I really love reading Poe. Thank you for giving me the chance to revisit him! He is such a master of the short story form indeed. As a non-native speaker of the language, I found your breakdown of sentence structure and punctuation very helpful.
The eyes and the looks make him aware of himself, of his existence, and therefore of his madness. And the vulture's eye implies vigilance, which is why I think he's in a mental asylum. Did I tell you that I love this story? :D
As you say, this story leads us to madness, but not to a "normal" madness if that exists, I think it leads to the purest madness of the individual, the one who imagines that he did something terrible and takes us there with his descriptions, but that...in reality never happened. How could such a swift investigation have taken place just because of a scream? How come the "officers" didn't leave despite their strange behavior? He said himself, the "observations of the men"...made him fury, just like the "Evil Eye" of his "victim"
I have been out of pocket, so to speak, after a nearly fatal health issue not quite two weeks past. Home now, very slow recovery, but wanted to thank you for this inclusion of one of my all time favorite writers. Having read this tale numerous times as a,child, and having heard Rathbone give a most chilling narration of it once, his voice rising appropriately to mimic the uncontrollable madness, it has always been a gem. And although I do not recall the title, Robert Bloch did a short story that was almost a slightly altered copy of this. IIRC, his hinged on the way that an old woman in a boarding house, smacked her lips when eating a cookie! But, off topic a bit, to me, the most excellent short story ever uniting themes of quiet madness and death, is one I am sure you know well. August Heat, by W F Harvey. Classic.
Sorry my power has been out or would have replied sooner. My father was a multi faceted fellow, genius, thinker, inventor, and sadly later in life, terminal alcoholic. Long story there. But in my childhood he often read to me from his large library and as I learned to read myself, I often read his favorite Poe - Annabel Lee , and found my own hauntingly gripping favorite, Ulalume. From then on, partly due to some melancholic childhood, I suppose, I felt a sort of kinship with Poe.
Of course as time went on, I broadened my reading to take in the classics, philosophy and so on, but always had a taste for the more macabre tales. Pre Lovecraft mostly, the tales from early English, Welsh , general Celtic sorts. Machen was a favorite, as was Blackwood and countless others ...but my topmost three authors to whom I returned for decades, were Poe, Marcus Aurelius, and Shakespeare.
I really love reading Poe. Thank you for giving me the chance to revisit him! He is such a master of the short story form indeed. As a non-native speaker of the language, I found your breakdown of sentence structure and punctuation very helpful.
Thank you, Fatima. Glad you enjoyed my ramblings! He's always worth revisiting.
I also love "The Premature Burial" and "The Masque of the Red Death." Sorry for inundating with comments... :D
Guilty! I haven't read these yet...
Well, I'm a "little" obsessed with Poe, actually 😉.
The eyes and the looks make him aware of himself, of his existence, and therefore of his madness. And the vulture's eye implies vigilance, which is why I think he's in a mental asylum. Did I tell you that I love this story? :D
I get that impression, yes!
All great points. I hadn't quite looked at the issue with the vulture eye as 'seeing' the narrator, so that's an excellent point.
I really could read this over and over forever.
Yes, me too. 😉
As you say, this story leads us to madness, but not to a "normal" madness if that exists, I think it leads to the purest madness of the individual, the one who imagines that he did something terrible and takes us there with his descriptions, but that...in reality never happened. How could such a swift investigation have taken place just because of a scream? How come the "officers" didn't leave despite their strange behavior? He said himself, the "observations of the men"...made him fury, just like the "Evil Eye" of his "victim"
I have been out of pocket, so to speak, after a nearly fatal health issue not quite two weeks past. Home now, very slow recovery, but wanted to thank you for this inclusion of one of my all time favorite writers. Having read this tale numerous times as a,child, and having heard Rathbone give a most chilling narration of it once, his voice rising appropriately to mimic the uncontrollable madness, it has always been a gem. And although I do not recall the title, Robert Bloch did a short story that was almost a slightly altered copy of this. IIRC, his hinged on the way that an old woman in a boarding house, smacked her lips when eating a cookie! But, off topic a bit, to me, the most excellent short story ever uniting themes of quiet madness and death, is one I am sure you know well. August Heat, by W F Harvey. Classic.
Wow, I hope you're feeling much better now! Nothing like a brush with death to make us appreciate Poe all over again!
Sincerely speaking, though, I really hope you get well from whatever it was that cause you such a problem.
My experience with Bloch is pitiful, so I will have to correct that. I'll also have to check out that narration of TTHeart, also.
Anything stick out for you as to why you enjoy Poe so much?
Sorry my power has been out or would have replied sooner. My father was a multi faceted fellow, genius, thinker, inventor, and sadly later in life, terminal alcoholic. Long story there. But in my childhood he often read to me from his large library and as I learned to read myself, I often read his favorite Poe - Annabel Lee , and found my own hauntingly gripping favorite, Ulalume. From then on, partly due to some melancholic childhood, I suppose, I felt a sort of kinship with Poe.
Of course as time went on, I broadened my reading to take in the classics, philosophy and so on, but always had a taste for the more macabre tales. Pre Lovecraft mostly, the tales from early English, Welsh , general Celtic sorts. Machen was a favorite, as was Blackwood and countless others ...but my topmost three authors to whom I returned for decades, were Poe, Marcus Aurelius, and Shakespeare.
You've called out two absolute belters of Poe's works there. They rank as some of my favourites, too.
We'll most certainly get to Mr. Blackwood who remains one of my favourites. And Machen, too.
Hope you are doing better. Sounds like you've really been through it lately.
I hope your health is better. I really hope you keep getting better. ❤️
Your kindness is much appreciated- and I send my very best wishes your way!