So, whaddaya think of this Poe guy? Kinda a gloomy gus, huh?
Some of Poe’s scary stories still provide the sound effects and props for certain of my nightmares (i.e., the beating ofthe Tell-Tale Heart and the bricks of The Cask of Amontillado).
We used to play a drinking game at parties of seeing how far we could get through a group recitation of The Raven. (Shouldn’t it be a Rule that if your poem becomes a drinking game you get to be an immortal poetry god?)
And I seem to recall some controversy over whether The Bells is a great rhythmic thriller or a mess of rhymes that don’t.
My judgment: the stories are horror archetypes and will likely be remembered for a very long time (they haunt me), while the poetry is no great shakes, with the exception of The Raven and the Bells–I’ve remembered these since the first time I’ve read them. They’ve got that elemental something that, well, makes them parodiable. (Bonus question: what is your favorite Raven parody? Know any parodies of the Bells?)
Once upon a midnight dreary…