| "The Oval Portrait" | |
| Author | Edgar Allan Poe |
|---|---|
| Original title | "Life in Death" |
| Country |  United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Horror short story |
| Publisher | Graham's Magazine |
| Media type | Print (periodical) |
| Publication date | April 1842 |
"The Oval Portrait" is short story by Edgar Allan Poe involving the disturbing circumstances surrounding a portrait in a chateau. Edgar Allan Poe (January 19 1809 – October 7 1849 was an American poet, short-story Writer, editor and Literary critic, The United States of America —commonly referred to as the English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States Horror fiction is broadly Fiction in any medium intended to scare unsettle or horrify the audience The short story is a literary genre of Fictional Prose Narrative that tends to be more concise and to the point than longer works of fiction such Graham's Magazine was a nineteenth century Periodical based in Philadelphia established by George Rex Graham. Magazines, periodicals or serials are Publications generally published on a regular schedule containing a variety of articles, generally The year 1842 in literature involved some significant new books The short story is a literary genre of Fictional Prose Narrative that tends to be more concise and to the point than longer works of fiction such Edgar Allan Poe (January 19 1809 – October 7 1849 was an American poet, short-story Writer, editor and Literary critic, A portrait is a painting, photograph, Sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person in which the face and its expression is predominant It is one of his shortest stories, filling only two pages in its initial publication in 1842. The year 1842 in literature involved some significant new books
Contents |
Plot summary
The tale begins with an injured narrator seeking refuge in an abandoned mansion in the Apennines, with no explanation for his wound. A narrator (or the extremely rarely used female equivalent narratress) is within any story (literary work movie play verbal account etc He spends his time admiring the works of art decorating the strangely-shaped room and perusing a volume which "purported to criticize and describe" the paintings. He eventually discovers a painting which shocks him with its extreme realism, which he refers to as "absolute life-likeliness of expression. " He spends a moment ("for an hour, perhaps," the reader is told) in silent awe of it until he cannot bear to look any more, then consults the book for an explanation.
The remainder of the story is a selection from this book discussing how the painting was created — a story within a story. A story within a story is a Literary device or Conceit in which one story is told during the action of another story The book explains that the picture was painted by an eccentric artist depicting his young wife, but that he grew obsessed with the painting to the point that he neglected the woman he was painting. When he finishes the painting he is appalled at his own work, and exclaims, "This is indeed Life itself!" Then he turns to see his bride, and discovers that she has died.
Analysis
The central idea of the story resides in the confusing relationship between art and life. In "The Oval Portrait," art and the addiction to it are ultimately depicted as killers, responsible for the young bride's death. In this context, one can synonymously equate art with death, whereas the relationship between art and life is consequently considered as a rivalry. It takes Poe's theory that poetry as art is the rhythmical creation of beauty, and that the most poetical topic in the world is the death of a beautiful woman (see "The Philosophy of Composition"). " The Philosophy of Composition " is an Essay written by Edgar Allan Poe that elucidates a theory about how good writers write when they write well "The Oval Portrait" suggests that the woman's beauty condemns her to death. [1]
Poe suggests in the tale that art can reveal the artist's guilt or evil and that the artist feeds on and may even destroy the life he has modeled into art. [2]
The creative process leads, throughout its completion, into a state of death in life even of the spectator (the narrator), who is extremely appalled when noticing the lifelike quality of the portrait. The irritating effect of the tale lies in the fact that Poe makes the reader aware of the ambiguity of art and the paradoxical coherence of death and life in the aesthetic process of art.
Poe may have been inspired to write this story either by his friend Thomas Sully's painting of a girl holding in her hand a locket that hung on a ribbon about her bare neck, or perhaps by Tintoretto (1518-1594), who painted a portrait of his dead daughter. Thomas Sully ( June 19, 1783 &ndash November 5, 1872) was a well-known American ( English -born painter mostly of portraits Tintoretto (real name Jacopo Comin; September 29, 1518 - May 31, 1594) was one of the greatest painters of the Venetian school and Another inspiration is the novel The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe, whom Poe mentions in the (post-"Life in Death") opening to the story. The Mysteries of Udolpho, by Ann Radcliffe, was published in the summer of 1794 by G Ann Radcliffe ( July 9, 1764 – February 7, 1823) was an English Author, a pioneer of the gothic novel. The plot of Poe's story shares some resemblance to one of the subplots of Radcliffe's novel, though Poe's version is considerably more compact.
