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Poe Flashcards

1
Q

Where does the “Allan” in “Edgar Allan Poe” come from?

A

Poe’s foster family, who took him in as an orphan.

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2
Q

For what publication did Poe work in Virginia? How did this publication deal with slavery?

A

The Southern Literary Messenger

The Messenger endeavored to reach a national audience, so took a tepid “middle of the road” approach to slavery, publishing pro-slavery pieces that founded their arguments on states’ rights.

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3
Q

What was Poe’s position on slavery?

A

Poe’s writings depict some problematic assumptions about race (like fears of black violence, stereotypes, etc.), but doesn’t make black people the villains of his tales. He was never vocal either for or against slavery, but lived in the South and hoped to inherit property from a slaveholder.

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4
Q

What tale do many critics consider the beginning of modern detective fiction?

A

The Murders in the Rue Morgue (1841)

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5
Q

What is the name of the detective in The Murders in the Rue Morgue?

A

August Dupin

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6
Q

How did Poe categorize “The Murders in the Rue Morgue”?

A

A tale of rationcination

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7
Q

Why are many of Poe’s tales so short?

A

In addition to being a writer, Poe was also a critic. He believed that poems and tales should be short enough to be read in one setting because otherwise the unity of the work would be disrupted.

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8
Q

What is the first Gothic novel?

A

The Castle of Otranto

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9
Q

Compare the views of Poe and Emerson.

A

Poe and Emerson, as critics, had different theories of the aesthetic, but more interesting, perhaps, are their differing opinions on human nature and the human mind. For Emerson, the human mind/nature is one step away from the divine and contains much innate goodness. Poe saw things a different way - the human mind was certainly interesting, but it was also twisted and dark. This view comes out in many of his tales, like “The Tell-Tale Heart.”

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10
Q

Give two examples of wordplay from “The Murders in the Rue Morgue.”

A

Dupin = “duping”

Le Bon = “the good”

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11
Q

What additional trait must an analytic man possess in order to have truly remarkable powers of deduction?

A

Imagination

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12
Q

What are some traits from “The Murders in the Rue Morgue” that would later become tropes of detective fiction?

A
  • A sidekick who assists, but doesn’t fully understand the detective’s method
  • The detective has eccentric habits
  • The detective is able to infer, almost as if by magic, people’s true natures based on observation of minute details. This is also how they are able figure out crimes and mysterious circumstances.
  • The crime takes place in an apparently closed environment
  • Motive and evidence point to an innocent person
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13
Q

What are the names of the victims in “The Murders in the Rue Morgue”?

A

Madame L’Espanaye and her daughter, Mademoiselle Camille

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14
Q

Why is robbery ruled out as a motive for the deaths in “The Murders in the Rue Morgue”?

A

The 4,000 francs Madam L’Espanaye recently withdrew from the bank are still there.

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15
Q

Who committed the murders in “The Murders in the Rue Morgue”?

A

An Ourang-Outang

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16
Q

Who witnesses the murders in “The Murders in the Rue Morgue”?

A

The sailor who owns the Ourang-Outang

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17
Q

What other Poe stories feature Dupin?

A

“The Mystery of Marie Rogêt” (1842) and “The Purloined Letter” (1844)

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18
Q

Who is the narrator in “The Murders in the Rue Morgue”?

A

An unnamed narrator who observes and reports on Dupin’s process

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19
Q

How does the narrator meet Dupin in “The Murders in the Rue Morgue”?

A

They are both searching for the same rare book in a library

20
Q

What two types of natures does Poe contrast in “The Murders in the Rue Morgue”?

A

Analytic and Ingenious

21
Q

What are the two key clues Dupin uses to solve “The Murders in the Rue Morgue”?

A
  • The inability of witnesses to pin down the language being spoken by the second voice heard during the murders
  • The fact that the window could have been opened and then closed from the outside (broken nail)
22
Q

Who are the captors of the narrator in “The Pit and the Pendulum”?

