Greeting form the other side,
In the past few days, I have been reading Poe's short stories, and in this blog post, I will share my experience and review. This review is part of a book reading club initiated by the Library Committee of the Department of English at MK Bhavnagar University. In this series, I have previously written a book review of Hemingway's "The Old Man and the Sea".
American writer and a poet Edgar Allan Poe is most famous for his haunting tales. He primarily wrote short stories, a few poems, and one non-fiction work. His short stories feature bone-chilling descriptions of atmosphere, old castles, and gothic elements, with his use of spooky imagery being both fitting and noteworthy. Poe's stories encompass various themes such as revenge, bloodshed, horror, adventure, secrecy, torture, the human psyche, madness, and insanity, among others. For this reason, he is known as the father of English short stories and the initiator of detective fiction. The most important aspect of Poe's stories is that they never allow you to disconnect from their gripping descriptions.
"why will you say that I am mad?"
Perhaps "The Tell-Tale Heart" is his most famous short story. This tale contains everything a horror story needs. After reading it, you might question the sanity of the narrator himself. Throughout the story, the narrator insists on his sanity by recounting how masterfully and cunningly he carried out the murder of the old man, simply because he could not stand the old man's evil "vulture eye."
"I was never kinder to the old man than during the whole week before I killed him."
Another unsettling aspect of Poe's writing is his casual treatment of things we find most frightening. He nonchalantly portrays a murder in the middle of the story. One moment, we are moving through the narrative with a sense of unease, and the next, we are confronted with the news of someone being dead.
"Yes, he was stone, stone dead"
Moreover, it seems that he was well acquainted with various myths and history. In his stories, he frequently references Greek and Roman myths, philosophical figures, and historical events, as well as his knowledge of Italian art. Although his language is direct, lucid, and appealing, he sometimes uses archaic words and vocabulary.
"There are chords in the hearts of the most reckless which cannot be touched without emotion."
The above lines reveal much about the characters in Poe's stories. There are individuals who seem reckless and carefree about everything in life, yet these people also possess passions, vulnerabilities, and deep-seated emotions that emerge during the most unexpected turns of events. Perhaps Poe aims to uncover these hidden, savage, and latent aspects of the human psyche in his stories.
"The Fall of the House of Usher" is another uncanny and mysterious story about the frightening Usher house. This tale also explores the insanity of the narrator's friend, who owns the eerie mansion. The narrator visits his friend due to his ill health, and as you read, you feel as though you are the one transported to the Usher house in place of the narrator. You experience every bit of horror that unfolds within its walls. The moment the narrator makes his escape after witnessing the living corpse is a pinnacle of terror. In other stories like "The Black Cat" and "The Cask of Amontillado," Poe particularly compels us to question the sanity of the narrator, as well as his own, especially with the portrayal of living beings entombed within walls.
There are many other short stories to explore. I hope this blog would be helpful to you to get a brief overview about Edgar Allen Poe and his short stories.
Thank you for visiting & I dare you to read Poe at midnight.
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