Эдгар По
И опять я вас помучаю англоязычным эссе, на этот раз по избраным вещам Эдгара По. В детстве это были такие няшные ужастики! ^_^
Если кто-то поправит ошибки или что-нибудь нелогичное заметит - велкам!
Fatalism vs. Free Will in Poe’s Prose and Poems
Poe was very likely a fatalist, desperately trying to convince himself that he was not. Suggested selected Poe’s prose and poetry confirm it, having one noteworthy distinction: prose is usually about self-destruction of a character driven by his or her free will, while in poems a character is under the influence of irresistible supernatural powers.
In “The Bells”, “The Raven”, “Annabel Lee” different supernatural forces (for each case: the bells and the fire; the raven, God and the angels; the seraphs) influenced the character’s destiny, having parted him with his love or done another misfortune.
As opposite, in suggested Poe’s prose, the characters created their misfortunes by themselves. Self-destruction motive is obvious in “The Tell-Tale Heart” and “The Black Cat”: both madmen conducted a murder and then lead policemen to the corpses. In “The Oval Portrait” young lady made a wrong choice and married obviously inappropriate person, thus having buried her possible alternative “lived happily ever after” with someone another. In “The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar” the main character himself gave his consent for unnatural experiments with his body. Finally, in “The Fall of the House of Usher” sir Roderic intentionally did not notice his sister’s movements in her coffin.
At the same time we still see parallels in symbolism, e.g. the cat named “Pluto” in “The Black Cat” and “Night’s Plutonian shore” in “The Raven”, both referring to ancient Roman lord of the underworld. This symbolism seems to be connected to supernatural powers, rather inherent to the poetry than to the prose.
It gives us a hint where to look for the real Poe’s attitude to life. He was more of a fatalist, who tried to convince himself that he was not, writing gothic stories about self-made suicides and anthems to human logic and mind. That is why we are able to enjoy his and posterior detective characters and brilliant frightening gothic stories.
Если кто-то поправит ошибки или что-нибудь нелогичное заметит - велкам!
Fatalism vs. Free Will in Poe’s Prose and Poems
Poe was very likely a fatalist, desperately trying to convince himself that he was not. Suggested selected Poe’s prose and poetry confirm it, having one noteworthy distinction: prose is usually about self-destruction of a character driven by his or her free will, while in poems a character is under the influence of irresistible supernatural powers.
In “The Bells”, “The Raven”, “Annabel Lee” different supernatural forces (for each case: the bells and the fire; the raven, God and the angels; the seraphs) influenced the character’s destiny, having parted him with his love or done another misfortune.
As opposite, in suggested Poe’s prose, the characters created their misfortunes by themselves. Self-destruction motive is obvious in “The Tell-Tale Heart” and “The Black Cat”: both madmen conducted a murder and then lead policemen to the corpses. In “The Oval Portrait” young lady made a wrong choice and married obviously inappropriate person, thus having buried her possible alternative “lived happily ever after” with someone another. In “The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar” the main character himself gave his consent for unnatural experiments with his body. Finally, in “The Fall of the House of Usher” sir Roderic intentionally did not notice his sister’s movements in her coffin.
At the same time we still see parallels in symbolism, e.g. the cat named “Pluto” in “The Black Cat” and “Night’s Plutonian shore” in “The Raven”, both referring to ancient Roman lord of the underworld. This symbolism seems to be connected to supernatural powers, rather inherent to the poetry than to the prose.
It gives us a hint where to look for the real Poe’s attitude to life. He was more of a fatalist, who tried to convince himself that he was not, writing gothic stories about self-made suicides and anthems to human logic and mind. That is why we are able to enjoy his and posterior detective characters and brilliant frightening gothic stories.