Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore."
Today marks the 197th anniversary of the birth of Edgar Allan Poe, one of America’s, and in my opinion, the world’s, most important literary figures. Poe was a progenitor of both the gothic horror (or dark romanticism) and detective/crime genres of literature. His short, tragic life coloured his writing. He used his own experiences of personal loss and grief as inspiration for his macabre and angst-ridden tales, often including supernatural events and settings to add menace, mystery and fear to his narrative, all of which were all told with a mastery of the English language that brilliantly matched the tone of his stories and poems.
A DREAM WITHIN A DREAM
(1827)
Take this kiss upon the brow!
And, in parting from you now,
Thus much let me avow-
You are not wrong, who deem
That my days have been a dream;
Yet if hope has flown away
In a night, or in a day,
In a vision, or in none,
Is it therefore the less gone?
All that we see or seem
Is but a dream within a dream.
And, in parting from you now,
Thus much let me avow-
You are not wrong, who deem
That my days have been a dream;
Yet if hope has flown away
In a night, or in a day,
In a vision, or in none,
Is it therefore the less gone?
All that we see or seem
Is but a dream within a dream.
I stand amid the roar
Of a surf-tormented shore,
And I hold within my hand
Grains of the golden sand-
How few! yet how they creep
Through my fingers to the deep,
While I weep- while I weep!
O God! can I not grasp
Them with a tighter clasp?
O God! can I not save
One from the pitiless wave?
Is all that we see or seem
But a dream within a dream?
Edgar Allan Poe, 1809 - 1849
3 comments:
Tell me... do you see it as a good or a bad thing that The Simpsons brought Poe to a whole new batch of young sponges?
Noshie
Noshie, I think I must be one of the few people left in the world who doesn't watch the Simpsons very much (it's not that I dislike it - I'm happy to watch if it's on and I'm in the room), so I'm not familiar with the treatment Poe has received at the hands of Matt Groening and his writers. However I think that any introduction to what would ordinarily be seen as dry, dusty old subject matter by the kids (any many adults) of today, whether satirical or not, has to be a good thing - the maxim, any publicity is good publicity, has to apply here.
At least, in this way his work is being kept alive in popular culture, and those curious can independently find out more regarding a subject they would not normally be exposed to. I don't know if his work appears on many school curriculums, it wasn't on mine.
Allow me to assist with your introduction to the treatment the Simpsons writers gave Poe.
Best quote from the episode:
"Quoth the Raven: 'Eat my shorts!'"
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