Ladies and gentlemen! ‘Tis the gala night! Come all- seraphs veiled and winged- come all to see a fantastical site. A play of hopes and fears. Of man and madness; and your hero of the night, ladies and gentlemen, drumroll please: the Conqueror Worm! Renowned for his might, he stands proud, devouring the wicked and the divine as you, my dear audience, bear witness to this sight. “Words have no power to impress the mind without the exquisite horror of their reality.” Ladies, gentlemen, and lovers of poetry; behold the wondrous and darkly disturbing mind of Edgar Allan Poe.
Poe was a man, born in Boston in 1809, famously known to dance with the mad and peculiar. He was a master of macabre, father of the detective story and captured the imaginations …show more content…
Death takes form through the Conqueror Worm, the hero of the poem: the hero of life. The Conqueror Worm is a huge, grotesque, writhing monstrosity; blood-red and fanged, a macabre nightmare. It is not unusual for a worm to be used as a representation of death, as they live in dirt and feed upon corpses. The Conqueror Worm may also be considered to be the serpent from the biblical Garden of Eden, however, the initial reading is far more likely based upon the circumstances of it’s arrival, as well as the particular adjective used for it’s movement: “it writhes!” Serpents do not writhe, but worms do. The Conqueror Worm- death- interrupts the endless chase that is human life, “writhing with mortal pangs”. It has a hunger for humans, tearing into them; tearing them away from life and into the clutch of death. Unlike most tragedies, the hero does not die, rather, achieves glory through the destruction of human life. It reigns victorious, destroying all. Would that not make the worm the anti-hero or villain? At face-value, it does not appear to have any heroic qualities, it does not have any characteristics at all: it is a writhing worm with a gnawing desire for death. No, it is a hero. The Conqueror Worm saves people, albeit through unorthodox methods, but it saves people from suffering nonetheless. Through the concept of death, life is given purpose. Yes, life is sin, life is madness and horror: it is of empty dreams and lost …show more content…
Just as this motley drama ends, so too must your life. The purpose of life is death, just the moon cannot shine without the sun. Humans pointlessly chase hopes and dreams to no avail until the cruel mouth of the Conqueror Worm brings us to demise. At least that is what Poe in The Conqueror Worm supposes. However, from a human perspective, is that truly so? Yes, you will die- your final purpose being food for worms- but now your life is free. Without hope; humans are nothing. Life almost certainly leads to madness and sin, but that is what makes it intriguing, does it not? Death may conquer all, but that does not mean that you must not live whilst you have the chance. It is not the destination- be it you reach your dreams, or you die- it is the endless exhausting journey. All the beauty in the world was made within the oppressive limitations of time and death, remember that, audience. Despite the Conqueror Worm that edges it’s way towards you inevitably, despite the fact that you may never reach your dreams and you may never feel like you achieve anything; despite all of the tragedies of your life: you are still alive. Are you living a life safe from death and harm? Of course not, none of us are- not ever. The question is: are you living a life that is worth the
Poe was a man, born in Boston in 1809, famously known to dance with the mad and peculiar. He was a master of macabre, father of the detective story and captured the imaginations …show more content…
Death takes form through the Conqueror Worm, the hero of the poem: the hero of life. The Conqueror Worm is a huge, grotesque, writhing monstrosity; blood-red and fanged, a macabre nightmare. It is not unusual for a worm to be used as a representation of death, as they live in dirt and feed upon corpses. The Conqueror Worm may also be considered to be the serpent from the biblical Garden of Eden, however, the initial reading is far more likely based upon the circumstances of it’s arrival, as well as the particular adjective used for it’s movement: “it writhes!” Serpents do not writhe, but worms do. The Conqueror Worm- death- interrupts the endless chase that is human life, “writhing with mortal pangs”. It has a hunger for humans, tearing into them; tearing them away from life and into the clutch of death. Unlike most tragedies, the hero does not die, rather, achieves glory through the destruction of human life. It reigns victorious, destroying all. Would that not make the worm the anti-hero or villain? At face-value, it does not appear to have any heroic qualities, it does not have any characteristics at all: it is a writhing worm with a gnawing desire for death. No, it is a hero. The Conqueror Worm saves people, albeit through unorthodox methods, but it saves people from suffering nonetheless. Through the concept of death, life is given purpose. Yes, life is sin, life is madness and horror: it is of empty dreams and lost …show more content…
Just as this motley drama ends, so too must your life. The purpose of life is death, just the moon cannot shine without the sun. Humans pointlessly chase hopes and dreams to no avail until the cruel mouth of the Conqueror Worm brings us to demise. At least that is what Poe in The Conqueror Worm supposes. However, from a human perspective, is that truly so? Yes, you will die- your final purpose being food for worms- but now your life is free. Without hope; humans are nothing. Life almost certainly leads to madness and sin, but that is what makes it intriguing, does it not? Death may conquer all, but that does not mean that you must not live whilst you have the chance. It is not the destination- be it you reach your dreams, or you die- it is the endless exhausting journey. All the beauty in the world was made within the oppressive limitations of time and death, remember that, audience. Despite the Conqueror Worm that edges it’s way towards you inevitably, despite the fact that you may never reach your dreams and you may never feel like you achieve anything; despite all of the tragedies of your life: you are still alive. Are you living a life safe from death and harm? Of course not, none of us are- not ever. The question is: are you living a life that is worth the