Major themes
- Monomania - see also "Berenice," "The Man of the Crowd"
- The death of a beautiful woman - see also "Ligeia," "Morella"
Critical reception and impact
The story inspired elements in the 1891 novel The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. In Psychiatry, monomania (from Greek monos, one and mania, Mania) is a type of Paranoia in which the patient has only one idea " Berenice " is a short horror story by Edgar Allan Poe, first published in the Southern Literary Messenger in 1835 "The Man of the Crowd" is a Short story written by Edgar Allan Poe about a nameless Narrator following a man through a crowded London " Ligeia " is an early Short story written by Edgar Allan Poe, first published in 1838. " Morella " is a Short story by 19th century American author and critic Edgar Allan Poe. The Picture of Dorian Gray is the only published Novel written by Oscar Wilde, first appearing as the lead story in Lippincott's Monthly Magazine Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 1854 – 30 November 1900 was an Irish Playwright, Novelist, poet and Author of Five years before the novel's publication, Wilde had praised Poe's rhythmical expression. [3] In Wilde's novel, the portrait gradually reveals the evil of its subject rather than that of its artist. [4]
A similar plot is also used in Nathaniel Hawthorne's 1843 tale "The Birth-Mark. Nathaniel Hawthorne (born Nathaniel Hathorne; July 4 1804 – May 19 1864 was an American novelist and Short story writer Year 1843 ( MDCCCXLIII) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common " The Birth-Mark " is a romantic Short story written by Nathaniel Hawthorne that examines obsession with human perfection "[5]
French film-maker Jean-Luc Godard cited passages from the story in his 1962 film Vivre Sa Vie. Jean-Luc Godard (French ʒɑ̃lyk gɔˈdaʀ (born on December 3 1930 is a French and Swiss Filmmaker and one of the founding members of the Nouvelle Vague Year 1962 ( MCMLXII) was a Common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Vivre sa Vie Film en Douze Tableaux ("To Live One's Life A Film in Twelve Scenes" is a 1962 film directed by Jean-Luc Godard. Many saw this as Godard acknowledging the complexities of using his then-wife Anna Karina in the leading role for his films. Anna Karina (born Hanne Karin Blarke Bayer; September 22, 1940) is a Danish -born French Film Actress.
Publication history
"The Oval Portrait" was first published as a longer version titled "Life in Death" in Graham's Magazine in 1842. Graham's Magazine was a nineteenth century Periodical based in Philadelphia established by George Rex Graham. Year 1842 ( MDCCCXLII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common "Life in Death" included a few introductory paragraphs explaining how the narrator had been wounded, and that he had eaten opium to relieve the pain. A narrator (or the extremely rarely used female equivalent narratress) is within any story (literary work movie play verbal account etc Opium is a Narcotic formed from the Latex (ie sap released by lacerating (or "scoring" the immature seed pods of opium poppies ( Poe probably excised this introduction because it was not particularly relevant, and it also gave the impression that the story was nothing more than a hallucination. A hallucination, in the broadest sense is a Perception in the absence of a stimulus. The shorter version, renamed "The Oval Portrait" was published in the April 26, 1845 edition of the Broadway Journal. Year 1845 ( MDCCCXLV) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common The Broadway Journal was a short-lived New York City -based Periodical founded by Charles Frederick Briggs and John Bisco in 1844 [6]
References
- ^ Hoffman, Daniel. Poe Poe Poe Poe Poe Poe Poe. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1972. p. 311 ISBN 0807123218
- ^ Meyers, Jeffrey. Edgar Allan Poe: His Life and Legacy. New York: Cooper Square Press, 1992. p. 290. ISBN 0815410387
- ^ Sova, Dawn B. Edgar Allan Poe: A to Z. New York: Cooper Square Press, 2001. p. 178. ISBN 081604161X
- ^ Meyers, Jeffrey. Edgar Allan Poe: His Life and Legacy. New York: Cooper Square Press, 1992. p. 290. ISBN 0815410387
- ^ Quinn, Arthur Hobson. Edgar Allan Poe: A Critical Biography. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1998. ISBN 0801857309. p. 331.
- ^ Sova, Dawn B. Edgar Allan Poe: A to Z. New York: Cooper Square Press, 2001. p. 178. ISBN 081604161X
External links
- Full text on PoeStories.com with hyperlinked vocabulary words.
Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic