Great Short Works of Edgar Allan Poe [Paperback]

Edgar Allan Poe (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 006083093X | ISBN-13: 978-0060830939 | Publication Date: November 28, 1970

"From the best of his comic and satiric works to the best of his Gothic works . . . a remarkable literary achievement--perhaps one of the most remarkable of the nineteenth century."--G. R. Thompson, from the Introduction

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849) reigns unrivaled in his mastery of mystery. Born in Boston, he was orphaned at age three, expelled from West Point for gambling, and became an alcoholic. In 1836 he secretly wed his thirteen-year-old cousin. The Raven, published in 1845, made Poe famous. He died in 1849 under what remain suspicious circumstances.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Chapter One

Poems

DREAMS

Oh! that my young life were a lasting dream!
My spirit not awak'ning till the beam
Of an Eternity should bring the morrow:
Yes! tho' that long dream were of hopeless sorrow,
'Twere better than the dull reality
Of waking life to him whose heart shall be,
And bath been ever, on the chilly earth,
A chaos of deep passion from his birth!

But should it be-that dream eternally
Continuing-as dreams have been to me
In my young boyhood--should it thus be given,
'Twere folly still to hope for higher Heaven!
For I have revell'd, when the sun was bright
In the summer sky; in dreamy fields of light,
And left unbeedingly my very heart
In climes of mine imagining--apart
From mine own home, with beings that have been
Of mine own thought--wbat more could I have seen?

'Twas once and only once and the wild hour
From my remembrance shall not pass-some power
Or spell had bound me-'twas the chilly wind
Came o'er me in the night and left behind
Its image on my spirit, or the moon
Shone on my slumbers in her lofty noon
Too coldly-or the stars-howe'er it was
That dream was as that night wind-let it pass.

I have been bappy--tbo' but in a dream.
I have been happy--and I love the theme --
Dreams! in their vivid colouring of life-
As in that fleeting, shadowy, misty strife

Of semblance with reality which brings
To the delirious eye more lovely things
Of Paradise and Love-and all our own!
Than young Hope in his sunniest hour hath known.

[1827, 1828]

SPIRITS OF THE DEAD

I

Thy soul shall find itself alone
'Mid dark thoughts of the gray tomb-stone--
Not one, of all the crowd, to pry
Into thine hour of secrecy:

II

Be silent in that solitude,
Which is not loneliness-for then
The spirits of the dead who stood
In life before thee are -again
In death around thee-and their will
Shall overshadow thee: be still.

III

The night-tho' clear--shall frown
And the stars shall look not down,
From their high thrones in the heaven,
With light like Hope to mortals given
But their red orbs, without beam,
To thy weariness shall seem
As a burning and a fever
Which would cling to thee for ever.

IV

Now are thoughts thou shalt not banish
Now are visions ne'er to vanish
From thy spirit shall they pass
No more-like dew-drop from the grass.

V

The breeze---the breath of God-is still-
And the mist upon the hill
Shadowy-shadowy-yet unbroken,
Is a symbol and a token-
How it hangs upon the trees,
A mystery of mysteries!--
[1827, 1839]

EVENING STAR

'Twas noontide of summer,
And mid-time of night;
And stars, in their orbits,
Shone pale, thro' the light
Of the brighter, cold moon,
'Mid planets her slaves,
Herself in the Heavens
Her beam on the waves.
I gaz'd awhile
On her cold smile;
Too cold-too cold for me-
There pass'd, as a shroud,
A fleecy cloud,
And I turn'd away to thee,
Proud Evening Star,
In thy glory afar,
And dearer thy beam shall be;
For joy to my heart
Is the proud part
Thou bearest in Heav'n at night,
And more I admire
Thy distant fire,
Than that colder, lowly light.
[1827]

Product Details

• Paperback: 576 pages
• Publisher: Harper Perennial (November 28, 1970)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 006083093X
• ISBN-13: 978-0060830939
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 4.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,307,184 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A solid Poe collection, August 14, 2001

By 

Michael J. Mazza - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Great Short Works of Edgar Allan Poe (Paperback)

Edgar Allan Poe is one of the undisputed giants of United States literature--indeed, of all world literature. And "Great Short Works of Edgar Allan Poe," edited by G.R. Thompson, is a solid sampling of some of Poe's most marvelous literary achievements. The editor's selection allows the reader to experience the many different facets of this genius: Poe as poet, as critic, as mystery writer, as science fiction pioneer, as satirist, and, of course, as seminal master of horror.

Of course, no selective presentation of Poe will please everybody. I'm sure that most Poe enthusiasts will bemoan the absence of a favorite piece from this collection. Personally, I missed "The Gold-Bug," one of the stories that most impacted me as a young reader many years ago. But Thompson has packed a diverse cross-section of great material into a fairly compact space. You'll find such essential triumphs as "the Raven," "The Masque of the Red Death," and "The Murders in the Rue Morgue."

This edition includes both a good bibliography and a chronology of Poe's life. "Great Short Works" is a good resource for both the general reader and for classroom use.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great taste of Edgar Allen Poe's finest, March 25, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Great Short Works of Edgar Allan Poe (Paperback)

I want to make this short and simple. If you want a good feeling for what Poe has to offer you should read this book.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Poe has the neatest writing style., January 31, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Great Short Works of Edgar Allan Poe (Paperback)

I love this book. I like being able to sit down for a few minutes and get through a whole story.

Some of the stories I liked the most were: A Descent Into the Maelstrom. The Masque of the Red Death. The Black Cat. The Premature Burial. Some Words with a Mummy. The Cask of Amontillado. Shadow-A Parable. Silence-A Fable.

These are just a few of the tales, and none of the poems. One thing I noticed is that some of Poe's tales have the same basic idea to them. They've just been written a little different. Like a couple of them have the give himself away at the end because he thinks people can hear the heart of the dead person beating. There's a few other similarities between stories too, but you'll just have to read them to find out.

A Descent Into the Maelstrom was very good. Poe did a great job describing the "situation". As he did on Silence-A Fable too.

If you like Poe, this is a great summary of his works.