The Complete Tales & Poems of Edgar Allan Poe

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There can be no more absolute waste of time than the attempt to prove, at the present day that man, by mere exercise of will, can so impress his fellow, as to cast him into an abnormal condition, of which the phenomena resemble very closely those of death…” Supranaturalul în habitatul lui!!! Motivul pisicii (şi negre!) în contrast cu nenorocirile naratorului. Nuvela, structurată în două planuri narative -unul de tip ramă, iar celălalt funciarmente subiectiv- prezintă, în incipit, câteva cazuri din presă internaţională a secolului XIX de "îngropaţi de vii". A două parte prezintă subiectiv o experienţă a personajului-narator, suferind de catalepsie ("În tot ceea ce îndurăm nu era nicio suferinţă fizică, dar, în schimb, o durere morală fără seamăn. [...] Nu vorbeam decât de viermi, morminte şi epitafuri").

There are a few techniques that Poe really works with that help make his stories so unsettling or successful. Poe was a believer in what has been termed Poe’s Single Effect Theory, which is drawn from his review of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Twice-Told Tales: One of my favorite Poe stories. In Ligeia, it appears as though Poe wants his reader to know that not only does he masterfully write chilling horror stories, but also is he a romantic at heart. Combining elements of romance and horror, Poe wove a suspenseful story focusing on the mental health of a protagonist who has lost the love of his life. O remarcă drăguţă: "Dacă există pe lume o tiranie deplină şi mai presus de oricare alta, e tirania minţii unui copil genial asupra tovarăşilor săi cu o minte mai puţin vioaie." Mi-e temă de meditaţie, căci mi-ar fi foarte lesne să înlocuiesc "copil" cu "om"... Edgar Allan Poe was known for his eloquent and poetic language, as well as his dark and mysterious themes. Here are some of his most famous quotes: The Imp of the Perverse (1845) is another example of a story posing as an essay. It is an examination of theories, rather than being heavy on plot. The "imp of the perverse" is a metaphoric spirit, and refers to the urge we humans feel to do something "merely because we feel we should not." The flimsy story describes an act of murder, which was meticulously planned to look like an accident, and therefore would never have been detected save for "the imp of the perverse." The narrator arouses suspicion by behaving oddly, by running around and ultimately by confessing to the murder in a clear and "distinct enunciation." The entire story describes an act of self-destruction, as the narrator was ultimately tried and hanged for the murder. Some critics theorise that Poe was forming an early theory, which was later developed by Sigmund Freud into that of the self-conscious and repression:The Mystery of Marie Roget” concerns another death about two years later than those in the previous story. Despite the amount of factual evidence available to the press, it concerns itself primarily with “suggestions”:

I was aware that Poe specialised in mystery stories and that he had more or less invented the genre of detective fiction. What I didn’t know was that he also wrote relatively self-consciously in a metafictional sense. Not only did he invent a manner of writing, but he explained fairly insightfully what he was trying to accomplish, so that others could follow in his footsteps. Despite his relatively short career, Poe's literary contributions had a significant impact on American and world literature, and he is widely considered one of the greatest and most influential writers in the horror and detective genres. His works continue to be celebrated and adapted in various forms, from films to TV series to theatrical productions. So with Poe, we have tone being so central to his stories. The Masque of the Red Death drives almost on tone alone, details compounding upon details until the big reveal at the end with the falling action literally being everyone falling down super dead. Half the enjoyment is just in the atmosphere though, especially in stories like The Tell-Tale Heart where most of the narrative is insisting that he is not ‘ a madman’ and listing all the ways he meticulously plots and executes his murder as a sure sign he is in full control of his faculties. It isn’t convincing, of course, and the irony of it is practically the original “could a depressed person make this?!” meme. Here, let’s revise it: Being the first short story Poe has ever published, Metzengerstein includes all the well-known aspects of his writing style which he has become so popular for. Quite disturbing, relying on speculative thoughts due to the narrative, a thought-provoking turning point and a deeper meaning which appears when thinking more precisely about the story. Poe has excellently explored the interesting concept of metempsychosis through this interesting short story which focuses on the feuds of two rivaling Hungarian families. [Please don't read the synopsis on the Goodreads book edition, since it spoils the story and its apparent meaning in their entirety.]The Tell-Tale Heart was the story through which I have had the pleasure to meet Edgar Allan Poe some years ago, and it proved to become one of the best short stories I've ever read. Basically, it's a murderer's confession, creating the impression of a mad narrator and raising the reader's interest in his arguments he builds up as part of his defense. As the story continues, Poe cleverly turns his reader from a witness of the events into a judge of guilt and innocence, a narrative structure admired by me. Thou Art the Man” is a humorous tale of how the deceased victim manages to confront his murderer with his guilt. In other words, bullshit (and lots of it) baffles brains. These purportedly encyclopaedic fictions “may seduce into error or hurry into miscalculation.” Mie această proză scurtă mi-a adus aminte de două mari romane universale, "Doctor Faustus" şi "Maestrul şi Margareta", căci în paginile sale prezintă convorbirea unui filosof cu diavolul în vederea "cumpărării" sufletului în schimbul unui adevăr care are să-l facă celebru. Însă, bineînţeles, Pierre Bon-Bon este un filosof stoic şi "jocul pe degete" este reciproc, însă asta nu-l scuteşte de fatalitatea deciziei sale…

While he doesn’t say as much, it can be inferred that, if you can convince a reader that something is the truth, you are equally capable of perpetrating a hoax. This reminded me of the later quotation often attributed to Oscar Wilde: Războiul dintre criminalul neprins şi conştiinţa sa. O proză premergătoare ca subiect romanului de valoare universală "Crimă şi pedeapsă". Titlul, metaforic, nu prezintă niciun dram de perversitate sexuală, ci intelectuală. The Bells" - A poem that describes the different sounds of bells and the emotions they evoke, from the joyous pealing of wedding bells to the mournful tolling of funeral bells.It is interesting to see the power that Poe's writings hold over readers today when other writers with long narratives and little dialogue, such as Lovecraft, are considered difficult to read. Upon closer examination, though, it is easy to see the distinction. Many of the narrative writers were in love with writing forms and the richness of the English language. Poe inserted himself into his tales and poems and communicated the experience to us. We should bear in mind that, in general, it is the object of our newspapers rather to create a sensation - to make a point - than to further the cause of truth.” Griswold then convinced Poe’s mother-in-law to sign over the rights to all of Poe’s work to him and published a collected works along with a biography of Poe that was full of outright lies. He invented stories that depicted Poe as a drunkard that preyed on women for sodomy and finacial ruin amonst numerous outlandish claims of immorality and insanity, which was then bolstered by publishing Poe’s personal letters filled with fictional insertions of his own design. People were like wow this scary stories guy was a dangerous loon and overtime this was said less in disgust and more in comical appreciation, because people seem to love the idea that the artists behind inventive art are drug addled and unhinged. So the joke was on Griswold because practically nobody knows who he is and his plans to defame Poe actually solidified him as an iconic household name. The first story in this collection is “The Unparalleled Adventure of One Hans Pfaall”, which is more like a piece of science fiction (about a trip to the moon).

Poe, în această "proză scurtă de dimensiuni considerabile", a dat dovadă de o uluitoare imaginaţie (stimulată poate de opiu?!). Scrierea se prezintă la început ca o povestire, iar mai apoi ca un microroman epistolar. The mental features discoursed of as the analytical, are, in themselves, but little susceptible of analysis. We appreciate them only in their effects. We know of them, among other things, that they are always to their possessor, when inordinately possessed, a source of the liveliest enjoyment. As the strong man exults in his physical ability, delighting in such exercises as call his muscles into action, so glories the analyst in that moral activity which disentangles. He derives pleasure from even the most trivial occupations bringing his talent into play. He is fond of enigmas, of conundrums, of hieroglyphics; exhibiting in his solutions of each a degree of acumen which appears to the ordinary apprehension preternatural. His results, brought about by the very soul and essence of method, have, in truth, the whole air of intuition.” In “The Balloon-Hoax”, a hoax is achieved by describing a voyage in “the minutest particulars”. Once again, credibility and credulity are both achieved by particularity and detail.The Raven As a collection, this book is complete with his short stories and poems, the introduction provides a fascinating insight into Poe and there is a useful timeline for his works. My big criticism of this Advanced Reader Copy is that it is only available for the Adobe Digital Editions application or the new NetGalley app, both of which are impossible to read 'PDF' files using a smartphone or tablet, and are not available for the Kindle. I already own a complete set of works of Edgar Allen Poe so for the stories I could switch to that version and use a computer to read the pdf file for the Introduction and other material specific to this publication. Which somehow defeats the purpose.