'A Literary Analysis Of Edgar Allan Poe's Ligeia'
Often said to be the favorite of all of his works, Edgar Allan Poe’s “Ligeia” remains one of the greatest American Gothic tales to this day (Brown). In this short story, originally published in Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque in 1840, a man deals with the loss of his loving first wife named Ligeia.
In the narrator’s mind Ligeia is the embodiment of perfection. In the first couple of paragraphs the narrator goes on to describe the way that Ligeia looks which give her a “timeless, strange and ancient beauty of Egypt, Greece and Israel” look (Forman). The narrator describes the woman as tall and slender, with a sweet voice and delicate features (Poe 645) He also goes on to say that Ligeia has pale skin and curly, jet black hair (Poe 645). …show more content…
He also loved her intelligence. Ligeia was very smart, unlike other women of her time (Poe 647). Ligeia was well versed in the classical and modern languages and she was also know in physical and mathematical sciences (Forman). Ligeia is thought to be inspiring to the narrator’s intellectual and artistic development due to her teaching him what she knows (Zlotnick-Woldenberg) such as arcane studies dealing with reincarnation and transcendentalism (Recommended Reading). It was strange for a woman to be so educated during this time, even the narrator was astounded by her intelligence. He shows his surprise by saying, “I said her knowledge was such as I had never known in a woman.” (Poe 647). Ligeia is shown to be unlike any other woman. She has an ethereal beauty and an immense knowledge. Poe constantly uses adjectives like rare, singular and enthralling to show how she is different (Zlotnick-Woldenberg). It could be said that she is the narrator’s embodiment of romance (Zlotnick-Woldenberg) because during intercourse she was very passionate which differed from other women (Poe 647). By stating that “Of all the women whom I have ever known, she, the outwardly calm, the ever placid Ligeia, was the most violently a prey to the tumultuous vultures of stern passion.” (Poe
In the narrator’s mind Ligeia is the embodiment of perfection. In the first couple of paragraphs the narrator goes on to describe the way that Ligeia looks which give her a “timeless, strange and ancient beauty of Egypt, Greece and Israel” look (Forman). The narrator describes the woman as tall and slender, with a sweet voice and delicate features (Poe 645) He also goes on to say that Ligeia has pale skin and curly, jet black hair (Poe 645). …show more content…
He also loved her intelligence. Ligeia was very smart, unlike other women of her time (Poe 647). Ligeia was well versed in the classical and modern languages and she was also know in physical and mathematical sciences (Forman). Ligeia is thought to be inspiring to the narrator’s intellectual and artistic development due to her teaching him what she knows (Zlotnick-Woldenberg) such as arcane studies dealing with reincarnation and transcendentalism (Recommended Reading). It was strange for a woman to be so educated during this time, even the narrator was astounded by her intelligence. He shows his surprise by saying, “I said her knowledge was such as I had never known in a woman.” (Poe 647). Ligeia is shown to be unlike any other woman. She has an ethereal beauty and an immense knowledge. Poe constantly uses adjectives like rare, singular and enthralling to show how she is different (Zlotnick-Woldenberg). It could be said that she is the narrator’s embodiment of romance (Zlotnick-Woldenberg) because during intercourse she was very passionate which differed from other women (Poe 647). By stating that “Of all the women whom I have ever known, she, the outwardly calm, the ever placid Ligeia, was the most violently a prey to the tumultuous vultures of stern passion.” (Poe