The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe The Cask of Amontillado and the accompanying illustration by Harry Clarke were published in 1919 in Edgar Allan Poe'sTales of Mystery and Imagination. THE thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could, but when he ventured upon insult I vowed revenge. You, who so well know the nature of my soul, will not suppose, however, that gave utterance to a threat. At length I would be avenged; this was a point definitely, settled --but the very definitiveness with which it was resolved precluded the idea of risk. I must not only punish but punish with impunity. It must be understood that neither by word nor deed had I given Fortunato cause to doubt my good will. He had a weak point --this Fortunato --although in other regards he was a man to be respected and even feared. It was about dusk, one evening during the supreme madness of the carnival season, that I encountered my friend. I said to him --"My dear Fortunato, you are luckily met. "How?" "Amontillado!" "Ugh!
The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe Illustration of "The Tell-Tale Heart" by Harry Clarke, from Edgar Allan Poe's Tales of Mystery and Imagination, 1919. TRUE!-NERVOUS--very, very dreadfully nervous I had been and am! It is impossible to tell how first the idea entered my brain; but once conceived, it haunted me day and night. Now this is the point. I was never kinder to the old man than during the whole week before I killed him. Upon the eighth night I was more than usually cautious in opening the door. I had my head in, and was about to open the lantern, when my thumb slipped upon the tin fastening, and the old man sprang up in bed, crying out: "Who's there?" I kept quite still and said nothing. Presently I heard a slight groan, and I knew it was the groan of mortal terror. When I had waited a long time, very patiently, without hearing him lie down, I resolved to open a little--a very, very little crevice in the lantern. It was open--wide, wide open--and I grew furious as I gazed upon it. "Villains!"
The Fall of the House of Usher Text - The Fall of the House of Usher What is a literary classic and why are these classic works important to the world? A literary classic is a work of the highest excellence that has something important to say about life and/or the human condition and says it with great artistry. A classic, through its enduring presence, has withstood the test of time and is not bound by time, place, or customs. Poe's stories and poems are remarkable, not only for an unusual anxiety about life, a preoccupation with loss, an all-consuming terror, and a unique perspective on death, but also for their rich mixture of beauty, the sensual, and the supernatural. Most modern critics recognize the emotional difficulties that Poe experienced in his life, but they also doubt that binge drinking and opium use were the inspirations for his fascination with the macabre. It is obvious that an artist as sensitive as Poe would reflect this pain in his writings. Edgar Allan Poe was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on January 19, 1809.
The Diamond as Big as the Ritz by F. Scott Fitzgerald JOHN T. John's father had held the amateur golf championship through many a heated contest; Mrs. Now in Hades--as you know if you ever have been there--the names of the more fashionable preparatory schools and colleges mean very little. John T. "Remember, you are always welcome here," he said. "I know," answered John huskily. "Don't forget who you are and where you come from," continued his father proudly, "and you can do nothing to harm you. So the old man and the young shook hands and John walked away with tears streaming from his eyes. So John took his look and then set his face resolutely toward his destination. St. John's first two years there passed pleasantly. In the middle of his second year at school, a quiet, handsome boy named Percy Washington had been put in John's form. It was only when they were in the train that Percy became, for the first time, rather communicative. "My father," he said, "is by far the richest man in the world." "But how does he--"