Poe Evermore – McFarland

Edgar Allan Poe exerted a profound influence on many aspects of 20th century culture, and continues to inspire composers, filmmakers, writers and artists. Popularly thought of as a “horror” writer, Poe was also a philosophical aesthete, a satirist, a hoaxer, a psychologist and a prophet of the anxieties and preoccupations of the modern world. Alphabetically arranged, this book explores Poe’s major works both in their own right and in terms of their impact on others, including Baudelaire, who translated his works into French; Debussy, Rachmaninoff and the Alan Parsons’ Project, who set them to music; Roger Corman, Federico Fellini and Jean Epstein, who interpreted his visions for film audiences; and television shows such as The Six Million Dollar Man and Time Tunnel , which borrowed his imagery (and, in the case of The Simpsons , sent it up). A wide range of other responses to his compelling Tales of Mystery and Imagination , his poetry and the theoretical writings, combine strongly to suggest that Poe’s legacy will indeed last forevermore.

Preface   1
Introduction   3
The Angel of the Odd   17
Annabel Lee   21
The Assignation   23
The Balloon Hoax   29
The Bells   33
Berenice   36
The Black Cat   38
The Cask of Amontillado   44
The City in the Sea   48
The Colloquy of Monos and Una and
The Conversation of Eiros and Charmion   52
A Descent into the Maelström   55
The Devil in the Belfry   57
The Domain of Arnheim, or The Landscape Garden   61
The Duc De L’Omelette   64
Eleonora   66
Eureka   69
The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar   74
The Fall of the House of Usher   76
The ­Gold-Bug   92
The Haunted Palace   93
Ligeia   95
Maelzel’s ­Chess-Player   101
The Man Who Was Used Up   102
The Masque of the Red Death   104
Mellonta Tauta   110
Metzengerstein   111
Morella   112
The Murders in the Rue Morgue   115
The Mystery of Marie Rogêt   118
The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket   120
Never Bet the Devil Your Head   126
The Oblong Box   128
The Oval Portrait   129
Philosophy of Furniture   131
The Pit and the Pendulum   134
A Predicament   144
The Premature Burial   146
The Purloined Letter   152
The Raven   153
Some Words with a Mummy   160
The Sphinx   162
The System of Dr. Tarr and Professor Fether   164
A Tale of the Ragged Mountains   169
The ­Tell-Tale Heart   171
“Thou Art the Man”   176
Three Sundays in a Week   178
The Unparalleled Adventure of One Hans Pfaall   179
William Wilson   182
Epilogue   187
Notes   189
Bibliography   200
Index   203