Edgar Allan Poe : rhetoric and style

431 Pages·2005·19.89 MB·English

by  Poe

EDGAR ALLAN P O E
This page intentionally left blank
Edgar Allan Poe
Rhetoric and Style
BRETT ZIMMERMAN
McGill-Queen's University Press
Montreal & Kingston • London • Ithaca
McGill-Queen's University Press 2005
ISBN 0-7735-2899-7
Legal deposit second quarter 2005
Bibliotheque nationale du Quebec
Printed in Canada on acid-free paper that is 100% ancient forest free
(100% post-consumer recycled), processed chlorine free.
This book has been published with the help of a grant from the Canadian Federation
for the Humanities and Social Sciences, through the Aid to Scholarly Publications
Programme, using funds provided by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research
Council of Canada.
McGill-Queen's University Press acknowledges the support of the Canada Council
for the Arts for our publishing program. We also acknowledge the financial support of the
Government of Canada through the Book Publishing Industry Development Program
(BPCDP) for our publishing activities.
Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication
Zimmerman, Brett, 1958—
Edgar Allan Poe: rhetoric and style / Brett Zimmerman.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0—7735—2899-7
I. Poe, Edgar Allan, 1809-1849 - Literary style. 2. Poe, Edgar Allan, 1809-1849 -
Technique. I. Title.
PS2644.Z54 2005 813'.3 c2005-900574-2
This book was typeset by Dynagram Inc. in 11/14 Garamond.
For introducing me to
the adventure of stylistics,
this book is gratefully and affectionately
dedicated to
ROBERT ADOLPH
- mentor, colleague, friend.
This page intentionally left blank
Contents
Tables and Figures ix
Acknowledgments xi
Introduction xiii
1 "I could read his prose on salary, but not Jane's":
Poe's Stylistic Versatility 3
2 Frantic Forensic Oratory and the Rhetoric of Self-Deceit:
"The Tell-Tale Heart" and "The Black Cat" 28
3 Allegoria, Chronographia, and Clock Architecture in
"The Masque of the Red Death" 51
4 Poe's Linguistic Comedy 63
5 The Linguistic Weaponry of the "Tomahawk Man":
Poe's Critical Reviews 85
Catalogue of Rhetorical and Other Literary Terms
in Poe's Works 107
The Terms by Type 326
Conclusion 331
viii Contents
Appendix i: Stauffer on Poe's "Five Styles" 337
Appendix 2: Paranoid Schizophrenia in "The Tell-Tale Heart" 342
Notes 355
Bibliography 375
Index 387
Tables and Figures
TA B L E S
1 Instances of Ecphonesis in "The Tell-Tale Heart" 2.0
2 Poe's "Five Styles" According to Donald B. Staufifer 339
FIGURES
i Prospero's Clock-Abbey 54