kp
Zephyrs are gentle west winds. No source has been located for the “giant serpents of Syria.”
kq
Five-year span.
kr
God of love in Greek mythology.
ks
Instrument of the Greek god of wind; also a wind chime popular in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
kt
The evening star.
ku
Graceful angels who hover near God’s heavenly throne.
kv
Perhaps a reference to Sa‘di (c.1213-1292) or Hafez (c.1326-1389), Persian poets born in.
kw
Or ephemerid; a mayfly that lives less than a day.
kx
Or Elysium; in classical mythology, the world of the good after death.
ky
An avatar is a dynamic figure or character symbolizing some idea or principle; seal, in this case, represents an official approval supplied, perhaps, by a notary’s seal or a wax seal bearing a family crest.
kz
One of Poe’s ironic names—this prince does not prosper.
la
Improvisers.
lb
Beauty or arrangement (Latin). In English, decor may mean “a stage setting,” which would also be appropriate and ironic in context of Prospero’s wish for an elaborate “show.”
lc
Lavish party or entertainment (French).
ld
Title of a stage play (1830) by French writer Victor Hugo.
le
Delusory appearances. Again Poe blurs flesh-and-blood tangibility with an element of mind, reinforcing the idea that these characters symbolize mental elements or states.
lf
See note 2 of Tales.
lg
As in a theatrical part or role (French).
lh
Whirring sound.
li
Phraseology, expression.
lj
See note on p. 188.
lk
Followed unexpectedly.
ll
Gloomy underground world of the dead in Greek mythology.
lm
Literally, act of faith (Portuguese); colloquialism for the public burnings of heretics condemned by the Inquisition, the Roman Catholic court that dealt with heresy from the fifteenth to the early nineteenth centuries.
ln
City in Spain, capital of Toledo province; a center for the work of the Spanish Inquisition.
lo
Belt fastened around a horse to secure a saddle or pack; also the belt securing a priest’s robe.
lp
Lantern with metal doors that close to conceal light.
lq
That is, the eye that overpowers or kills; a long-standing folk tradition.
lr
Deathwatch beetles, which commonly live in the walls of old houses; in folklore, their tapping noises foretell a death in the house.
ls
Rapid rhythmic rapping.
lt
These lines are not from Irish playwright Arthur Murphy’s comedy All in the Wrong (1761); Poe made them up. In folklore of medieval Europe, a tarantula’s bite was thought to cause hysterical dancing, a phenomenon known as tarantism.
lu
U.S. Army site at the entrance to Charleston Harbor, where Poe was stationed in 1827.
lv
Dutch naturalist Jan Swammerdam (1637-1680), author of Historia insectorum generalis (A General History of Insects).
lw
Scarab beetle, considered sacred by ancient Egyptians.
lx
The misunderstanding comes from a Southern pronunciation of “antennae” as “an-tin-y.”
ly
Gold-bug.
lz
Term for the former standard-size writing paper in Great Britain (16 x 13 inches); the sheets had the watermark of a fool’s cap—that is, a hat worn by court jesters or lazy students (also “dunce cap”).
ma
Reference to the death’s head sphinx moth, which has a skull-like design on the rear of its body. Poe uses this insect again in “The Sphinx” (1846).
mb
Man’s head scarabaeus (Latin).
mc
Jupiter’s term for “cipher.”
md
His maneuvers.
me
Epistle.
mf
Brusqueness, bluntness.
mg
Alone.
mh
Eagerness, earnestness (French).
mi
Large tree of the magnolia family that does not grow on Sullivan’s Island.
mj
Extremely poisonous substance long used to slow or prevent rot.
mk
Former English coins.
ml
Tokens or odd coins.
mm
Animal skin prepared for writing, or high-grade paper that resembles genuine parchment.
mn
Zaffre is a blue pigment that derives from cobalt; aqua regia refers to a blend of hydrochloric and nitric acids used for dissolving gold; regulus is a term for impure metal that lies beneath slag during smelting; nitre is potassium nitrate.
mo
Fine grade of parchment.
mp
Ancient ruined city in India, reputedly holding vast treasures, particularly diamonds.
mq
Digging tool resembling a pick and adze.
mr
Assistants.
ms
Bizarre (French).
mt
Ruler of the underworld in Greek mythology; the narrator’s close attachment to the cat may symbolize his own emotional dark interior.
mu
Sculptured figures, usually in profile, raised slightly above the background surface; the gallows figure here and on the second cat foreshadows the narrator’s fate.
mv
Delusory appearance (see note on p. 264); this is another “mind word,” so to speak, which shifts perspective from a horror tale calculated for mere shoddy thrills to more subtle psychological fiction.
mw
Passenger vessel transporting mail and other goods regularly between two ports.
mx
Military term for hidden artillery.
my
One of a chain of islands off the coast of North Carolina, near Pamlico Sound; notorious for bad storms.
mz
Below.
na
Galley, or kitchen.
nb
Waterway near Cape Hatteras, where a disastrous shipwreck occurred in October 1837.
nc
Medium-size ship’s boat used for rough work.
nd
Region of low hills southwest of Charlottesville, Virginia.
ne
Saratoga Springs, New York, a town renowned in Poe’s day for its medicinal mineral waters.
nf
Franz Anton Mesmer (1734-1815), German physician whose theory of “animal magnetism” (a drawing force between persons) developed into a method of inducing hypnotism known as “mesmerism,” a forerunner of modern hypnotism.
ng
Comfortable relationship; affinity.
nh
Temperament.
