2.2. The Use of Epigraphs : Another Strategy to
Highlight the Universality of Poe's Tales:
In order to highlight taphephobia as the defining phenomenon of
the era, Poe uses different strategies of intertextuality. One of these
strategies is the use of epigraphs, quoting from iconic books to convey a
particular theme or to highlight a motif. Poe uses epigraphs in four tales
namely; "Ligeia", "The Fall of the House of Usher", "Morella" and "Berenice".
Through these epigraphs, Poe succeeds to build the general atmosphere of the
tale, to set the
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major conflict in the story and to accentuate the effect of
taphephobia on both the victim and the other characters.
Unlike the other tales under study, "Ligeia" differs at the level
of the representation of the source of taphephobia, which is premature burial
and its effect of internalizing the phobia on the reader. In order to
illustrate this atmosphere and as a possible way to show the main conflict of
the story, Poe uses an epigraph from Joseph Glanvill (1636-1680), a
17th C English poet. Despite the fact that critics did not find the
original source of the lines used stating that Poe himself created these lines,
the choice of the poet is significant since Glanvill is known for his book
Saducismus Triumphatus (1681) that affirms the existence of witchcraft
and the supernatural, which serves the general atmosphere of the tale. Poe
chooses few lines that serve as a synopsis of the tale, presenting mainly the
conflict between a strong will and the weakness of the human soul. Ligeia and
Lady Rowena present the two sides of the human self, showing that Ligeia's
strong will overcomes the fact that she was buried alive while Lady Rowena's
death was not mainly because of the poison but rather because of her surrender.
Besides, the epigraph is repeated by Ligeia in her death bed to show that with
her strong will, she can survive the inevitable "Conqueror", showing that death
is not the ultimate end of the human being. The epigraph shows the fragile
boundaries between death and life through the representation of death, not as
an inevitable reality, but rather as an enemy that can be conquered through the
strong will. This battle between death and innate love for life presents the
concretization of the essence of the taphephobic who is under a constant
psychological war between his fear of premature death and his love for life.
From the beginning of the tale, Poe accentuates the mysterious
and gloomy aura of the setting and the character of Lady Ligeia. The
protagonist Ligeia and who is supposedly later to be buried alive is presented
from the start as a surreal woman characterized by her excessive love for the
forbidden knowledge. Poe uses unusual metaphors to describe the lady.
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He presents her almost as a shadow; instead of using Romantic
metaphors, focusing on her physical beauty and her tenderness, Poe chooses to
present Ligeia from the beginning in a mysterious and gothic way, focusing on
her language and behavior. She is presented as a mixture of ultimate beauty and
gloomy, dark personality "the character of my beloved, her rare learning, her
singular yet placid cast of beauty, and the thrilling and enthralling eloquence
of her low musical language, made their way into my heart" (CTP 94).
This portrayal of the major character paves the way for the representation of
taphephobia and for the guaranteed sublime effect.
In "The Fall of the House of Usher" and "Morella", epigraphs
serve another function in relation to the motif of taphephobia. In both tales,
Poe mirrors taphephobia of the 19th C American society through presenting the
horrors of the act of premature burial and its effects on both the victim and
the other characters. In "The Fall of the House of Usher", Poe did not actually
focus on the psychological agony of the victim Madeleine Usher. He rather
portrays in details Roderick Usher's dilemma after burying his sister alive.
Poe uses some other elements of the tale to reflect Roderick's tormented mind
especially after the premature burial of his sister. Poe uses the house as a
mirror of Roderick Usher's mind. It is presented from the beginning of the tale
as a decayed setting, reflecting the neurotic state of the Roderick Usher. By
the end of the story, the house collapses simultaneously with the mental
breakdown of the character, seeing his sister's survival from the premature
burial. Poe uses a picturesque technique of description using a concrete,
physical representation of the psychological abstract world of characters.
In order to show the destructive psychological effect of
taphephobia on both the victim and the doer of the premature internment, Poe
refers to French literature and Greek philosophy to quote for his epigraphs in
both "The Fall of the House of Usher" and "Morella". He refers to his
contemporary French poet and songwriter Pierre-Jean De Béranger
(1780-
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1857) and particularly to his poem «Le Refus» (the
refusal) to highlight the loneliness and the psychological and emotional
imbalance which leads to the tragic end of Madeline Usher by burying her alive.
Using the same technique, Poe refers to Plato, the father of Greek philosophy,
quoting from his book Symposium to foreshadow that despite the fact
that Morella was buried alive, her identity was personified in the character of
her daughter.
In "Morella", Poe focuses on the husband's torments, seeing his
daughter's striking resemblance to her mother and on his predictable madness,
discovering his wife's tomb empty and presuming that she was back from death
after burying her alive. Poe presents Morella, following the same pattern as
Ligeia. She is as well a non classical, mysterious lady who is characterized by
her love of "mystical writings". In this tale, Poe focuses on the husband's
agony resulted from the death and return of his wife rather than on the
protagonist herself. Like in "Ligeia", the horror of premature burial is
presented indirectly, allowing the reader to interpret the return of the female
character either as a resurrection or as a survival from a premature burial.
Poe uses same components, provided throughout the six tales to highlight
taphephobia. He uses a composition of love and neurosis to create the ultimate
effect of the sublime.
In "Berenice", Poe deals with a monomaniac narrator who
disfigured the body of his cousin and fiancé Berenice, who was
mistakenly buried alive, by ripping out her teeth. The narrator visits and
violates the tomb and this scene was predicted in the epigraph. The choice of
the epigraph is not whimsical. It gives hints about the general theme of the
tale. Poe uses a verse by Ebn Zaiat. In "The Epigraph of Poe's 'Berenice'",
Michael Beard states that Ebn Zaiat is not known as a poet and that his real
identity is mysterious; he is listed as " an Arab biographer, though in fact he
was a political figure and occasional poet, a wazir under the
Abassid khalif Mu'tasim" (611). Poe's use of the Latin quote "Dicebant
mihi sodales, si
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sepulchrum amicae visitarem, curas meas aliquantulum
forelevatas"6 is explained in relation to the narrator's visit to
Berenice's tomb. According to Joan Dayan, in her essay "The Identity of
Berenice, Poe's Idol of the Mind", the epigraph presents Berenice as the
beloved and foreshadows her resurrection from the premature internment (494).
Poe uses the classical structure of plot consisting of exposition, rising
actions, climax, falling actions and denouement, showing the conflict between
Egaeus and his neurotic self. The denouement of the story presents at the same
time the end of suspense for the reader and the end of Egaeus' troubles of his
tormented self since, as it is referred to in the epigraph, he discovers the
reality of Berenice's death by re-visiting her tomb.
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