OBJECT:

EXERCISE IX

POE AS A STORY WRITER

To state the chief qualities of Poe as seen in his short stories, and his relation to story writing.

MATERIAL:

The results of the previous exercises, especially VII and VIII; other stories by Poe.

Poe wrote a great deal, and in the seventeen volumes of his works, five are called Tales. These Tales, however, are things of all sorts. Some are humorous sketches, some are short hoaxes, some are descriptive pieces. Of the Tales only a small number will be useful for our purpose, being of the kind for which Poe is best remembered. The following will be of most value for our present study:

"Berenice," "Morella," "The Apparition," "The Pit and the Pendulum," "The Premature Burial," "The Mask of the Red Death," "The Cask of Amontillado," "The Gold-Bug," "The Purloined Letter," "The Mystery of Marie Roget."

DIRECTIONS:

(1) The student should proceed to study several of these stories along the lines of Exercises VII and VIII, observing:

(a) The single effect produced-determine just what

the effect is; whether it is romantic horror, as contained in "The Fall of the House of Usher;" or horror pure and simple, as contained in some other stories

that we have not studied (but contained in the above list); or whether it is the atmosphere of ratiocination, as in "The Murders in the Rue Morgue."

(b) The climactic order, the manner in which the story advances to the dénouement or final outcome. (c) The length of the story-noting whether Poe applies his theory that a story should be of the length to be read at a single sitting.

(2) We saw Irving using the story merely as the framework over which to stretch his real material: namely, manners, customs, etc.; we saw Hawthorne constructing tales without consciously following any definite theory, but usually dealing in moral ideas. Do we find these conditions in Poe? The student will see at once that there is a difference, and a comparison should show what this difference is.

SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER WORK:

(1) Are there other elements in Poe that are of importance? (See Poe's essay on Defoe, where something may be found on verisimilitude. Do you think Poe attempted this same kind of verisimilitude?)

(2) To what extent do you think Poe's realism approached overstrained imagination?

(3) Compare Poe with E. T. A. Hoffman (compare "Das Majorat" with "The Fall of the House of Usher"). Do you think he was Poe's model? See The Influence of E. T. A. Hoffmann on the Tales of E. A. Poe, by Palmer Cobb (The Philological Club of the Univ. of N. C.).

SUMMARY:

The chief qualities of Poe as a story writer are so pronounced that there is no mistaking or overlooking them. When we pick up Poe, we look immediately for something

extraordinary, and almost invariably extraordinary in the sense of the awful-the horrible. Romantic and mysterious horror, and intellectual curiosity-these above all else we find in Poe., But it is not the mere presence of these qualities that has given Poe his place in literature, for the same qualities may be found in several of his predecessors and contemporaries. There is something else— his particular form of art-which has made his relation to short story writing so important. The study of Exercises VII and VIII, in connection with the present one, can hardly fail of placing Poe in his proper relation to this form of fiction.

OBJECT:

EXERCISE X

THE DIAMOND LENS

By FITZ-JAMES O'BRIEN

To follow out the plot structure.

We cannot here enter into an exhaustive study of the various kinds of plots found in the short story of today. We shall have to be contented with this single example of Fitz-James O'Brien's, taken up here because it is such a good example of the well ordered story.

MATERIAL:

The story itself; O'Brien's "What was It?"; Poe's "Philosophy of Composition"; and "Criticism of Hawthorne."

DIRECTIONS:

(1) Read the story through carefully, noting the relative importance of action, character, and setting.

(2) Review Poe on the development of the tale, his reference to climactic order, etc. Keep this material clearly in mind as we proceed with this exercise.

(3) In the "Philosophy of Composition," Poe says, "It is only with the dénouement constantly in view that we can give a plot its indispensable air of consequence, or causation, by making the incidents and especially the tone at all points, tend to the development of the intention."

With the above in mind, answer the following: What is the main line of interest in the story? Is it, for instance,

(a) Linley's finding the lens and going crazy, or (b) Linley's falling in love with Animula, who dies? Or is it something else? If you decide upon (a), one thing will be the final outcome; if you decide upon (b), it will be something else. It is very evident, therefore, that you must decide, first of all, what the main line of interest is. Having decided what the main line of interest is, determine: (a) what the final outcome of that line is, (b) what brings that outcome about, (c) what brings about the event in (b), and so on, until by pursuing questions of this nature, you will finally come back to the beginning.

(4) Now reverse the process, that is, read the story in its natural order; and the author's method will be clearly seen, as he takes the reader along step by step. The structure of the plot will be seen from the beginning, on through the moment of highest interest and to the final close.

(5) Mr. Canby in The Short Story in English, says, "O'Brien did what no one else in English had done before, really learned the Poe technique." Test this statement, as far as you can, by the following questions:

(a) To what extent does O'Brien succeed in producing a singleness of effect? Does the first sentence in "The Diamond Lens" point to the final outcome?

(b) What is to be said of the length of the story? Does it follow Poe's theory?

(c) Is the order sufficiently climactic?

(6) Is there any intimation early in the story that the microscopist was mad? If so, this fact might be of assistance to the student.

SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER WORK:

(1) Above in this exercise we have used the phrase, "The final outcome of the story." Is this the same as