Economy Of Gothic Romanticism?
Compare Edgar Allen Poe's short story The Fall Of The House Of Usher (pages 264-279) with the poem The Fall Of The House Of Usher (page 279) by Reed Whittemore. Does the comparison make you think? Gothic Romanticism? Economy? Value? Other? Please defend your argument with at least one quote from either text. Blog response due by Monday, November 30th.
posted by Greg T at Monday, November 23, 2009
26 Comments:
The short story and the poem are very similar, seeing as they have the same story. The poem summarizes the story in about 15 lines. The story uses many words that mainly add length to it, but don't add any meaning. The poem does a good job at conveying the meaning of the poem but it doesn't add the fluff of unnecessary words. The poem is a much better use of time to read than the story. I got the same understanding of what happened in the story from the poem. I think that everyone would rater read a 15 line poem than a 12 page story that has the same srory.
I believe the poem and the short story are similar in that they both have the same plot and meaning. It seems as though the poem just sums up what the short story takes 12 pages to say. The poem was, to me, alot easier to read and understand because there were less words to have to keep track of.
I believe that the short story and the poem are extermly similar in context and meening. The plot of the poem follows the plot of the short story perfectly. In the short story Poe uses strong and complicated words to get his point across. This in my opinion is a waist of time because if he didn't use so much flux words more people would be able to understand the meening of the text. The poem on the other hand is straight and to the point with litlle words as possible. Also the poem follows the books plot perfectly. So In my opinion I would much rather read the poem and understand the story rather then try to read the twelve page short story and not be able to comprehend it all.
Jordan Lawler
The short story and the poem are very similar, they both have the same plot and general feel, but I do believe that some of the hidden meaning deeper feelings are lost through the translation of the story to the poem. A good metaphor is one of listening to the full length Hey Jude by the Beatles and then listening to the edited shorter version. While you do get the same understanding, the the experience and deeper meaning is lost. You lose some of the story, and most importantly much of the heart and soul of the song is lost in translation. So while the poem does explain the story in much shorter time, I think that the true emotion of this piece is lost.
Edgar Allen Poe's short story and Reed Whittemore's poem are very similar when you compare them. They have the same story. In Poe's story he uses big words like unobtrusive and anomalous which take away the value and meaning of the story. The words offer no additional meaning to the story, only unnecessary length. The words can also confuse a reader on what he is trying to tell them. In Whittemore's poem he gets straight to the point in less words then Poe and conveys the same meaning. Although you could argue the meaning of Poe's story is lost in the poem because it is condensed, I think most people would rather read a short poem then a 12 page story if they can get the same meaning as the original story.
"It was a big boxy wreck of a house..." Edgar Allen Poe's short story and Reed Whittemore's poem are very similar however even more different. In Allen Poe's short story it takes Poe nearly the entire first paragraph to describe the house which in Whittemore’s poem it takes him a mere eight words to describe the house. As Forrest said in his comment it may take Reed Whittemore less words which may make it easier to understand however I believe that the length on Allen Poe’s story is extremely necessary because without the descriptiveness of the house you do not get the full dramatic effect of how gloomy and dark and scary the house seems. Although the poem is a great deal shorter than the story I believe that the poem reiterates the story entirely however the plot may be the same the dramatic effect of the story is lost in the poem.
Edgar Allen Poe's short story is completely different from Reed Whittemore's poem. Ascetically you could argue that they both have parallel plots and storyline, but when looked at as individual works they seem to resemble each other as much as an apple and an squash. The poem is short and sweet. It is easy on the eyes, easy to understand, and yet... not as powerful or meaningful as the story. Poe's the Fall of the House of Usher is filled with words that cause the mind to imagine, phrases that chill the bones, and vocabulary that make you think. Poe's story is a lot more effective because it pulls off the gothic style a lot better then the poem. The story has a lot more time to develop plot, instill colorful backgrounds in the mind of the reader, and finish off powerful themes. The poem, however, felt like a quick glance over the ingenious work of Poe. At a quick glance both works seem similar, but when they are digested by a reader they black and white.
Both of these are very similar. Their plot is mostly the same. Although I think their plot is mostly the same, the longer, more difficult story had more meaning to me. They both had a lot of meaning but when you can get into more detail with what you are trying to say, it can be more inspiring sometimes. The poem was more of a summary of the story, so it left out a lot of detail.