A

The Spanish Inquisition

23
Q

When does “The Pit and the Pendulum” take place?

A

During the 15th/16th centuries (time of the Spanish Inquisition)

24
Q

Where is the narrator being held in “The Pit and the Pendulum”?

A

Toledo, the famous Inquisition prison

25
Q

What is the first terror the narrator faces in “The Pit and the Pendulum”?

A

He is kept in a completely dark room with a pit in the center of it. He only discovers the pit by chance - otherwise he might have fallen in it and died.

26
Q

The Pit and the Pendulum: What is painted on the ceiling of the narrator’s prison?

A

An image of a personified Time

27
Q

The Pit and the Pendulum: What is the second terror the narrator faces?

A

He is strapped down, and must watch a pendulic scythe slowly make its way towards him.

28
Q

The Pit and the Pendulum: How does the narrator free himself from the danger of the pendulum?

A

By rubbing his food on the straps holding him down, which causes the rats in his cell to swarm him and bite through his straps just in time.

29
Q

The Pit and the Pendulum: What is the final terror the narrator faces?

A

After he frees himself from his straps, the walls of his cell heat up and start shrinking. Just before the walls would force him to fall into the pit, the walls cool down and retract - Toldeo has been invaded and shut down.

30
Q

The Pit and the Pendulum: Who is the narrator’s savior?

A

The French general Lasalle and his army

31
Q

The Pit and the Pendulum: What is the one part of the narrator’s body that remains unbound?

A

His left arm up to his left elbow

32
Q

The Pit and the Pendulum: What does the narrator conclude after the the pendulum withdraws after his escape?

A

That he is constantly being observed

33
Q

The Pit and the Pendulum: What is the “single effect of this story?

A

The effect of terror or horror by means of mental suspense

34
Q

The Pit and the Pendulum: Compare the narrator of this story with Dupin.

A

Both manage to let rationality prevail over all. The narrator’s ability to think clearly and reason even when faced with horrific circumstances is reminiscent of Dupin’s powers of deduction.

35
Q

The Pit and the Pendulum: Discuss the role of science in this tale.

A

From the tale’s beginning, the narrator uses the language of science and experimentation. He describes his high-tension as the equivalent of a “galvanic battery,” he makes observations about the velocity of the pendulum, and refers to the food as having “particles.”

Even his response to the terrors echoes scientific experimentation. He manages to reason through the problems he is faced with, trying to establish the parameters of his torture.

This could be a religious commentary, since the Inquisition is associated with the Catholic church, but even the narrator’s captors exhibit scientific inclinations. They are constantly observing him, almost like a lab rat, and changing the conditions of his imprisonment based on his reactions.

The ending, basically a deus ex machina, is a departure from these rational tendencies.

36
Q

The Fall of the House of Usher: In whose house does this story take place?

A

Roderick Usher

37
Q

The Fall of the House of Usher: What is the name of Roderick’s twin sister?

A

Madeline

38
Q

The Fall of the House of Usher: What is the connection between the Usher family and the house they live in?

A

The two identities are entwined. Thus, when we see that the house is decaying, we know the family is too (and of course it eventually falls down completely).

39
Q

The Fall of the House of Usher: What story does the narrator read to Roderick?

A

A medieval romance, “Mad Trist”

40
Q

The Fall of the House of Usher: What is unusual about Madeline after death?

A

She has rosy cheeks

41
Q

The Fall of the House of Usher: Where geographically does this story take place?

A

It is unclear; just in a stormy, barren landscape – perfect for Gothic tales.

42
Q

The Fall of the House of Usher: What is unusual about the Usher family?

A

Only one descendant survives every generation (incestuous undertones)

43
Q

The Fall of the House of Usher: What is Madeline’s illness?

A

No one knows

44
Q

The Fall of the House of Usher: What happens to Usher?

A

He is attacked by Madeline, who was apparently not dead, and dies.

45
Q

The Fall of the House of Usher: What happens to the House of Usher?

A

After the narrator escapes, it breaks in two and sinks into a lake.

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