LITR 4232: American Renaissance
University of Houston-Clear Lake
Student Presentation, spring 2001

Reader: Lynne Anderson

Tuesday, 6 March 2001

Poe, "The City in the Sea"

Poe's writing style is seen as very gothic and sometimes haunting. It is also classic in the sense that it is still widely read today. The discussion today focused on "The City in the Sea". His writings are full of references to shadows, ghosts, groan in the night, visions of the moon, and so on. The poem mentions walls that are "doomed to fall", temples and graves, and even the destruction of earthquakes. And of course there is death. Poe is also Romantic in his mentions of nature. However, there is not a happy ever after ending.

Cleo mentioned the story of Babylon as death approaches ... souls aren't being saved. Lacy mentioned the connection with the sublime as Emerson mixes pleasure and pain such stone flowers, hideously serene, gaily-jeweled dead. Dr. White suggested the poem as the "big picture / Apocalyptic story along with sublime pleasure from big crash. Did it border on pleasure?" Lynne responded, "Not really." Keelie suggested the mention of the ocean may be different from the Dead Sea as was mentioned in the footnotes. Sonja compared this to the calm before the storm. Dr. White referred to "The House of Usher": nothing happens and then it falls. Charley mentioned that still waters run deep. Will mentioned that the words hideous and serene do at times fit together. Like New York, and the eye of the hurricane for example. The symbolism of water and that it still rejuvenates was mentioned by Erin. Kelly made the connection with death and evil. In Christian sense it is like redemption, but here it is about evil. Lynne responds that he didn't see redemption. Dr. White: "Once in gothic you stay out of redemption area." Kelly related the poem to excited misery.