in the Tales Allan Poe 'Premature Burial of Edgar

152 Pages·2008·7.49 MB·English

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'Premature Burial in the Tales
of Edgar Allan Poe
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'IHE HO'l IF OF PREHA'!'URE BURIAL IN 'l'HE TALES .
OF EDGAR ALLAN POE.
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by
Michael L. Tritt
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A thesis submitted to the Facu1ty of Graduate Studies
and Research in partial fulfi11ment of the requirements for
'the degree of of Arts.
~1aster
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Department of Eng11sh
McGl11 University
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Montrea 1: . August 1974 ,
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Michael L. Tritt 1975
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• Haster of Arts
Department ,of Éngilsh
Michael L. Tritt
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'Ihe, Premature Burial in
Hotif~f
he '1 of Ed gar Allan Poe
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ABSTRACT,
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The motif of premature burlal occurs fre4upntly Jn; . "
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the 'ta les of Allan Poe. A 1 ts )ppear-
~r precede~ce ,~o
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ance ls documented in -ancient folklore, clagslcal litpra-
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ture;'and-especlally ln t;he 1iterature of Popls .own'er,a.
In this conteit, p'sycho-analytic evaluatl0n.s tend to 11lUS-(/.,
trate mo\e about the psycho-analytic heritage than they do
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about Poe.
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In the creation dfihis short stories, Po'e, utilized a
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painstaklng craft to create a desired effect. He ,used the
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motif of pre~at~~ burial in this li~ht,,.to po~lt ~,tr'!th of
Essence from a carefully crafted truth of
Exi~tence.
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When one examines Poe's work from the persppct1ve of
the background of the motif, novel Interpretations arise to
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hlghlight tales which in the past have been tediously inter-
preted. 'lhe ne\l1 perspectives are not contrived, but
deriv~
from a solid tradition behind premature burial. The motif
f~nally rèpr~sents the encircled nature of PO~'~thought as
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a whole. Trapped with a perpetuaI conscitusness or·t~e
• limited aspect of the universe which contains the element of
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perversity and will eventually\;~!.ùrn t~ nit y, man must
~his ~~
.strive to .know the limi tations of ..1
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Haster of Arts
Departmeni of English
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Hichael L. Tritt \ /
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'1he l!oU.J' of Premature Burial in ~ ..
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the of Edgar Allan Poe
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RESUHE
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Le thème de séDultur~' prérrat,urée se pr~sente so\1vent
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les contes hllan Boe. Cette idpc avait été
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pUisée dans la Ifcendo, -les classiques 't> et surtout dans la
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psychanalyse a tendance a exposer dav~.a ntage
l'hprlta~e
psycha na lit i que que le ca ré:< ctèr e mPme de Poe.
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P00 dans la conception de ses contes, un,soin
~pporta
métiqpîeux D créer l'effet désiré. Dans éet ordre d'idée" il
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employa l'idée de sepulture orêmaturé(> pour tradu1~sa
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philosophie d'e "l'essence" face ~ "1 existence". ~"
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Si If on examine le travaiJ de Poè 'âü"'ppTrît de V-U~
en-r~ssort interrr~tatlo~ -~
fondamental du thème, 11 une
.- inu~itée mettant en valeur des histoires qui jusque là '- ~ ~
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,, ~.a.. vaient e1 te~ interpre"t.e"e s a'" satie/ te,J . La",nouv~lle perspective
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1 ne s'en trouve pas inventee, ma~s déri~ée d'une traditio~
marqu~e à la base ~e la s~pulture pr~matur~(>. Enfin, le
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the~m e represente la nature de la pensee Poe
~ncerclee d~
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-'comme entité. Sans èes-se hante/ par la conscience ~oute.n ue
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de l'aspect >lirn1t/e (je l'univers avec son e,..l..e;1m' ent ... de
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perversité et devant re~ourner à l'unit~, l'homme doit viser
à·conna1tre les limitations de sphère.
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l wo'uld like to' th'ank Professor Ronald Reichertz
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for the benefit of his inspiration and Iparnlng. Mrs.
Joyce Gran~ch hàs aided me greatly, and Ronald-Diamon
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plodded through the manuscript. My s,
have given me continual1rupport.
