknowledged the presence of the Red Death. He had come like a thief in the night. (Poe, “The Masque of the Red Dance”)” The very thing that everyone at the party was trying to forget had made an appearance. Poe wanted to show how it was impossible to get away from death. Throughout the entire story it talks about death and how you cannot escape it no matter what, which shines a bit of light on Poe’s obsession with death. However, this is just one of his stories.
The story “Ligeia” isn’t exactly a horror story. Yes, it is scary at some parts but classified as more of a love story with some creepy elements. The story is very much about death though. This explores the idea of life after death. “Ligeia” is all about love not fading after death. When the Narrators wife starts having hallucinations the Narrator wonders if it’s Ligeia. This just shows that death cannot separate people. “There is one dear topic, however, on which my memory fails me not. It is the person of Ligeia, (Poe “Ligeia .)” Even though she dies he still loves her the same as he always did. Poe lost a lot of loved ones in his life; this could be the story about the love of Edgar Allen Poe’s life.
In the story “The Black Cat” a man deals with loss by his own doing. The narrator is very passionate towards his pets. Ever since he was a child he loved animals he loves them and cares for them. When the man gets drunk and gouges the eye of his beloved cat Pluto. Feeling guilty he murders Pluto and goes into depression. The death of Pluto immediately hurts the narrator and he finds a replacement. He finds the cat that he uses as a substitute for his first. “One morning, in cool blood, I slipped a noose about its neck and hung it to the limb of a tree, “Poe “The Black Cat” ). Being hanged is a fast way to die he killed Pluto out of mercy. Poe wanted to show that death isn’t always as bad as it puts out to be. There can be good things that come out of death like peace.
As well as “The Black Cat” there is an area of madness. The narrator is going to an old friend’s house. There is a lot symbolism; there is a giant crack in the side of the house symbolizing the instability of the family. They end up burying someone alive which is symbolic of life not being over after death. It’s a different way of doing it but true. “We painted and read together; or I listened, as if in a dream, to the wild improvisations of his speaking guitar, (Poe, “The Fall of the House of Usher”).” This quote is talking about how you can escape from reality. Sometimes is escaping reality is like death.
“A Premature Burial” is another one of Poe’s horror stories, and very maddening and disturbing. Poe has a trend of writing about being buried alive. In this short story that is all that it is practically what it is. “The true wretchedness, indeed – the ultimate woe – is particular, not diffuse. That the ghastly extremes of agony are endured by man the unit and never by man the mass – for let us thank a merciful God” (Poe, “The Premature Burial”). The narrator is driven by the idea of death he can’t even live his life. His life is fuel by the paranoia of being buried alive. Poe uses death constantly throughout all of his stories to create many ideas that mess with the readers head.
Edgar Allen Poe is obsessed with death. Still today people are mystified by death; they are scared and confused by it. Poe uses mainly symbolism to show the fear and paranoia of death. No one can ever escape death. No matter how hard anyone tries there’s no way to escape it. It is something everyone has to go through. Poe has done a great job of trying to explain death and his stories will forever be famous.
Bibliography
Poe, Edgar Allan. "The Fall of the House of Usher." Poestories.com. Web. 10 Mar. 2012. <http://poestories.com/read/houseofusher>.
Poe, Edgar Allan. "The Masque of the Red Death." Poestories.com. Web. 10 Mar. 2012. <http://poestories.com/read/masque>.
Poe, Edgar Allan. "The Premature Burial." Poestories.com. Web. 12 Mar. 2012. <http://poestories.com/read/premature>.
Poe, Edgar Allan. "The Black Cat." Poestories.com. Web. 12 Mar. 2012. <http://poestories.com/read/blackcat>.
Poe, Edgar Allan. “Ligiua.” Poestories.com. Web. 12 Mar. 2012
Dahlia Holbrook
Mr. Provenzano
Honors American Literature
16 March, 2012
Edgar Allen Poe and Death
Death has always been a fascination of the world. Including Edgar Allen Poe, one of the world’s greatest poets and story tellers. Poe had a strange fascination, may even call it an obsession with death. He wrote about it constantly. Death is normally something people shy away from, but not Poe he went head to head with it. This can be proved with five of the stories he wrote.
