Complete Tales & Poems of Edgar Allan Poe (Barnes & Noble Collectible Editions)

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So with Poe, we have tone being so central to his stories. The Masque of the Red Death drives almost on tone alone, details compounding upon details until the big reveal at the end with the falling action literally being everyone falling down super dead. Half the enjoyment is just in the atmosphere though, especially in stories like The Tell-Tale Heart where most of the narrative is insisting that he is not ‘ a madman’ and listing all the ways he meticulously plots and executes his murder as a sure sign he is in full control of his faculties. It isn’t convincing, of course, and the irony of it is practically the original “could a depressed person make this?!” meme. Here, let’s revise it:

The Complete Tales and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe

This is a good description of how Poe goes about writing his tales, in particular “The Gold-Bug”. But it also helps to understand the Post-Modernist preoccupation with maximalism, with size or length or quantity over subject or merit or quality. Poe himself adds: The Cask of Amontillado": 4 - read 10/30/2021. I read this in 9th grade, but I clearly did not fully understand it. I remember the guy getting walled up, but that was all. I love the first paragraph; so far it's my favorite opener: "The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could; but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge. You, who so well know the nature of my soul, will not suppose, however, that I gave utterance to a threat. At length I would be avenged; this was a point definitively settled—but the very definitiveness with which it was resolved, precluded the idea of risk. I must not only punish, but punish with impunity. A wrong is unredressed when retribution overtakes its redresser. It is equally unredressed when the avenger fails to make himself felt as such to him who has done the wrong." Morning on the Wissahiccon": 3 - read 11/20/2021. This was nice. I enjoyed the imagery. Little different for Poe - not creepy in the least. The stories still give me chills and the poems are beautifully written. I have to admit that sometimes I have to ask my parents what something means or look it up. You can't just read his work through because you'll miss the point of a lot of things. Byron and Miss Chaworth": 2 - read 10/16/2021. Okay. I didn't understand every reference, not being very familiar with Byron's work or his affairs.On the other hand, Poe adds that “by undue profundity we perplex and enfeeble thought; and it is possible to make even Venus herself vanish from the firmament by a scrutiny too sustained, too concentrated, or too direct.” Why the Little Frenchman Wears His Hand in a Sling": 1 - read 1/22/2022. DNF. The dialect is frustrating.

Complete Tales and Poems by Edgar Allan Poe | Goodreads The Complete Tales and Poems by Edgar Allan Poe | Goodreads

This collection has all of his complete works (works like his very last, incomplete work, "The Light-House," are not included). Everything from his familiar tales like The Tell-Tale Heart and The Cask of Amontillado are included and also those that are not necessarily brought up in everyday discussion. All of his poems are included as well, from the familiar, such as The Raven and The Bells, to those from his younger days. One can be perfectly content with this collection alone as far as Edgar Allan Poe is concerned. This collection is also a really good buy, as many of his collections will have a selected amount of works and be worth more than this one.Poe is a weirdo writer and I am all over weirdos, specially brilliant ones. His poetic gothic writing is so hunting and beautiful, the way he describes things and people is just amazing, although he has this thing where he loves to challenge the readers not to use a dictionary pretty often, but you'd never hate him for that because his words are all sentimental and idealistic and somehow you will feel smart reading them.. William Wilson": 5 - read 11/20/2021. Reminded me of "The Double" by Dostoevsky. He definitely took inspiration from Poe! There's also similarities to "The Picture of Dorian Gray," which makes me think Oscar Wilde was also inspired by Poe. Stories about doppelgängers are always unsettling to me. His soul will never lift anymore; hope shall never be lifted anymore. By the end of the poem he has full realised the reality of the situation. The raven, the dark bird of harsh truth, the harbinger of the words he simply doesn’t want to hear, has become demonised. It has become the very object he did not want to face; he created a sense of longing to protect himself from the emotional loss of Lenore, and this bubble of falsehood has been burst. Reality sets in, and it is a fate worse than death. It is one of persecution and mental chaos as the bird is simply unable to supply the man with all his answers. He is driven mad by the unknown. Ill-fated and mysterious man! - bewildered in the brilliancy of thine own imagination, and fallen in the flames of thine own youth! Again in fancy I behold thee!”

The Complete Tales and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe The Complete Tales and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe

There are many other short stories including a treasure hunting story along costal South Carolina (The Gold Bug), detective stories (The Murders in the Rue Morgue and The Mystery of Marie Roget), and a selection of poems including the supernatural classic, 'The Raven'. The narrator cannot be blamed for his fragility. He has lost his world: he has lost his beloved Ligeia. She was everything to him, and they both knew it. Nothing could lessen the blow of her death; nothing could take the pain away of her upcoming demise: nothing could save his mind in a world without her. They were living in harmony; their souls had achieved happiness and love; they were two lesser beings of one greater soul: they were at peace in their own transcendental plane, until she died. So, the narrator’s sense of self awareness and actuality has been destroyed. He is left with the tatters of a wonderful experience, and his own delusion. In “Shadow - A Parable”, Poe recognises the incredibility of his tale (set in ancient Egypt) by anticipating that some readers will disbelieve it and some will doubt it instead. This short story is a marvel. It appears confusing and contradictory, but if you stop and consider who is actually speaking then its true nature is revealed. Admittedly, on my first read I was a little lost, though after a second read I began to see it for what it was. This is not as approachable as some of Poe’s other works, and it really isn’t an advisable starting point for the author. But, the short story is wonderful, truly wonderful. It highlights the working of the mind in a state of sheer depravity; it is disturbing and brilliant.The Masque of the Red Death - a wonderfully written allegory about life and death, and no matter how rich you may be or what you have in the world, you can't avoid death My rating for this collection may seem harsh, but let me explain... When Poe is good, he is GREAT. But when he is not... it is torture and absolutely unbearable at times. I have zero intention of revisiting about 75% of this collection. In comparison, I'm pretty sure I would be happy to revisit the majority of Lovecraft tales at some point in the future. A lot of readers will compare the two, but for me, when comparing their complete bodies of work, there is no competition. Similarly, in “The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar”, “a garbled and exaggerated account [of a supposed crime] made its way into society, and became the source of many unpleasant misrepresentations; and, very naturally, of a great deal of disbelief.” dai oare seama ce minunată întâmplare a fost faptul că toate aceste evenimente s-au petrecut în acea singură zi a anului în care a fost destul de frig ca să facem foc, şi că fără foc sau amestecul câinelui, tocmai în clipa aceea când a intrat, eu n-aş fi luat cunoştinţă de capul de mort şi, prin urmare, n-aş fi ajuns niciodată în stăpânirea comorii?"