The Philosophy Of Furniture By Edgar Allan Poe

In his influential essay, “The Philosophy of Furniture,” Poe details how he thinks one should decorate a room and it is strikingly similar to the furnishings in his fictional bridal chamber. The drapery within the chamber is described “vast folds, with a heavy and massive-looking tapestry” (“Ligeia” 84). While the material is “the richest cloth of gold. It was spotted all over, at irregular intervals, with arabesque figures” (84). This material goes with Poe’s idea of the perfect room because it is not used too much and Poe said that the “excessive volume of drapery of any kind is, under any circumstance irreconcilable with good taste” (“Philosophy of Furniture” 243). Similarly, the material has “arabesque figures” on it. Arabesque is a pattern from the Middle East that has “flowing lines
and adj”). This is in line with Poe’s ideas of good design because he thinks, “all upholstery should be strictly Arabesque” (244). While the narrator’s bridal palace is in accordance with Poe’s rules for design, it is the exact opposite of real bridal palaces of the day and would have shocked readers.
Real bridal palaces in America were the antithesis of Poe’s fictional one. For example, Poe’s narrator intentional intentionally isolates the bridal chamber. Describing its location, the narrator says: “The abbey [was]… in one of the wildest and least frequented portions of fair England,” so much so that it was almost “savage.” In addition, he describes the bridal chamber itself, as “castellated” (84). Castellated means to have “battlements” (“Castellated, Adj”). A battlement is “an indented parapet at the top of a wall” used “in fortified buildings for purposes of defence against assailants” (“Battlement, N”). The narrator’s house is, therefore, not only in an