Take a break and laugh!

Hey guys, I am sure that you are all working very hard on your papers for this class, and fretting about how you will get it done along with all the other things that are due etc. etc. etc! I just wanted to share this clip on Youtube with you all. I think we can all appreciate it as English majors! This has nothing to do with Poe, I just thought that everyone in the class could use a laugh at this point in the semester. This is a comedy skit about proofreading that is done by a teacher ( I think he is an English teacher) and these are all things that we are guilty of! I hope you enjoy it, and listen closely! Good luck to everyone finishing up final papers!

Here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FjhOBiSk8Gg&feature=related

Poe,Your Life is Calling

I am not sure, but is this a summary of Poe's life to some extent? He begins with his father thinking him a genius. This was mentioned in the Norton about how John Allan used to take Poe with him to show off his talents. He talks about being fifteen when he first begins to write, the dissolution of their relationship and so on. I also find it interesting that he mentions Aristotle and Milton as people that he copied. His dream of owning a literary magazine is how he ends the story, with him owning everyone that ever criticized him. He even talks about plagiarism and how he was introduced to being a critic when he began "Thomas Hawk'ing. It is amazing that everything in this story can be related back to Poe's life and stories. He even uses direct quotes from his stories; "I will make a man of you"(783) is a direct quote from Hop-frog. Was Poe attempting to explain away his life through this story?

The Cask

I have read The Cask of Amontillado many times, and I actually discussed it in one of my recent classes. I was thinking about that and remembered that we had talked about the ending and how it ends with Montresor calling in after Fortunato. Is it remorseful? Does he only realize once his wall is almost finished that he needs Fortunato in his life? ("to these words I harkened in vain for a reply.") Everyone has established that Montresor is an unreliable narrator and because of the fact that we don't know what crimes Fortunato committed against him some assume that he is crazy. What do you think? Also I remember talking in class about reasons why there is no response from Fortunato. Is he dead? Is this his final "win" over Montresor? The fact that he is not speaking could suggest that Fortunato has the upper hand because he is still controlling the situation. This may be far-fetched but it does say that he had sobered up... What do you think?

Cultural Presentation

Fondest Greetings!
Hope everyone had a good weekend. Well, tomorrow is the event you have all waited for...my Cultural Presentation! I'm just kidding...but here is a little preview.

Instead of Poe himself, I am going to be talking about one of the characters that he created, and how this character was personified, swiped, and portrayed. This character is the "Red Death" from his not-so-famous tale, "The Masque of the Red Death."

Here is the video I will be showing.




Have a good Day!

"Hop -Frog"

" I now see distinctly," he said, "what manner of people these maskers are. They are a great king and his seven privy-councilors--a king who does not scruple to strike a defenseless girl., and his seven councilors who abet him in the outrage. As for myself, I am simply Hop-Frog, the jester--and this is my last jest" (908).

I don't know about anyone else, but I think this passage from "Hop-Frog" shows the reader, Poe understood the wrongness of slavery and misogyny.

I was disturbed after reading "The Black Cat." I was bothered that the story was not told from the battered wife's perspective, but from her abuser's.

What make "Hop-Frog" so powerful is that it is told from the point of view of the abused. Poe's use of the kingdom imagery and symbolism speaks volumes on what I think Poe was trying to tell us about, Southern knights of old, mentality. What do you all think? Was Poe a secret abolitionist, and supporter of women's rights?

Colors in Red Death

Room 1: Blue
Room 2: Purple
Room 3: Green
Room 4: Orange
Room 5: White
Room 6: Violet
Room 7: Black with Scarlet (Deep Blood Red) Panes
GOLDEN Ornaments
EBONY Clock
RED Death

Psychologically, each of these colors signify different emotions. So I'm thinking that since Prince Prospero left the "external world" and secluded himself and his one thousand selected people and that the people are not allowed to grieve or think, the colors signify the other emotions or feelings aside from the constant pleasure they are supposed to feel. Near the end, the Prince is standing in the blue room. Blue can stand for peace, confidence, and strength. The Prince seems to have confidence standing up to the intruder in the corpse mask. Then when this figure moves so quickly through each room, it is as if he is showing that emotions mean nothing to him, he can easily pass them by. Which results in him being in the black room, the symbol of power, evil and death, after killing the Prince. And after that he kills off everyone else which is obviously killing off all their feelings and emotions. The red in "Red Death" plainly attributes to the blood and killings but what else? Maybe anger? If so, anger at what? The fact that the Prince essentially ran away from the country away from the "Red Death"?

These are just some quick thoughts to start off with. I'm not sure where I'm headed yet except trying to figure out why did Poe use so many colors and those specific ones? And what emotion does each one represent, if any? What does everyone else think?

Imagery and Sensation in "The Pit and the Pendulum"

I found it a bit troubling that the narrator in "The Pit and the Pendulum" was constantly in and out of consciousness yet he was able to perceive images and feelings that were concrete and solid in form. It is not even until page 493 that the narrator even opens his eyes. I don't think it is the fact that the narrator has the ability to sense things while he is in and out of consciousness, it is the idea that he is the only person that the reader can rely on for deatail in the tale. Can we trust his descriptions? He obviously makes mistakes when trying to feel out the measurement of the room he is confined to. When I read this story the first time, I found all the sensational writing appealing because I omitted where it was coming from. This time I had to stop myself and say, "wait all of these descriptions and images are the perception of a delusional person." Are they all that great anymore? I still think Poe shows his ability to describe an image with the utmost of talents to capture the reader, however is this tale to be considered another one of Poe unreliable sensationalist stories? Every time you turn around it is like Poe is asking you to trust a mad-man or a delusional drugged out narrator! That little trickster.