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From E<igi1r Poe par_ lUl-meme (phot'0o..raph by f{. S. Diamond)
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
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INJRODUC'l'ION • • ... l \
Chapter.,
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1. 'lHE MOTIF AND 'l'HE" GENERAL BACKGROUND • • .•. • 5
A) ~remature Burial Out of Fear · . . . .• .• •. 5
B) Respect or Dut Y • • ••••• ·• .• .41 .• · . . 8
C) Punis hment ••.••••· •. •. •. · . . . . 9
DE)) SMaicstraikfiec eo r •In•t•en•ti•on• · . . · . . . . · . . 1Ig4
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II. 'llIE HOT IF IN POE 1 SERA • • • • 27
III' • 'l'HE MO'l'IF AND 1HE PSYCHO-ANALY'l'IC · . . .
INTERPRETA'I ION • • • • • • • • • • • • 50
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IV. 111E -HO'l IF AND POE S AES'l RET IC 60
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1HE NO'l IF AND l'IS APPEARANCE IN · . . . .
POE'S 'JALES '" •••••••• • • • 87
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VI. THE HO'! IF AîID POE' S UNIVERSE • • • • • • \.-127
APPENDIX -•• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 134~
· . . . . . . . . . . · . . . . · . ~
, BJBLIGqRAPHY • 138
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INTRODUC~' ION
Among the many written about Edgar Allan Poe
volum~s
and his work, it is difficult to imagine that nct one to
date has specifically dealt with an important and repetitive ,
W'it~in burf~l.
motif tis tales -- -that of premattlre 'l'he
motif 1s signifies-nt not merely by virtue, of i:l1s frpqupnt
repptition, but by the illumination it sheds upon Pop's
individual works and his aesthetic in general. It i5 cru-
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cial to realize an evaluQtion of the motif itse:f, its
traditions and' aV1:Iilabi11ty to Poe. 1'he variant forms of
must be categorized when applied ta Poe's
p~emature b~rial
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li terary produce. 'l'he motif 'ls a far-reachj ng It i5
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discovered in various folklore frorn Irish ta the
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Hottentot. , Allusions to it are found in Herodotus, Livy,
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Pliny, and Plutarch. Apschylus, SophocIes, and---Shakespeare'
aIl utilize premature burial in their plays. The per1od-
literature of Poe's ers makes frequent reference to
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the motif.
A diverse appearance 1s complemented'by a dlffused
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1here 1s premature buriai out of afid
a~p11cability. fea~
respect, as a form of punishment, as sacrifice, and by
mistake or intention •. 1hese are my own
clas~ifications .
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suggested after a (}lose reading' of Poet 5 talés. 1t is
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surprisipg to see how well the motif as it appears in ~oe
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meshes with the motif as it appears in folklore. Whether
incidental or use ot the motif--cancurs
intE:r1'tioné:tl,~Poe's
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in many' rf'sppcts wifh anthropological ftndings. Furthpr,
since the classlficat10nssuggested spéln the general motif.
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and the periodical literature of Poe's era, these·will Qe
discussed as backgrGund to P0e's use.
With the traditions of the motif in hang, ït becomps '
clear that the psycho-analytic interpretat10n 1s irrplevant.
The aopearance of the motif is no longer rationéllize~ as
dealing with Poe's biography alone. lhe symbols of Poe(s
unconscious are .found about him and bèfore him in th8 sources
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to his lhe psycho-analyt!c interpretation, if
literatur~.
valid, is more appUcable to the traditions 'of the psycho-
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analytic heritagp, than it is tO,the work of P,oe.-. Premature
burial in the final analysis, was not uecessarilY'uf'Poe's
soul; it was l of Poe's era and reading.
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?oe's i5 not only to·the
~ork ~pplicable t~aditio~ )
of the motif, but ta itself. In "1he Premature Burial," Poe
states that ~ fact rather than f1c't;ion (echoed . .ln.,
Black\ofood's) that creates th-e greatest horror (effect), and
.i t, 1s wi th 'tbis in mind that Poe mani pulates the motif to
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suit his own e~. Whether it i5 the d~sperate tone~f
narration in "1be 'lell-'l'ale Heart," the inquisitorial )ack
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ground ta "'Ihe Pit and 'l'he Pendulum," the monQ.man1acal
fixation by Egaeus toward the teeth 1n "Berenice,"
evio~nced
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