The Lady or the Tiger
English Assignment
Short Story: The Oval Portrait
Author: Edgar Allan Poe The central idea of the story resides in the confusing relationship between art and life. The story happens in a chateau (French castle) in Apennines, a mountain range in central Italy. Poe tends to use a lot of Old-English, Middle-English, Old-French and French words in his story such as; chateau, valet, grandeur, antique, Arabesque, bizarre, niche, portrait, canvas, vignette, vague, Moresque, vehemently, subdued, appalled, austere, Art, turret, chamber, pale, reveries, depicted, countenance, brush, aghast and regard. It is explainable the fact that he uses old styles of English and French since the story was written in the first half of the nineteenth century. Throughout the story, Edgar also repeats the following words: chateau, valet, portrait, vignette, canvas, turret and art. It marks his insistence on these words to the reader. Edgar uses some figures of speech; * The chateau . . . was one of those piles of commingled gloom and grandeur: Alliteration. * Manifold and multiform armorial trophies: Alliteration. * Tongues of a tall candelabrum: Metaphor comparing candle wicks to tongues. * She a maiden of rarest beauty . . . and frolicsome as the young fawn: Simile comparing the young lady to a fawn. * And in sooth some who beheld the portrait spoke of its resemblance in low words, as of a mighty marvel, and a proof not less of the power of the painter than of his deep love for her whom he depicted so surpassingly well: Irony, in that observers believe the painting testifies to the artist's love for his wife. * the spirit of the lady again flickered up as the flame within the socket of the lamp: Simile comparing the lady's spirit to a flame.
In my opinion, I believe that Poe didn't use enough Italian words to make us realize we are in the Italian culture. He uses some words such as Moresque and bizarre that comes from Old-Spanish words which is
Short Story: The Oval Portrait
Author: Edgar Allan Poe The central idea of the story resides in the confusing relationship between art and life. The story happens in a chateau (French castle) in Apennines, a mountain range in central Italy. Poe tends to use a lot of Old-English, Middle-English, Old-French and French words in his story such as; chateau, valet, grandeur, antique, Arabesque, bizarre, niche, portrait, canvas, vignette, vague, Moresque, vehemently, subdued, appalled, austere, Art, turret, chamber, pale, reveries, depicted, countenance, brush, aghast and regard. It is explainable the fact that he uses old styles of English and French since the story was written in the first half of the nineteenth century. Throughout the story, Edgar also repeats the following words: chateau, valet, portrait, vignette, canvas, turret and art. It marks his insistence on these words to the reader. Edgar uses some figures of speech; * The chateau . . . was one of those piles of commingled gloom and grandeur: Alliteration. * Manifold and multiform armorial trophies: Alliteration. * Tongues of a tall candelabrum: Metaphor comparing candle wicks to tongues. * She a maiden of rarest beauty . . . and frolicsome as the young fawn: Simile comparing the young lady to a fawn. * And in sooth some who beheld the portrait spoke of its resemblance in low words, as of a mighty marvel, and a proof not less of the power of the painter than of his deep love for her whom he depicted so surpassingly well: Irony, in that observers believe the painting testifies to the artist's love for his wife. * the spirit of the lady again flickered up as the flame within the socket of the lamp: Simile comparing the lady's spirit to a flame.
In my opinion, I believe that Poe didn't use enough Italian words to make us realize we are in the Italian culture. He uses some words such as Moresque and bizarre that comes from Old-Spanish words which is