A Predicament is the continuation of the story "How to Write a Blackwood Article". This story is terribly written on purpose for the sake of satire. The writing is, in all actuality, very poorly done but is quite humorous at many points. Misspelling expressions such as "ossi tender que beefsteak" and "ignoramus e-clench-eye" show that the author has very little knowledge in writing but still attempts to utilize Mr. Blackwoods advice.
I thought this story was hilarious! The narrator, Signora Psyche Zenobia receives very important lessons in writing a great article by no other than the great Mr. Blackwood. Mr. Blackwood details the required steps to take in order to create the perfect article. Avoiding common innuendos, identifying and applying tones, using similies, and being sure to write piquant expressions from different languages.
Mystification focuses on a very unique and magnetic character, Baron Ritzner Von Jung. The story is a lesson on the old maxim by the great Sun Tzu:
This story was quite a pleasant surprise! I very much enjoyed the awkward tension constantly increased during the feast with the "staff" of the Maison de Santé. I kept dithering between the idea of the staff being made up of lunatics and being simply southern French oddballs. Poe slowly introduces small clues during the feast to convince the reader of the truth but then adds additional detail that gives some doubt.
The Assignation seems to be written as a Tragedy along the lines of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Perhaps I wasn't able to absorb the story well, but there was an unusual amount of added detail that didn't pertain to the theme. A baby is dropped into the black water of a Venice canal and saved by the hero of the story but nothing more is implied. Is the baby the child of the hero? A lot of detail is put into the expansive possessions of the hero, but why? This has no relevance to the theme but is described in great detail.
This tale was particularly brutal due to the similarities that it had to real historical connotations. An extremely deadly plague is ravaging the country. This affliction goes from inception to death in the matter of half an hour. It is named the Red Death due to the profuse bleeding it causes through the orifices of the human body. An extremely wealthy prince decides to invite a thousand of his friends to hold out at his walled-in castle to avoid any chance of getting the contagion.
The tone of this story is dark and sad. The protagonist is injured and brought to manision to rest and recover from an unknown malady. Upon being brought into a mysterious room he notices many portraits on the wall. He also finds a book that explains all of the paintings in the room. He lights a candle so that he can read the book when the light brings out a previously hidden portrait near him. The portrait is of a young woman and looks to be exquisitely and meticulously painted. It is so intriguing done that the protagonist hurries to find it's entry in the book.
The Cask of Amontillado focuses on a very adamant quest for revenge. Revenge for what, we do not know, but whatever wound was inflicted on the protagonist must have been extremely offensive in the most abhorrently abominable manner. The story follows both the protagonist and antagonist, Fortunato, as they journey to see a cask of amontillado—a sherry-like wine.
This short story was a pleasant surprise. It starts off a little bit slow but for some reason, and I don't truly understand why, by the time I had read the conclusion, I was saddened... but at the same time satisfied. The symbolism is exquisitely done. I believe that after reading an abstract story filled with symbolism everyone has their own interpretation, and here is mine. The fay symbolizes our life cycle. It starts out quick, agile, and full of life. Each cycle that the made around the island made it increasingly careful and uncertain with "less of elastic joy".
This story conjoured up feelings of clostrophobia, dread, and loneliness all at once. I immediately became curious about some of the examples of premature burial given at the beginning of the story, and many seemed to be real cases, while others perhaps myth. I found that being buried alive is an actual phobia, though likely less prominent now that it was during Poe's time.