Who doesn’t enjoy having the opportunity to hear a good story? Whether you’re into poetry or prose, fiction or nonfiction, horror or drama, there is something to be had by everyone. It gives you the opportunity to surround yourself with things that fall in line with your particular interests. For many people, reading the works of Edgar Allan Poe is one of the great joys in life. After all, he was a gifted poet and author, someone who could literally make the words come to life. Who hasn’t read some of his better known works in high school, or especially in college? For many people, it would be nothing short of a dream come true to see some of his works come to life on the Silver Screen. Below are five that would be excellent choices for such a project. Keep reading to see if you agree.
1. The Raven
This is unquestionably one of his better-known works, and one that certainly leaves a lasting impression on anyone who reads it. At first, it almost seems as if the entire poem is about a crazed bird who is driving a man equally crazy. However, that’s just scratching the surface. In truth, the meaning goes much, much deeper. You see, it really isn’t about a meer bird at all. Instead, it’s about the sheer loneliness and isolation felt when one loses a person they love. In the poem, he has lost the person he cherished most and now all he hears is the raven that sits at his window. The bird was there all along but he never noticed it before. It’s only in that piercingly lonely silence that he begins to notice these things and in that instant, he is truly driven mad by the knowledge that he will never again hear the voice of his beloved, but only the raven pecking on the window.
2. The Tell Tale Heart
This is a story that’s almost universally read in high school and college English classes and it’s definitely worth the read. One of Poe’s short stories, this is about a man who has truly gone mad after he murdered someone, burying their broken body underneath the floorboards in his very own home. Later, he believes that he hasn’t actually killed the person and that they’re lying their alive under his feet. The funny thing is that the story itself never actually comes out and says that he can hear the heartbeat of this individual, yet it is so strongly implied that many people swear up and down that it’s actually written into the story. If you have somehow managed not to read this in the past, it’s definitely worth a look. In reality, it’s worth re-reading, even if you’ve already done so several times over. It will be a near-perfect adaptation for a modern-day movie, something that has been tried in the past but could certainly be done again in a more contemporary fashion.
3. A Dream Within a Dream
As you probably are already acutely aware, Poe had a habit of writing a lot about death. In fact, he spent a great deal of time on this subject, so much that many people would arguably agree that he was obsessed with the topic. In this particular poem, his focus is on illustrating how people are not really all that significant when it comes to the grand scheme of things. It’s about someone who is dying, their life slowly ebbing from existence. Throughout the poem, he shows how things change over time and how the perceptions of others will change from the time that they knew that individual until well after the time that he is gone. It’s definitely something that will make you think about your own existence and whether or not you’re doing anything to make a mark on the world. Written in 1849, this is still a poem that strikes both passion and fear in the hearts of those who read it. You might say that several movies follow the same general idea but having something that’s built completely around this would definitely be worth seeing.
4. The Bells
This is another interesting poem and it’s worth reading for a number of reasons. It’s also different from many of the other things that Poe ultimately wrote. For starters, it was published after he died in 1849. That in and of itself makes it somewhat unique. The other thing that makes it stand out is the fact that while this poem is about death, like so many others that he wrote, It’s not nearly as obvious. In fact, this poem actually starts out sounding rather happy, almost joyful. It’s not until you near the end of the poem that you realize that the sound of the bells that have essentially made everything seem so happy throughout the first half of the poem are indeed the sound of approaching death. Imagine what it would be like to make a movie built around this concept, where someone can hear those bells jingling in the distance, yet he finds out far too late what they’re actually all about.
5. Alone
This is perhaps the single most introspective poem ever written by Poe. In fact, it wasn’t published until well after he had died and it deals with his being alone as a child, hence the title. When you realize how much of the work created by Poe has a dark theme, often a theme about death and isolation, it’s easier to understand when you can put it into context after reading this particular poem. Realizing that he had a difficult childhood where he was frequently alone and felt as though he didn’t really matter in the world gives you a unique perspective when it comes to better understanding the rest of his work. It would also make for a very good movie, especially when actors with a powerful presence are used.
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