Selections from Poe Part 24

71. Quotation. William Chamberlayne, an English poet and physician (1619-1689), who in 1659 published "Pharronida, a Heroic Poem."

71. 18. Elah-Gabalus: usually Elagabulus, emperor of Rome from 218-222, who indulged in the wildest debaucheries.

72. 26-73 2. The description here is based on fact, apparently being a true picture of the English school attended by Poe himself (see Introduction, page xii).

73. 31. Draconian Laws: Draco was an Athenian legislator, who codified the laws of his city in 621 B.C. The penalty for every offense was death, and the laws were, therefore, said to be written in blood, not ink.

75. 5. peine forte et dure: "punishment severe and merciless"; a penalty formerly imposed by Enlish law upon persons who refused to plead on being arraigned for felony. It consisted in laying the accused on his back on a bare floor and placing a great iron weight on his chest until he consented to plead or died. There is one instance of the infliction of this punishment in American colonial history: Giles Cory, accused of witchcraft, was pressed to death in Salem, Ma.s.sachusetts, in 1692.

75. 33. exergues: the exergue is a term in numismatics to signify the s.p.a.ce under the princ.i.p.al figure on the reverse of a coin, usually containing the date or place of coining.

76. 7. "Oh, le bon temps, que ce siecle de fer!" "Oh! the good time, the age of iron."

86. 11. Herodes Atticus: a Greek born about A.D. 101, who inherited from his father, of the same name, great wealth, to which he added by marriage. He was a noted teacher of rhetoric and became a Roman consul.

A DESCENT INTO THE MAELSTRoM (Page 94)

First published in a magazine in 1841 (see comment in the Introduction, pages xxvii-xxviii).

94. Quotation. Joseph Glanville, or Glanvill (1636-1680), an English clergyman and author of several works on philosophy and religion. The quotation has been found in the writings of Glanvill by Professor Woodberry, but Poe quoted rather carelessly, and his extract varies slightly from the original. The Democritus referred to was a famous Greek philosopher, born about 470 B.C., who taught the atomic theory.

94. 1-3. Note the effect of the opening sentences in seizing attention and arousing interest at once.

95. 21. Nubian geographer ... Mare Tenebrarum. The same allusion occurs in "Eleonora," and in "Eureka" Poe speaks of "the _Mare Tenebrarum_,--an ocean well described by the Nubian geographer, Ptolemy Hephestion." Apparently he refers to Claudius Ptolemy, a celebrated philosopher who flourished in Alexandria in the second century A.D.

His theory, known as the Ptolemaic System, remained the standard authority in astronomy to the end of the Middle Ages, while his geography was accepted until the era of the great discoveries opened in the fifteenth century. Ptolemy is thought to have been born in Egypt, and it is impossible to say what grounds Poe had for calling him Nubian. _Mare Tenebrarum_ means "sea of darkness," the Atlantic.

96. 10-15. This is a real description of the geography of the region of the Lofoden islands. Refer to a good map of Norway.

97. 27. Maelstrom: from Norwegian words meaning "grind" and "stream." The swift tidal currents and eddies of the Lofoden islands are very dangerous, but the early accounts are greatly exaggerated, and Poe's description is, aside from being based on these accounts, purely imaginative.

97. 32. Jonas Ramus. Professor Woodberry, whose study of Poe's text has been exhaustive, has an interesting note to this effect: Poe used an article in an early edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica, in which a pa.s.sage was taken from Pontoppidan's "The Natural History of Norway" without acknowledgment, this in turn having been taken (with proper acknowledgment) from Ramus. The Britannica, in the ninth edition, after giving Poe credit for "erudition taken solely from a previous edition of this very encyclopedia, which in its turn had stolen the learning from another, quotes the parts that Poe invented out of his own head." See "Whirlpool" in the Britannica.

98. 26-27. Norway mile: a little over four and a half English miles.

99. 19. Phlegethon: a river of Hades in which flowed flames instead of water.

