Poe & Pop Culture, Week Four

It occurred to me that I neglected to post lasts weeks lesson notes and links and didn't post them. Here they are in all their brief glory.

The readings for this week were Island of the Fay and Hop Frog. For those that want to do the readings, most all of Poe's works are public domain and can be found with a simple google search. Most of them are also available via audio and I usually post the youtube link in these posts. However, very little can be found for these two pieces on youtube. Now, back to it. In retrospect, the first reading was poorly chosen-- I assigned it, and then regretted it immensely when I realized it wasn't quite what I had in mind for class cohesiveness. The Island of the Fay suggests that it's a fantasy that stars the fay (fairies), but, no. It's one of Poe's essays where he waxes eloquent as he contemplates the world at large. He starts out talking about music and then goes on a trip to light fantastic. Very little is actually written about this piece. I found one blog where the writer suggests it was steeped in allegory.

1. The Island is the earth.
2. The Fay are human beings; even though fay or fae generally refer to fairies.
3. The Fay make one trip around the island experiencing all four seasons; what we would view as the seasons of life. 

So, there you have it... we read one of his essays. I'm not sure where my brain was at in thinking this went with the lesson. The kids agreed. 

Now, to the real lesson and what I had intended. Hop Frog or The Eight Chained Ourang-Outangs. Up to this point, we have focused on Poe's legacy of Gothic horror fiction, what he is preeminently known for.  We rounded off that discussion with Vincent Price and Tim Burton, and now we are headed into Science Fiction. Poe is many times considered the Father of Science Fiction. In his collection of short stories, we find Hop Frog, not one of his better known works, but the setting and feel has that AU (alternate universe) feel. The main character is Hop Frog, a dwarf that had been taken captive and made the king's jester. There was another dwarf captive that served the king and her name was Trippetta. The king was a foolish, loud man who adored his wine, lavish parties, and tyranny. The king received his comeuppance at a grand party of tomfoolery. And, like all Poe, the antagonists met a foul end. The literary trope being the little man triumphing over his oppressors in the style of literary irony: what happens is the opposite of the expectation.

This short story brought to mind Hans Christian Andersen's The Emperor's New Clothes (where the fool is made the fool) and this scene from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (when the king of Bulgaria is fooled by the childish fun of his two new "dolls" and the children capture the kind, queen, and nobles).

As we transition to science fiction, it's only fair to begin with a contemporary writer who from his younger years was influenced immensely by Poe, specifically the story of Hop Frog. Neil Gaiman (hands down one of the best writers in modern times) has an impressive cache of literature: DC Comics Black Orchid series, DC Comics The Sandman (his greatest achievement in the comics realm), a two part Batman story for DC in 2009, his novels: Neverwhere, American Gods, Anansi Boys, Stardust, The Graveyard Book, The Ocean at the End of the Lane, and Coraline, there are also a plethora of short stories (ranging from children to YA to adult), for film and television he wrote or cowrote: Beowolf, Stardust, Coraline, two episodes of Doctor Who in 2011, "The Doctor's Wife" and "Nightmare in Silver," and American Gods has recently been produced as a series, and two of his works, Neverwhere and Good Omens (his collaboration with Terry Pratchett) were produced as radio programs. My personal plug here is for the BBC's production of Neverwhere (which you can get on Audible or iBooks-- sorry, no links here because the BBC protects their products voraciously) and stars James MacAvoy, Natalie Dormer, Benedict Cumberbatch, Anthony Steward Head, Christopher Lee, Bernard Cribbins, and Romola Garai among others, including Neil Gaiman, himself. It is a work of art that must be perused at length.

Gaiman has written of his love of Poe in an article found on his website and also in this interview. In both, Gaiman expresses the absolute need to read Poe out loud, as it becomes a vastly different experience. In this class, the goal has been to read the work, listen to the work, and then, where possible to see how he has been interpreted in various forms. In the interview, Gaiman mentions how Poe had originally thought the bird to utter "Nevermore" should have been a parrot. Can you even imagine that? The Raven it must be. This is reference in one of my favorite cartoons Ruby Gloom, and an entire episode is dedicated to a time traveling raven named Poe and a parrot named Paco. The episode, "Time Flies," in its entirety can be found here.

Gaiman describes Poe as "vain, envious, good-hearted, morbid, troubled, and a dreamer, and he sums up Poe's legacy in this, "Still, Poe, for all his short life and unfulfilled potential, remains today, his finest stories as successful, as readable, as contemporary as anyone would desire. Fashions in dead authors come and go, but Poe is, I would wager, beyond fashion."

Readings for this week are The Domain of Arnheim and The Balloon Hoax.