Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado” and “Annabel” Lee About Edgar Allan Poe ● He went to college at the University of Virginia, but soon his gambling debt forced him to drop out (“Poe’s Biography”). ● He served 2 years in the United States army which won him an appointment to west point (“Edgar Allan”). ● Was born to traveling actors, but within three years his parents passed away (“Poe’s Biography”). ● While his brother and sister went to live with other families, Poe was taken in by John Allan (“Poe’s Important Event: Death of His Wife ▪ ▪ ▪ She developed tuberculosis in 1842 and died in 1847 (“Virginia Clemm”). After the death of his wife, Poe fell into alcoholism (“Virginia Clemm”). ▫ “The Cask of Amontillado” and “The Black Cat” reference Poe’s alcoholism (“How Was Poe's Writing Affected by His Life”). Poe’s poems around the time his wife got sick and passed away often included or mentioned beautiful dead women, whose memories haunt the speaker (“Virginia Clemm”). ▫ “Lenore”, ‘The Raven”, “Annabel Lee”, “The Oval Portrait”, “The Fall of The House of Usher” (“Virginia Virginia Eliza Clemm Poe Literary Time Period:The Romantic Period ▪ From 1830 to 1870 (Luebering). ▪ This was a movement embrace by American writers in the 19th century (“Periods of American Literature”). ▪ This movement focused on individuality, and opposed the enforcement of logical reasoning preferring emotion over reason (Luebering). ▪ Valued wildness of nature, and helped express one’s connection to nature (“Periods of American Literature”). Literary Time Period SubGenre: Transcendentalism ● Transcendentalism was the school of American philosophical and theological and the belief based not on scientific knowledge, but rather intuitive (“Transcendentalism”). ● It has its origins in New England around the 1800’s and was born between a debate between “new light” theologians and “old light” opponents (“Transcendentalism”). ● Transcendentalists advocated the personal knowledge of God which was believing that no mediator was needed for spiritual insight (“Transcendentalism”). ● While transcendentalism was more of being one with nature, poe’s work was often more anti-transcendentalism. In literature it was shown by portraying only bad and good and dark humour which poe had in his stories like “The Cask of Amontillado” (“Edgar Allan”). Literary time Period Subgenre: Dark Romanticism ▪ Works in the dark romantic spirit were influenced by Transcendentalism (“Dark Romanticism”). ▪ The term dark romanticism comes from both the pessimistic nature of the subgenre's literature and the influence it derives from the earlier Romantic literary movement (“Dark Romanticism”). ▪ This period was influenced by Gothic Fiction and features elements of darkness and the supernatural and includes themes of dark mystery and skepticism regarding man (“Dark Romanticism”). Historical Event: The Gold Rush ● The California Gold Rush wasn't personal to Poe as he was more of a gothic/dark writer, but did in fact inspire one of his writings “Eldorado” (“Eldorado”). ● Over 300,00 fortune seekers were in california searching for gold after it was found in Stutter’s Mill. It was estimated that 2 billion dollars was extracted in gold. ● The gold rush peaked in 1852 and the end of the decade it died down and was soon over (“Eldorado”). ● The story of “Eldorado” tells of a knight who traveled his whole life in search for a city of gold. As he searches, he later finds out that this “city of gold” is only acquired in the afterlife (“Eldorado”). Historical Event: Creation of the Telegraph ▪ ▪ ▪ The telegraph was invented in 1844 and the rise of this “Victorian Internet” coincided with some of Poe’s Final works (“Poe in Cyberspace”). Poe’s short story The Thousand-and-Second Tale of Scheherazade” was inspired by his faith in the telegraph (“Poe in Cyberspace”). The telegraph also impacted Poe in the way of communication, the rise of the telegraph also coincided with his job as an editor of the Grahm’s Magazine meaning. (“Poe in Cyberspace”). ▫ News Papers joined together to form a consortium to share telegraph news, called the Associated Press (“Poe in Cyberspace”). Famous Works ▪ “A Dream within a Dream” ▫ The poem was written in 1849 (“A Dream within a Dream” Analysis). ▫ This poem is one of his many epic poems that explore the grief through the loss of a loved one (Khurana). ▫ The poem is famous for the way it presents human’s dilema of transient life and dreams. The poem consists of the speaker’s profound feelings regarding an anxious state of mind and existential crisis of life and dreams Famous Works ▪ “The Raven” ▫ The poem was published in 1845 (Lorcher). ▫ The poem is recognized for its use of symbolism that give a supernatural haunting experience (Lorcher). ▫ The tale became famous because of the way the character experiences grief and becomes maddened by the experienced guided by the raven (Lorcher). “ “But we loved a love that was more than love-” (Poe [‘Annabel Lee’] line 9). Quote Analysis ▪ The meaning of this quote is that the love shared between the speaker and someone was strong. ▪ In the