I feel both portray gothic romanticism because some of the gothic elements appahrent in both texts are the creepy details of the house, descpriptions of the twins madeline and roderick and the mysteries of their sicknesses and the house itself. "there was an iciness, a sinking, a sickening of the heart-an unredeemed dreariness of thiught whcich no goading of the immagination could torture into aught of the sublime."(264) in other words the house being the creepiest sight immaginable. As for romantism for both texts find"inspiration through myth legend and folk culture" so having a plan to pass down the story forever, and even with the relationship between madeline and roderick could be somewhat romantic. In comparison the poem was just a very shortened version of the story, for me i felt the story was better portrayed then the poem and got the creepy, gothic elements acrossed alot better.
I believe both of these writings give our society a chance to analyze our world's more clsoely. The poem was very similar to the story, bu the story had many more discrptive words that gave us more of a picture to paint in our minds. The comparison between these two pieces made me think how people like to read. Many people would rather read the poem just to get it finished, but i believe the real meaning is in the story of how he describes his encounter. "I have, indeed, no abhorrence of danger, except in its absolute effect - in terror" (Poe). To me this quote explains how to not take something short , but get the full effect of the story and understand the message it is trying to tell each and every one of us.
Poes story was lengthily, and very descriptive. In his stories he really likes to paint a picture for you with his articulate vocabulary. While Reed Whittemores poem and Poe's story have the same plot they also share the quality of gothic romanticism. I would much rather prefer to read the poem than the story. Even though Poes vocabulary was articulate and made the story more suspenseful, reed was straight to the point and allowed my mind to create my own vision.
The poem and short story are very comparable. They both portray Gothic Romanticism by using dark and evil words and feelings like rotted and stupor, or when bad events occur such as when Roderick Usher and his sister die. I also noticed the dark colors used in the pictures throughout the story to show the gloomy and mysterious side of Gothic Romanticism. "One night were were both waked by a twister, plus a screeching and howling outside that turned out to be his sister," is a great quote to show the gloomy words represented in Gothic Romanticism. The last thing I thought of after I read the poem and story was how people in general need to value their friends and place in life and not take things for granted. Who knows, someone might end up just like Roderick, old and lonely, by them self waiting in their house for nothing.
The shorts story by Poe and the poem written by Whittemore called "The Fall of the House of Usher" contain the same basic summary however the short story written by Poe seems to capture the true meaning and emotion behind the plot. The value in the short story exceeds the poem remarkably because the detail in Poe’s writing is superior. For instance, Whittemore wrote, “While I was visiting her one wet summer, she died.” This sentence puts out the bare minimum for what could be said in Poe’s short story. Although the poem by Whittemore is an easier read the short story by Poe expresses gothic romanticism and feeling in a higher quality.
Comparing these two works of literature is not hard. These two writings are essentially the same. They both have the same plot and story line. They have the same characters. But to agree with BenjaminC, these two works can be interpreted as polar opposites in terms of the way they are written. For example, in the poem, "While I was visiting them one wet summer, she died." (279). talks about the death of the girl in a very summed up and simple way where as the story goes in more depth and detail of this part in the story and allows the reader to visualize it more.
The poem and short story are very similar in many aspects. They both contain the same outline and concept. Both in which explain the dark gloomy house. "An atmosphere which had no affinity with the air of heaven, but which had reeked up from the decayed trees, and the gray wall, and the silent tarn - a pestilent and mystic vapor, dull, sluggish, faintly discernible, and leaden-hued." -Edgar Allen Poe. Both really allow me to think, specifically about the economy. The economy is 'dark' in this current time, and reminds me somewhat of this house. There are little things in which could be fixed to create a beauty but the want to fix them are far vanished. The poem is just a very short summary of what the story is. The story has very detailed words making it easier to visual the house. Although both do a good job with the story in general.
The writings of The Fall of the House of Usher by both authors, Poe and Whittemore show us that they are the same story but each author portals the plot in a deeper different way. Poe states the scene of his room, "...black oaken floor as the be altogether inaccessible from within. Feeble gleams of encrimsoned light made their way through the trellised panes, and served to render sufficiently distinct the more prominent objects around." This just shows the confusion and depth that Poe goes into to explain one single room. It has mixed words that you probably have to look at a dictionary to understand because of the depth of it. Now on the other hand Whittemore explains a house in simplistic form."It was a big boxy wreck of a house."This just shows he understands it as a basic house and there is nothing to it, he just states it in a way for everyone to understand. Both authors in a way both relate to Gothic Romanticism. They show lightness and darkness. They have realistic but also supernatural elements tied into each story.
