The Gothic Wordsmith
Who Wasn’t All Gloom
Poe had a softer side, if you know where to look! (Photographic editing provided by Jeremy Hanke. Original photo in public domain.)
When many people think of Edgar Allen Poe, they think of a brilliant but depressing poet that would likely burst into flames if he was forced to write something that wasn’t dark or creepy. His most famous works, such as “The Ravenâ€, “The Fall of the House of Usherâ€, and “the Pit and the Pendulum†all seem to point to this conclusion. However, what people don’t know about him is that some of his lesser known works are lighter and even comical.
Now, you may be saying “But if it’s not dark and creepy, how can it be Poe?†Well dear reader, Poe, like most of the gothically inclined, had other interests outside of power moping and scaring small children and elderly women. He was credited with inventing the modern detective story by Sir Author Conan Doyle, who created the most well known fictional detective, Sherlock Holmes. Doyle asked “Where was the detective story until Poe breathed the breath of life into it?†It is also thought that Poe was the first to ever publish a science fiction story, his being entitled “The Unparalleled Adventures of One Hans Pfaallâ€. In fact, it was referenced in, and possibly responsible for inspiring, Jules Verne’s From the Earth to the Moon.
The story of Hans Pfaall was intended to be a hoax like the radio broadcast of The War of the Worlds that would come later. It was published in the Southern Literary Magazine and was intended to be a series, but unfortunately was upstaged by “The Great Moon Hoax†in another newspaper. In the story, Hans undertook a journey to the moon in a hot air balloon. He had created a special gas that was lighter than hydrogen, and that combined with a special device that creates breathable air out of the vacuum of space made his journey a success. Upon his arrival at the moon his balloon crashed, and so he was forced to live among the inhabitants for five years before he was able to build another ship. On the second balloon, he sent one of the moon people to earth as his messenger to see if they would pardon his crimes that he had committed before he left in exchange for all his knowledge of what lies on the moon. Sadly though, his messenger was so frightened by the appearance of earth people that after throwing the letter overboard, left and was never seen again. A similar hoax created by Poe was “The Balloon Hoaxâ€, where a man in a balloon crossed the Atlantic Ocean in only three days.
In the short story “Lionizingâ€, Robert Jones’ whole purpose in life was the study of nosology. It began while he was being born and he grabbed a hold of his nose with both hands. His mother called him a genius and his father presented him with a treatise on the subject. It became the chief end of his existence. When Robert came of age, his father realized he was so proficient in the study of noses that he kicked him out of the house so that he could “follow his noseâ€. After a couple of tugs on his nose, he wrote a pamphlet on nosology, and the entire city of Fum-Fudge praised his intelligence. Everyone thought that his nose was the most beautiful thing that they had ever seen, so much so that an artist paid him a thousand pounds so that he could be the first to paint a picture of it. All manner of royalty invited him to parties, and everyone from the Duchess of Bless-my-Soul to his Royal Highness Touch-me-Not envied his capacious protuberance. Unfortunately his nose fell out of favor with the populace after he shot the Elector of Bluddennuff’s nose off. For in Fum-Fudge, the greatness of a lion depends on the size of his proboscis, but there is no competing with a lion that has no proboscis at all.
As a last example there is “The Spectaclesâ€, which is the story of a man who ends up marrying his own great, great, grandmother because he was too proud to wear spectacles. He was horribly near sighted, but didn’t like how he looked wearing glasses. He sees his grandmother, Lady Lalande, who he has never met before at the opera and due to his poor vision perceives her as the most beautiful creature he had ever seen. Though he scoffs at the idea of love at first sight, he falls hard for her. His friend Talbot, unaware of their relation, promised to introduce them. But when it came time, his friend had forgotten and left town for a week. Furious and desperate, he went about the whole town looking for someone who both knew Lady Lelande and was willing to present him to her. However, he couldn’t find anyone. Now, his grandmother had a much younger relative with the same name, so everyone thought that he was referring to her. Because of this, none of them thought it odd that he was seeking after her. He waited a fortnight for his friend to come back, but he couldn’t wait any longer. And so, he decided to write her a very long, passionate love letter. Having guessed at his foolish pride, she decided to play a trick on him. She went along with it, pretending that she loved him too. She agreed to marry him, on the condition that he wears his glasses on their wedding night. She sets up a fake ceremony and on the day of; he puts on the glasses and is horrified by how old she is. She ends up telling him how much of a fool she thinks he is and about her scheme. In the end, he married the younger Lady Lalande and vowed to never be without his spectacles.
As you can see, Poe had a lot more to his writing than horror stories. And though I’ve only told you about three that is by no means all of them. If you haven’t read some of Poe’s lesser know works, I highly suggest you do. The man is a genius whether it’s a tragedy, a comedy, or satire. With that, I must bid you adieu. And remember to always follow your nose.