poem this line is used to inform the reader that despite the fact the speaker and Annabel Lee were young when they were in love their love was strong, special, and intense. “ “For the love of God, Montresor” (Poe [“The Cask”] 6). Quote Analysis ● This quote was written as the last words of Fortunato as Montresor begins to wall up the entrance to the crypt, trapping Fortunato inside. ● The final words between Montresor and Fortunato demonstrates that Montresor needs fortunato more than he wants to admit and how Fortunado taunts Montresor with mentioning god, who has long abandoned him. “The Cask of Amontillado” Summary “The Cask of Amontillado” tells a story about revenge, as Montresor is tired of Fortunato repeatedly insulting and disrespecting him. Fortunato is to believe his “friend”, Montresor, is leading him down into the fine wine Amontillado to show him all the wines, as he is very fond of wines, but in reality seeks revenge for Fortunato's insults and is leading him to his death. By the time they get to the bottom, Fortunato is intoxicated and is buried alive as Montresor builds a wall to trap him, leaving him at the very bottom of the Amontillado to die (Poe [“The Cask”] 1-6). Analysis For “The Cask of Amontillado” ● ● The horrors of “The Cask of Amontillado” live in the fact that the lack of evidence in Montresor claims about Fortunato’s hundreds of injuries and insults. The story is a secret murder which completely ignores the law as Montresor has no proof of the claims he states Fortunato has done. This makes Montresor an unreliable narrator, as he uses his personal experience from Fortunato to become his own judge. Poe uses his gothic writing style and writes that Montresor covers his face in a “mask of black silk” which represents the revenge he is seeking (Poe [“The Cask of Amontillado”] 2). Themes ▪ Revenge ▫ Thematic Statement:Obsession with revenge will change a person ▫ Evidence: “THE thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could, but when he ventured upon insult I vowed revenge.” (Poe [“The Cask of Amontillado”] 1). In this quote, Montresor is thinking back to all the times Fortunato disrespected him and pledges for revenge. Author’s Purpose ● The story serves the purpose of be careful how you treat others ● He gives the people a story about a man who is tired of being disrespected and “ventured upon insult” by his friend so much that he “vowed revenge” (Poe [“The Cask of Amontillado”] 1). ● Poe wanted to give his audience the lesson, treat other the way you want to be treated. What it reveals about Poe ● After the death of his wife, Poe fell into alcoholism. ● The theme of drunkenness/alcoholism appears in a few of his works including this one revealing to the audience aspects of his life seeped into his works. ● Similarly he story also has themes of madness that reveals to the reader his state after the death of his wife. Summary of Annabel Lee In the poem “Annabel Lee”by Edgar Allan Poe, the speaker reminisces on the memory of young love that was cut short. The speaker tells of his love for Annabel Lee along with the sorrow that surrounds her tragic death (Poe [”Annabel Lee”] lines 1-41). Analysis for “Annabel Lee” ● The poem “Annabel Lee” Poe often References numerous times the love he and annabel have as it was “a love that the winged seraphs of heaven” (Poe [“Annabel Lee”] line 11). ● This has a theme of youth as the two were childhood sweethearts who fell in love and so when she dies the narrator believes that the angels took her away from him because they were jealous of the love he and annabel had. Themes ▪ Love ▫ Thematic Statement: Love is stronger than death. ▫ Evidence: “And neither the angels in Heaven above Nor the demons down under the sea Can ever dissever my soul from the soul Of the beautiful Annabel Lee”(Poe [“Annabel Lee”] lines 3033). In this quote the speaker is saying that no force is stronger than his love for Annabel Lee, and that their love is stronger than even death, Author’s Purpose ▪ To inform to the reader that love can be stronger than some forces and can even surpass death as it did with him and annabel lee. ▪ The quote “And neither the angels in Heaven above, Nor the demons down under the sea, Can ever dissever my soul from the soul” demonstrates that love can occur not only on earth but pass the human world. What it Reveals About Poe ▪ This poem was written shortly after the death of Poe’s wife. ▪ The reader can assume that if Poe is the speaker, then the poem reveals Poe’s grief. ▪ The poem also reveals how haunted Poe was left by the death of his wife. Poe and Dark Romanticism ▪ Poe’s Writing includes many elements of Dark Romanticism (“Dark Romanticism”). ▪ Many of Poe’s works fall on the darker side of Dark Romanticism bordered on Gothic Fiction (“Dark Romanticism”). ▪ His writing was often dark morbid and included madness (“Dark Romanticism”). ▪ Poe’s writing embraced the more morbid and Kahoot! Link https://create.kahoot.it/details/927dde1f6766-4062-81af-63d4872f9e02 Works Cited https://docs.google.com/document/d/1xjtCc CDENA8tZD0QF34ialC09FTB3sY7N9mKfx UAqQ8/edit?usp=sharing