The poem and the story are extremely similar. The story is a way to show the details of the childhood friend's suffering, and is more personal to the reader with thorough description. Whereas the poem is written to show the story in a way that evokes more emotion which can connect the reader more emotionally to the story. "He didn't. He and she died in a heap, and I left quickly" (13). This line is a powerful line in it's simplicity and as one reads the poem it is meant to be a quick shock. This makes this poem more emotional and connecting to the reader.
The short story and the poem had the same story. The short story was wordy as for the poem, it got right to the point. I thought that the poem was much easier to read rather than the short story. Edgar used big words which took the meaning away from the story. However, the short story gave more detail, the poem was sort of like a summary. They both described the house very morose, and dark. "An atmosphere which had no affinity with the air of heaven, but which had reeked up from the decayed trees, and the gray wall, and the silent tarn - a pestilent and mystic vapor, dull, sluggish, faintly discernible, and leaden-hued." -Edgar Allen Although the short story gave more detail, i thought the poem was easier to understand.
The short story and the poem have a very similar plot and mood. They both examin a story of a house that is creepy. The stroy itself is more in detail than poem but give off the same mood. Both of these works invole Gothis Romanticism because of their writting style. The plot of the two stories relate in a house that a person has died, and the house the house just finaly collapses.
i believe that both of these poems are the same in a sense. Both of these stories essentially have the same story line and plot. Even though both of these poems were essentially the same the poem that was longer had a little more emotion than the shorter one. I think that poes story was a little harder read but it had more suspense. the other poem was more strait forward than poes.
Both versions of The Fall of The House of Usher were similar in many ways. Both authors, Edgar Allen Poe, and Reed Whittemore use follow the same point/reasoning. The story br Whittemore was very lengthy and hard to follow the stroy and what was going on. Poe's poem, however, seemed to sum up the main point in fewer lines, making it easier to understand. Poe used more challenging words throughout the poem, sometimes taking the meaning away from the story. I liked how Whittemore used more detail, but I found Poe's poem to be a more eye-catching read.
It is ridiculous to even compare these two pieces of “literature” because they are in two completely different leagues. Poe’s short story is acknowledged by the literary community as a timeless masterpiece, and all Whittemore does is steal his plot, dumb it down and present it as a poem. He can’t be serious trying to condense a short story into fifteen lines and expect any of the worth to translate. This poem sounds like it was written by a 3rd grader which is appropriate considering the picture to accompany it looks like an over pixilated finger painting. I am shocked that they even include this joke of a poem in our textbook. I know the prompt says to use a quote from the text, but I have so little respect for this poem that I’m not going to degrade myself so much as to copy a line from that atrocity.
Both poems are similar in the idea that they are based on the same kind of story, however; they are written much differently. Edger Allan Poe's piece was more of a story considering it had more text and more details. Reed Whittemore's piece is made into a poem, therefor some of the extra icing had been cut off from Poe's original work. I personally liked the poem a lot more because it was easier to read and was pretty straight forward. "Plus a screeching and howling outside that turned out to be sister..." (Whittemore 279). This quote was from the poem's text and it is proof that this story is much more straight forward because in Poe's writing it took him a lot of room to describe and tell that event. The value of the poem is suspect at best considering Poe's work is much more meaningful and actually tells a very interesting and powerful story. The poem is a poem, nothing special or unique about it in my opinion.
Both of the poems are the same, one of them has a lot of detail and a complicated words, and the other synthesize the main ideas in a short story that everyone can understand with a high quality of description from the larger poem. The Gothic romanticism is a piece of art very complicated in the use of words, this two poems make think that people such not have a hard time with this kind of things in life, they just need to find a easy and smart way to explain the same thing in other words, and also people prefer to read a 15 line poem than a 12 pages story that has the same theme and story.
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Aside from the extremely challenging nature provided by Poe in The Fall of The House of Usher, the short story, the poem does seem to relate quite effectively to the short story. It almost seems as if the poem synopsizes the story into a more readable version. However, poems can also hide certain elements that would often be more exposed to the reader if the writing was in prose format. Poe's writing has always intrigued me, the long writing rather than the poem so I would much prefer to read the much more lengthy and difficult short story.
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