“SELECTED TALES OF EDGAR ALLAN POE”
A Book review. 
“The master of macabre” or “The champion of gothic fiction” as he is known by the literary critics through out the world, Poe pioneered many literary themes in his short life of forty years. He is said to bring the theme of gothic fiction in the mainstream literary society. Most of his works include the short stories based on murder, killing, revenge etc. Some of the stories are first person narratives such as “The Tell-Tale Heart” or “The Cask of Amontillado” in which the narrator describes the manner in which he committed murder. In “The Black Cat” and “The Tell-Tale Heart” the murderer breaks down in the end owing to his guilt and confesses his crime. The salient feature of this style is that the reader comes across the psychology and the point of view of the criminal. In these stories narrator insists on his sanity in such a manner that the very fact becomes self destructive.
Allegory and symbolism is used in most profound manner. While the story “The Masque of the Red Death” shows the inevitability of the death, another story “The Oval Portrait” depicts the conflict between the art and life. Poe has ventured on almost all the themes related to death. In “The Facts in the Case of M.Valdemar” narrator tries to hypnotize a man who is about to die. The description is horrific and full of suspense.
“Imp of the Perverse” is more theory than story. In most of the part the author propounds his theory that the normal tendency of a human being is to commit an act only for the reason that it should not be done. He commented on this perverseness as a self destructive impulse which prompts us to do something because it should not be done. This idea was used in “The Tell-Tale Heart” and “The Black Cat” in which the criminal confesses his crime knowingly.
He is credited to introduce the theme of detective fiction in his story “The Murders in the Rue Morgue.” This story is credited as the precursor of all the detective stories in literary world. Characters such as Sherlock Holmes of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Hercule Poirot of Agatha Christie are said to be inspired by C.Auguste Dupin of Poe. Poe's role in the creation of the detective story is reflected in the Edgar Awards, given annually to the Mystery Writers of America.
In most of the cases the narration is so immaculate that the reader feels himself physically present at the spot. The description makes the scene lively. Moreover the manner in which death is described keeps the reader's eye glued to the book. Sudden and unexpected ending is another feature in which Poe scores brownie points. This theme keeps the readers attentive and interested in the story line. So if you are bored with the normal romantic stories or description of picturesque sceneries than give a try to the works of “Master of Macabre”.
REVIEW OF SOME STORIES:
Author is the great admirer of the art of observation and inference. Setting of the story is in 18th century’s France. The narrator befriends a person C.Auguste Dupin in Paris. Dupin is the lead character of this story. Dupin is the owner of great mental acumen and insightfulness. He is described as a hawk eyed person who enjoys using his analytical power even in trivialities of life.
Plot starts when two women, a mother and a daughter were brutally killed in extraordinary circumstances in their house. The case became a great mystery in the coming days and hit the newspapers headlines. A person Adolphe Le Bon was detained on suspicion but nothing incriminating was found against him.
Dupin took interest in the case. He along with the narrator made a visit to the scene of the crime.
Dupin was successful in solving out the mystery but the ending is unexpected. Main culprit is highly implausible and if the readers are following the story keenly to guess the identity of the killer than they will be disappointed by the climax.
The literary style is impeccable and without blemish. Author has used figure of speech, allusion and allegory as and when required.
The manner in which Dupin proceeds in the case will remind the readers of Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot.
Dupin is the main lead. He is a person of strong acumen, insightfulness and strong analytical power. The manner in which his friend narrates the whole plot reminds about the duo of Dr.Watson and Holmes.
Dupin is also described as a light hearted man. He agrees to give accommodation to the narrator at minimal fee, he decided to unravel the mystery when an innocent man was wrongly implicated by the police and in the end he gave the French sails man an opportunity to disclose the main perpetrator without accusing him of guilty. Duplin reappeared in the story “the Mystery of Marie Roget” and the “The Purloined Letter”.
“A seminal work, which lays the foundation of future detective stories.”
The Oval Portrait is the short story by Edgar Allan Poe accounting for only 3 pages. It is narrated by an unnamed person who is wounded (reason not given) and took shelter in a country house. There he found a portrait of a young girl that captivated him immensely. He realized that this fascination is the result of the “lifelikeness” of the portrait. Later the narrator finds out the story behind the portrait. That portrait was of a girl painted by her lover who loves his art more than the girl. When he completed the portrait the girl died.
Like all other stories this story is also filled with symbols and allegory. The story signifies the confusing relationship of the life and art. It can be seen as a transformation of the life from the girl into the portrait. The girl sacrificed her life in order to give life to her beau’s portrait. This shows the extreme devotion of the girl toward her lover.
“The masque of the red death” is another story by Edgar Allan Poe which proves the fact that the author is champion of gothic fiction. As the title suggests, the story is related to death and horror. By this story author tries to prove the fact that death is unavoidable, ineluctable and inevitable. It doesn’t matter that how high and mighty one is, death will come to all.
The plot is basically about a prince whose people are suffering from a deadly contagious disease “Red Death” a terrible plague which is decimating the entire population. To save himself from this plague, the prince along with his nobles took refuge in a palace which is isolated from rest of the world. But the “red death” comes even in the palace and seeks her prey.
This story uses allegory and symbolism in its most exquisite manner. Major symbols used in this story are prince, seventh room, ebony clock and the death itself. Prince symbolizes the wealth of the mighty and royal people. Ironically he was the first person to die in the hand of death. The ebony clock is used to alarm the people about the arrival of the death. In the end the clock died when the death eventually kills the last person present in the palace. One of the most mysterious symbols used in the story is the seventh room. This room is the darkest of all having blood stained windows. It was in this room in this room where death kills the prince.
In this story author shows a conflict between the prince and the death which is eventually the man vs. nature. The theme of the story is that there is no escape from the death and you can only delay it. The prince tries to avoid its social responsibility by turning his eyes away from his subjects, but he was the first person to die in his palace.
“The Tell-Tale Heart” is the story by Poe in which the writer shows that how imagination of an insane can results in horrendous results. In this story narrator imagines a vulture eye which is constantly tormenting him. Later his imagination of the heartbeats compels him to confess the crime. Throughout the story narrator insists that he is sane but truth was otherwise.
Major symbol used in this story is the “vulture eye” of which the narrator is the victim. Vulture eye can represents tyranny, cruelty or power. It may also be the case that mad man is obsessed and preoccupied with this eye and considered it as his enemy. Another major symbol is the heart beat which compels the narrator to admit his fault. This heartbeat represents his own guilt which in combination with his insanity is producing a dangerous effect.
(this book review was written for "book review competition " organized by Career Launcher, Lucknow)
