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4.34 AVERAGE
4.34 AVERAGE
Didn't read all of the poetry as I just can't get into poetry that much. Many wonderful stories however. It boggles the mind to think of the way his mind worked and the creativity he showed especially considering when he wrote his stories and the subject matter of them. I highly recommend that everyone experience more than just the stories that everyone already knows. I never knew how many genres he covered in his writing and was pleasantly surprised a few times by a story that I had never even heard of. He was a very talented man, for sure.
I read a few things in school. I returned to them after watching Fall of the House of Usher on Netflix. I was knowledgeable enough to recognize some storylines, allusions, and names from his shorts and poetry and wanted a better understanding. Just to see how well, or not, they were used in that series which I thought was pretty brilliant.
So I only read those that were referenced, or rather, the ones I recognized as having been:
The Raven
Gold Bug
Annabel Lee
Masque of the Red Death
Pit and the Pendulum
The Black Cat
Fall of the House of Usher
The Tell-Tale Heart
Cask of Amontillado
And a couple others that weren’t:
Hop-Frog
The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar
Murder in the Rue Morgue.
While I was familiar with and appreciated how he creates swirling mind fucks of anxiety, confusion, and ultimate horror, what I was genuinely shocked by was just how graphically violent several of them were. The description of the women’s bodies in “…Rue Morgue” or what is done to the Black Cat come to mind. And because they’re so short, it kinda blindsides you. You don’t really have time to prepare before WHOMP the twisted wreckage of a human body stuffed up a chimney is on full display, or an animals eye is put out. I simply didn’t think that level of grotesquerie and viciousness would be put in such vivid display.
Did I have favorites?
Pit and the Pendulum I think is the most effective for evincing terror. And while I hated the last couple of lines with the easy save, everything up that is pure gold.
Hop-Frog kinda blew me away as a revenge tale. I love when shitty people get their comeuppance, and damn does the king and his men get what’s coming to them.
Now I want to read some analysis essays about certain elements of his writing, especially his preoccupation with burying things. Five of the above stories involve characters being buried for different reasons. Also I want to know the significance of the colors of the rooms in “Masque…” because I’m assuming there is some.
So I only read those that were referenced, or rather, the ones I recognized as having been:
The Raven
Gold Bug
Annabel Lee
Masque of the Red Death
Pit and the Pendulum
The Black Cat
Fall of the House of Usher
The Tell-Tale Heart
Cask of Amontillado
And a couple others that weren’t:
Hop-Frog
The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar
Murder in the Rue Morgue.
While I was familiar with and appreciated how he creates swirling mind fucks of anxiety, confusion, and ultimate horror, what I was genuinely shocked by was just how graphically violent several of them were. The description of the women’s bodies in “…Rue Morgue” or what is done to the Black Cat come to mind. And because they’re so short, it kinda blindsides you. You don’t really have time to prepare before WHOMP the twisted wreckage of a human body stuffed up a chimney is on full display, or an animals eye is put out. I simply didn’t think that level of grotesquerie and viciousness would be put in such vivid display.
Did I have favorites?
Pit and the Pendulum I think is the most effective for evincing terror. And while I hated the last couple of lines with the easy save, everything up that is pure gold.
Hop-Frog kinda blew me away as a revenge tale. I love when shitty people get their comeuppance, and damn does the king and his men get what’s coming to them.
Now I want to read some analysis essays about certain elements of his writing, especially his preoccupation with burying things. Five of the above stories involve characters being buried for different reasons. Also I want to know the significance of the colors of the rooms in “Masque…” because I’m assuming there is some.
Definitely not light reading, but perfect for the fall and winter. My grandmother bought this leatherbound collection for me when I was 12 or so and it took me 5 years or so to read it in its completion. I have to be in the mood to read Poe, but when I am it's the best reading in the world. Very dark and poetic. Great stories, and each story is just short enough to maintain attention span. I recommend this to anyone who appreciates a challenging read.
I first came across Edgar Allen Poe when I was 11, digging around my school library when I unearthed some huge tome. It looked entirely uninteresting, but I decided to read it anyways because of the name of the author. It sounded very evocative to my mind.
Anyways, I soon started spending a lot of time in the school library, head buried in the book, devouring the poems and stories. Annabel Lee, for some reason, terrified me; probably because the last stanza brought to mind the image of a man lying next to the tomb of a dead girl every night and that was pretty creepy. The Black Cat was also the story that scared me the most at the time, as I recall. It was my first time reading horror, and since I took it as it is, it scared me a lot.
Back to the rating. I gave this five stars because Poe is awesome. He's accessible, scary, and has a great name.
Anyways, I soon started spending a lot of time in the school library, head buried in the book, devouring the poems and stories. Annabel Lee, for some reason, terrified me; probably because the last stanza brought to mind the image of a man lying next to the tomb of a dead girl every night and that was pretty creepy. The Black Cat was also the story that scared me the most at the time, as I recall. It was my first time reading horror, and since I took it as it is, it scared me a lot.
Back to the rating. I gave this five stars because Poe is awesome. He's accessible, scary, and has a great name.
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
dark
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
¿Quién no ama a Poe? Todos hemos leído algo de él en algún momento, y por lo menos uno de sus textos nos marca. En mi caso fue La Caída de la Casa de Usher, y viajar a los mundo macabros y sombríos de este escritor fue una distracción perfecta durante la pandemia. No me canso de leerlo, de redescubrir sus historias, sus personajes torturados, y cada una de sus ideas.
Reseña completa (Sept-24): https://tintanocturna.blogspot.com/2020/09/resena-review-complete-tales-poems-of.html
Who doesn't love Poe? We've all read something of him at some point, and at least one of his texts marks us. In my case it was The Fall of the House of Usher, and traveling to the ghoulish and gloomy worlds of this writer was a perfect distraction during the pandemic. I never tire of reading him, of rediscovering his stories, his tortured characters, and each of his ideas.
Full review (Sept-24): https://tintanocturna.blogspot.com/2020/09/resena-review-complete-tales-poems-of.html
Reseña completa (Sept-24): https://tintanocturna.blogspot.com/2020/09/resena-review-complete-tales-poems-of.html
Who doesn't love Poe? We've all read something of him at some point, and at least one of his texts marks us. In my case it was The Fall of the House of Usher, and traveling to the ghoulish and gloomy worlds of this writer was a perfect distraction during the pandemic. I never tire of reading him, of rediscovering his stories, his tortured characters, and each of his ideas.
Full review (Sept-24): https://tintanocturna.blogspot.com/2020/09/resena-review-complete-tales-poems-of.html