IB English
October 30th, 2012
October 30th, 2012
Commentary on excerpt
of “A Tale of the Ragged Montains”
In
the 40-line excerpt of Edgar Allan Poe’s “A Tale of the Ragged Mountains,” the
narrator describes an opulent place that he finds himself looking at. The
function of this excerpt is to show how easily one’s mind can be tricked
through figurative language, since the detailed description of the place makes
one believe that it is real until the narrator fails to be credible in denying
that it is a dream.
It seems like the narrator just appears at the phenomenal place because he “f(inds) (him)self” (line 1) there without revealing how and why he got there. In the first part of the excerpt, he describes all items and happenings with sense-appealing imagery, especially regarding sight such as “fantastically carved oriels” (line 10) and “banners and palanquins” (line 13) on all sides; this use of imagery has the effect of making the reader believe that this city is real as it becomes more tangible. It is odd that he is able to observe all the materials and wares, the architecture and equipment of the city although he stands “far above the level of the town” (line 5). Indeed, the narrator is located at “the foot of a high mountain” while “looking down” (line 1) at the place he describes, an antithesis that adds to the reader’s doubtful attitude towards the narrator. Everything he sees is super-real, yet he insists that it is “self-consistent” and has “nothing of the unmistakable idiosyncrasy of (a) dream” (line 32). However, the city he describes can not be categorized as ordinary either; through lots of superlatives such as “the most dazzling cutlery” and “the most magnificent jewels and gems” (line 12) and hyperboles such as “innumerable (streets)” (line 6) that were “absolutely swarmed with inhabitants” (line 8) and a display of “infinite variety and profusion” (line 11) it becomes clear that it is closer to a an utopia than a real place; another reason for the reader to disbelieve the narrator. As soon as the description of the city is finished, there is a shift in tone; the narrator no longer depicts his observations but now persists on the realness of his experience in an almost defensive manner. This is the moment the reader is definitely encouraged to believe that the city description can not refer to a real place and that the narrator is not reliable.
This incident leads to the question what the dream stands for. The city is indeniably “beyond the limits” (line 24) of normality as it contains superabundance and endless richness. A lot of the features the narrator describes are symbolic and carry along certain connotations. For example the “burthened ships” (line 23) that inhibit the river in large number and cause its difficulty to flow independently might represent the narrator’s suffering of some kind of excessive demand. All the countless “rich wares” (line 11) and “swarming streets” (line 21) emphasize this assumption. In contrast, outside the city there are people that represent poverty rather than the big affluence, for example “a stray temple” and “a gypsy camp” (line 27) which could lead to the conclusion that the narrator longs for simplicity rather than excess. The “weird trees of vast age” (line 26), symbolizing wisdom, confirm this impression. Moreover, the narrator faces “a series of tests” (line 33) which could be interpreted as tests regarding his ability to resist the temptation of the abundance of the city.
All in all, although the reader beliefs in the real existence of the city at first through imagery used by the narrator, it becomes obvious through devices such as superlatives, hyperboles, antithesis and shift in tone that the narrator has probably dreamed. Through symbolism and connotations, one can assume that the narrator longs for simplicty more than excess. A dream always represents the unconscious and because the narrator himself is not sure whether he has dreamed that he dreamed or was actually consciously at the place he describes, one could assume that he is uncertain about his real needs but deep in his heart wants to live in simplicty as suggested by what is beyond the opulent city.
It seems like the narrator just appears at the phenomenal place because he “f(inds) (him)self” (line 1) there without revealing how and why he got there. In the first part of the excerpt, he describes all items and happenings with sense-appealing imagery, especially regarding sight such as “fantastically carved oriels” (line 10) and “banners and palanquins” (line 13) on all sides; this use of imagery has the effect of making the reader believe that this city is real as it becomes more tangible. It is odd that he is able to observe all the materials and wares, the architecture and equipment of the city although he stands “far above the level of the town” (line 5). Indeed, the narrator is located at “the foot of a high mountain” while “looking down” (line 1) at the place he describes, an antithesis that adds to the reader’s doubtful attitude towards the narrator. Everything he sees is super-real, yet he insists that it is “self-consistent” and has “nothing of the unmistakable idiosyncrasy of (a) dream” (line 32). However, the city he describes can not be categorized as ordinary either; through lots of superlatives such as “the most dazzling cutlery” and “the most magnificent jewels and gems” (line 12) and hyperboles such as “innumerable (streets)” (line 6) that were “absolutely swarmed with inhabitants” (line 8) and a display of “infinite variety and profusion” (line 11) it becomes clear that it is closer to a an utopia than a real place; another reason for the reader to disbelieve the narrator. As soon as the description of the city is finished, there is a shift in tone; the narrator no longer depicts his observations but now persists on the realness of his experience in an almost defensive manner. This is the moment the reader is definitely encouraged to believe that the city description can not refer to a real place and that the narrator is not reliable.
This incident leads to the question what the dream stands for. The city is indeniably “beyond the limits” (line 24) of normality as it contains superabundance and endless richness. A lot of the features the narrator describes are symbolic and carry along certain connotations. For example the “burthened ships” (line 23) that inhibit the river in large number and cause its difficulty to flow independently might represent the narrator’s suffering of some kind of excessive demand. All the countless “rich wares” (line 11) and “swarming streets” (line 21) emphasize this assumption. In contrast, outside the city there are people that represent poverty rather than the big affluence, for example “a stray temple” and “a gypsy camp” (line 27) which could lead to the conclusion that the narrator longs for simplicity rather than excess. The “weird trees of vast age” (line 26), symbolizing wisdom, confirm this impression. Moreover, the narrator faces “a series of tests” (line 33) which could be interpreted as tests regarding his ability to resist the temptation of the abundance of the city.
All in all, although the reader beliefs in the real existence of the city at first through imagery used by the narrator, it becomes obvious through devices such as superlatives, hyperboles, antithesis and shift in tone that the narrator has probably dreamed. Through symbolism and connotations, one can assume that the narrator longs for simplicty more than excess. A dream always represents the unconscious and because the narrator himself is not sure whether he has dreamed that he dreamed or was actually consciously at the place he describes, one could assume that he is uncertain about his real needs but deep in his heart wants to live in simplicty as suggested by what is beyond the opulent city.
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