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 Posted: Fri Nov 10, 2006 8:25 pm
Honestly, everyone I know and their dogs have read Edgar Allen Poe's works and claim to understand it through-and-through.
Was the Gothic period of literature just a low point in talent, or are people lying? Or do people just not read any other American Gothic literature?
(I did not use myself as an example because I had finished Edgar Allen Poe's complete works book beginning to end in one day in the 6th grade... I may be a bit high on the standard.)
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Posted: Fri Nov 10, 2006 9:02 pm
I don't know wether people are lying about thier comprehension of such works, or if they really are excessivly easy to read works of literature.
I myself can comprehend Poe very easily... I can read somthing of his once and understand it fully... but then again I'm an avid reader, so I'm unsure of how easy it is for the average reader to understand.
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Posted: Fri Nov 10, 2006 11:19 pm
You read it in one day? You must be a good speed reader. My copy of the complete works is about 800 pages. eek
Early gothic literature, such as 'The Mysteries of Udolpho' and 'The Castle of Otranto' are very easy to grock. They're melodramatic and sometimes quite tacky, and even ardent fans will admit that they're not great literature. But later ones got more sophisticated even before Poe's time. The genre did make some good contributions to literature, both in America and elsewhere.
Poe's not the most challenging author, but I wouldn't call him extremely simplistic either. He was writing short stories, which get rambly if they tackle several concepts at once, but he did get more complex in longer works like 'The Fall of the House of Usher.'
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Posted: Sat Nov 11, 2006 2:28 pm
Veruniel You read it in one day? You must be a good speed reader. My copy of the complete works is about 800 pages. eek Early gothic literature, such as 'The Mysteries of Udolpho' and 'The Castle of Otranto' are very easy to grock. They're melodramatic and sometimes quick tacky, and even ardent fans will admit that they're not great literature. But later ones got more sophisticated even before Poe's time. The genre did make some good contributions to literature, both in America and elsewhere. Poe's not the most challenging author, but I wouldn't call him extremely simplistic either. He was writing short stories, which get rambly if they tackle several concepts at once, but he did get more complex in longer works like 'The Fall of the House of Usher.'Well, yes, I've been known to speed-read, almost to a fault. I had my face buried in that book from sunup to sundown. The Fall of the House of Usher was one of my favorites, personally. I liked his poetry from his childhood among other things that AREN'T The Raven. The Bells was a good one.
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Posted: Sat Nov 11, 2006 3:15 pm
Ohyes. I love The Bells. I knew a lit teacher who could recite it all in a voice that steadily got spookier and spookier, until the last stanza where he scared everyone senseless. But I think my favourite of Poe's was The City In The Sea. People forget that The Raven isn't the only poetry he wrote.
Speed reading impresses me. I read a lot, but can't read very fast. I'll get distracted by a really good phrase and stop to read it over.
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Posted: Sat Nov 11, 2006 4:03 pm
Gothic literature has its high and low points, as does any genre. Also like any genre, individual pieces can vary from being sincerely deep and dramatic to being melodramatic and forced.
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Posted: Sun Nov 12, 2006 1:59 pm
Veruniel Speed reading impresses me. I read a lot, but can't read very fast. I'll get distracted by a really good phrase and stop to read it over. just like all the dry humor in The Dark Tower Series and for EAP Dream Inside A Dream is excellent
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Posted: Sun Nov 12, 2006 2:07 pm
Veruniel Ohyes. I love The Bells. I knew a lit teacher who could recite it all in a voice that steadily got spookier and spookier, until the last stanza where he scared everyone senseless. But I think my favourite of Poe's was The City In The Sea. People forget that The Raven isn't the only poetry he wrote. Speed reading impresses me. I read a lot, but can't read very fast. I'll get distracted by a really good phrase and stop to read it over.
Makes me wonder if I understood Memnoch the Devil as well as I thought I did.
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