"The Conqueror Worm"greenspun.com : LUSENET : The Work of Edgar Allan Poe : One Thread |
What is the setting for Poe's "The Conqueror Worm" abd what is the worm supposed to be?
-- Anonymous, September 13, 2001
As in some other tales of bitter horror and wrath this one has a setting within a stage masque("Masque of the Red Death", "Hop-Frog", the costumed pair in "The Cask of Amontillado", the final dramatic reading in Usher). In heaven the melancholy angels are treated to the "human tragedy" in very lugubrious, wordless mimes that end with burial(curtain pall crashing down) and the worm "that dieth not." The worm like the Raven symbolizes the conquest of death over the story of man, over hopes and loves and the endless vain cycles of our struggles. If you want to get a better feel for Poe read some his poems carefully in conjunction with one another, also his essays and tales. Maybe the poems on this theme can be divided into hope(To Helen) despair(Raven) and defiance(Annabel lee)?
-- Anonymous, September 17, 2001