100. 4. Athanasius Kircher (1601-1680) was a learned Roman Catholic writer, a native of Germany. See "Whirlpool" in the Britannica.

105. 2. what a scene it was to light up! Interest in the narrative should not hurry the reader too much to appreciate this scene,--the magnificent setting of the adventure.

109. 10. tottering bridge, etc.: Al Sirat, the bridge from earth over the abyss of h.e.l.l to the Mohammedan paradise. It is as narrow as a sword's edge, and while the good traverse it in safety, the wicked plunge to torment.

111. 35. Archimedes of Syracuse (i.e. 287--212) was the greatest of ancient mathematicians; the work to which Poe refers deals with floating bodies.

THE MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH (Page 113)

First published in _Graham's Magazine_ for May, 1842 (see comment in the Introduction, page xxvii).

113. The "Red Death" is a product of Poe's own imagination; there is no record of such a disease in medical history.

113. 3. avatar: a word from Hindoo mythology, in which it means an incarnation. The word is used here in its secondary sense,--a visible manifestation.

113. 11. This paragraph suggests the circ.u.mstances under which Boccaccio represents the stories of his famous "Decameron." A comparison will be interesting.

116. 3. decora: possibly used as a plural of "decorum,"

propriety; probably it is intended to suggest ornamentation.

116. 14. Hernani: a well-known tragedy by the great French writer, Victor Hugo (1802-1885).

THE GOLD-BUG (Page 120)

First published in the _Dollar Newspaper_ of Philadelphia in June, 1843, as the $100 prize story (see comment in the Introduction, page xxviii). This is the best and most widely read of the stories regarding Captain Kidd's treasure. Read an account of Captain Kidd in an encyclopedia or dictionary of biography.

Is the main incident of the story the discovery of the treasure or the solution of the cryptogram? Would the first satisfy you without the second? The plot is worthy of careful study. Consider the following points, for example: the significance of the chilly day, how Lieutenant G---- affects the course of events, the incident of the dog rushing in, the effect of introducing the gold-bug and making it the t.i.tle of the story. If Poe's purpose was to make a story of cryptography, think of some of the innumerable plots he might have used, and see what you think of the effectiveness of the one chosen.

120. Quotation. Arthur Murphy (1727-1805), an English actor and playwright, wrote a comedy called "All in the Wrong," but Professor W.P. Trent, who examined the play, failed to find Poe's quotation.

120. 15. Poe, while serving in the army, was stationed at Fort Moultrie, and should have known the region well, but his description is said to be inaccurate.

121. 11. Jan Swammerdamm (1637-1680), a Dutch naturalist, who devoted most of his time to the study of insects.

122. 7. scarabaeus: Latin for "beetle," and the scientific term in entomology. While there are various golden beetles, Poe's was a creation of his own.

122. 26. This is one of the early attempts to use negro dialect. Poe's efforts are rather clumsy, considering his long residence in the South. The reader will notice a number of improbable expressions of Jupiter's, introduced for humorous effect, but the general character of the old negro is portrayed, in the main, very well.

124. 5. scarabaeus caput bominis: man's-head beetle.

127. 17. brusquerie: brusqueness, abruptness.

127. 20. solus: Latin for "alone." The Latin word is altogether unnecessary. Poe was often rather affected in the use of foreign words and phrases.

128. 22. empress.e.m.e.nt: French for "eagerness," cordiality.

132. 31. Liriodendron Tulipifera: the scientific name for the tulip tree, which sometimes attains a height of 140 feet and a diameter of 9 feet.

138. 25-26. curvets and caracoles: rare terms belonging to horsemanship; the first is a low leap, the second a sudden wheel.

142. 13. counters: pieces of money, coins; or the meaning may be imitation coins for reckoning or for counting in games.

142. 16. No American money. Why?

142. 31. Baccha.n.a.lian figures: figures dancing and drinking wine at a celebration of the worship of Bacchus, G.o.d of wine.

143. 29. parchment. What is the difference?