In the short story “The Masque of the Red Death” is a story about the plaque. When the plaque was spreading everyone was incredibly afraid of death. The plaque practically was death; the time of the plaque was a time of desperation, fear, and death. Poe carefully plays off of this idea to make a story to satisfy the hunger he had to write about it. The obsession was played out as everyone in the story was running away from the idea of dying by going to the party hosted by Prince Prospero. But the thing is no one can ever escape death. Poe constantly reminds the reader of this with all of the symbolism. “It was in this apartment, also, that there stood against the western wall, a gigantic clock of ebony. Its pendulum swung to and fro with a dull, heavy, monotonous clang…(Poe, “The Masque of the Red Death)” The clock is a representation of death. The clock is placed in the room where the death occurs. Not to mention the color of the room, this is black with a red tint. Red representing blood and black has always been tied with death. Every time the clock chimes it brings death a second, a minute, an hour, closer. “And now was acknowledged the presence of the Red Death. He had come like a thief in the night. (Poe, “The Masque of the Red Dance”)” The very thing that everyone at the party was trying to forget had made an appearance. Poe wanted to show how it was impossible to get away from death. Throughout the entire story it talks about death and how you cannot escape it no matter what, which shines a bit of light on Poe’s obsession with death. However, this is just one of his stories.
The story “Ligeia” isn’t exactly a horror story. Yes, it is scary at some parts but classified as more of a love story with some creepy elements. The story is very much about death though. This explores the idea of life after death. “Ligeia” is all about love not fading after death. When the Narrators wife starts having hallucinations the Narrator wonders if it’s Ligeia. This just shows that death cannot separate people. “There is one dear topic, however, on which my memory fails me not. It is the person of Ligeia, (Poe “Ligeia .)” Even though she dies he still loves her the same as he always did. Poe lost a lot of loved ones in his life; this could be the story about the love of Edgar Allen Poe’s life.
In the story “The Black Cat” a man deals with loss by his own doing. The narrator is very passionate towards his pets. Ever since he was a child he loved animals he loves them and cares for them. When the man gets drunk and gouges the eye of his beloved cat Pluto. Feeling guilty he murders Pluto and goes into depression. The death of Pluto immediately hurts the narrator and he finds a replacement. He finds the cat that he uses as a substitute for his first. “One morning, in cool blood, I slipped a noose about its neck and hung it to the limb of a tree, “Poe “The Black Cat” ). Being hanged is a fast way to die he killed Pluto out of mercy. Poe wanted to show that death isn’t always as bad as it puts out to be. There can be good things that come out of death like peace.
As well as “The Black Cat” there is an area of madness. The narrator is going to an old friend’s house. There is a lot symbolism; there is a giant crack in the side of the house symbolizing the instability of the family. They end up burying someone alive which is symbolic of life not being over after death. It’s a different way of doing it but true. “We painted and read together; or I listened, as if in a dream, to the wild improvisations of his speaking guitar, (Poe, “The Fall of the House of Usher”).” This quote is talking about how you can escape from reality. Sometimes is escaping reality is like death.
“A Premature Burial” is another one of Poe’s horror stories, and very maddening and disturbing. Poe has a trend of writing about being buried alive. In this short story that is all that it is practically what it is. “The true wretchedness, indeed – the ultimate woe – is particular, not diffuse. That the ghastly extremes of agony are endured by man the unit and never by man the mass – for let us thank a merciful God” (Poe, “The Premature Burial”). The narrator is driven by the idea of death he can’t even live his life. His life is fuel by the paranoia of being buried alive. Poe uses death constantly throughout all of his stories to create many ideas that mess with the readers head.
Edgar Allen Poe is obsessed with death. Still today people are mystified by death; they are scared and confused by it. Poe uses mainly symbolism to show the fear and paranoia of death. No one can ever escape death. No matter how hard anyone tries there’s no way to escape it. It is something everyone has to go through. Poe has done a great job of trying to explain death and his stories will forever be famous.
Bibliography
Poe, Edgar Allan. "The Fall of the House of Usher." Poestories.com. Web. 10 Mar. 2012. <http://poestories.com/read/houseofusher>.
Poe, Edgar Allan. "The Masque of the Red Death." Poestories.com. Web. 10 Mar. 2012. <http://poestories.com/read/masque>.
Poe, Edgar Allan. "The Premature Burial." Poestories.com. Web. 12 Mar. 2012. <http://poestories.com/read/premature>.
Poe, Edgar Allan. "The Black Cat." Poestories.com. Web. 12 Mar. 2012. <http://poestories.com/read/blackcat>.
Poe, Edgar Allan. “Ligiua.” Poestories.com. Web. 12 Mar. 2012
No comments:
Post a Comment