ni
Unbroken.
nj
Reference to the Bible, 1 Thessalonians 4:16: “For the Lord... shall descend... with a shout, with the voice of the archangel [angel of high rank], and with the trump[et] of God” (King James Version).
nk
Probably The Arabian Nights or Tales of the Genii.
nl
Curtained litters carried on poles.
nm
Covered with decorative hangings.
nn
Decorated with ribbons.
no
Probably the hanuman, or langur, monkey.
np
Minarets are slender towers with projecting ba
lconies; oriels are large bay windows secured by brackets.
nq
The translation from Novalis (pseudonym of Friedrich Leopold von Hardenberg, 1772-1801) comes from Sarah T. Austin’s Fragments from German Prose Writers (1841), which Poe reviewed in Graham’s Magazine (December 1841).
nr
Open pavilion.
ns
Or kris; heavy dagger or short sword with a wavy blade.
nt
First governor-general of British India (1732-1818), whose methods became suspect; he was tried and impeached (1787) but was ultimately acquitted.
nu
On the Ganges River; among the most holy cities in India.
nv
Rajah of Benares who in 1781 led a revolt against Hastings’s increasing tax demands.
nw
Indian soldiers employed by the British.
nx
Or Bengali; native or inhabitant of Bengal.
ny
Large, potentially dangerous rush of blood to the head.
nz
These venomous leeches (vermicular means resembling a worm or its motions) are Poe’s invention; leeches, bloodsucking water worms, were once used by physicians to bleed patients.
oa
See note on p. 143.
ob
Reference to the Bible, Ecclesiastes 12:6: “Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken” (KJV).
oc
Derived by arguing from cause to effect.
od
Poe probably derived this account from a story in the Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Democrat on December 5,1845.
oe
Poe’s source was “The Lady Buried Alive,” in the Philadelphia Casket (September 1827).
of
Medical practice of boring a hole into the skull.
og
Firm affirmation.
oh
Caused by deprivation of oxygen to the blood.
oi
See note on p. 188.
oj
Condition Condition of suspended animation and loss of voluntary motion. Madeline Usher’s symptoms in “The Fall of the House of Usher” are cataleptic, and other Poe characters manifest similar symptoms.
ok
Inclined to fantasize about graves or mausoleums (“charnel houses”).
ol
Incorrect quotation from Shakespeare’s Richard II (act 3, scene 2): “Let’s talk of graves, of worms, and epitaphs.”
om
The idea of death (sepulchre means “tomb”) hovers, black-winged, over him.
on
Glowing.
oo
Variant of “fantasies.”
op
Conscious; here referring to the dawning of his awakening, or sensory day, when suspended animation is departing.
oq
That is, Death.
or
Catamount, or mountain lion.
os
Group joined for a common purpose.
ot
Nothing is more detested by wisdom than too much cunning (Latin); no source has been found for this phrase in the writings of Roman rhetorician Seneca (c. 55 B.C. - c. A.D. 39).
ou
Third floor, No. 33 Dunôt Street, Faubourg St. Germain (French).
ov
Reference to two previous detective tales (or, as Poe called them, ratiocinative tales), “The Murders in the Rue Morgue” and “The Mystery of Marie Rogêt.” The latter story, not included in the present volume, is often considered one of Poe’s lesser works.
ow
Chief commissioner.
ox
Woman’s dressing room, bedroom, or private sitting room (French).
oy
Fully informed (French).
oz
Natives or inhabitants of Naples. Condescension exists here; the Frenchman considers himself naturally superior to these foreigners.
pa
Here, hotel refers to a large house, perhaps a mansion.
pb
Robbers who prey upon pedestrians.
pc
That is, a magnifying glass.
pd
Dust particles created by a boring tool (gimlet).
pe
Dr. John Abernethy ( 1764-1831 ), a prestigious British surgeon. Again Poe either had a memory lapse or he wished to test his readers; the circumstances actually pertain to another surgeon, Sir Isaac Pennington (1745-1817), which were recounted in a jest book, Nuts to Crack (1835), by Richard Gooch, which Poe reviewed in the Southern Literary Messenger (December 1835).
pf
Writing desk.
pg
Procrustes, son of Poseidon in Greek mythology, was a robber who forced victims to lie on his bed, stretching or cutting off their legs to make them fit; Theseus killed him by using his own villainous tactics.
ph
Properly determined.
pi
Unusual (French).
pj
Above all else; preeminent (French).
pk
It’s a safe bet... that every widely accepted idea, every accepted convention, is stupid, because it suits the masses (French).
pl
The Latin words translate, respectively, as “seeking votes (for office)”; “religious observances,” or maybe “superstitions (beliefs)”; and “respectable or honorable men (perhaps those of one’s own political party).”
pm
Mathematicians. Both this term and the Latin just preceding attest to Poe’s wish to impress his readers with his learnedness and sophistication; he may also have been testing their own awareness of language.
pn
English scholar Jacob Bryant (1715-1804), author of A New System; or, An Analysis of Antient Mythology, Poe goes on to quote from the 1807 edition, published in London. Poe often drew upon Bryant in his writings.
po
Intriguer, one who plots against another’s welfare. These characteristics are reinforced later when Dupin remarks that the Minister “is a desperate man, and a man of nerve,” and a “monstrum horrendum” (Latin for “horrible monster”).
pp
Force of inertia (Latin). This is another example (in the Prefect’s thinking) of not integrating imagination with rationalization. In other words, the Prefect would never suppose that the letter might be in plain sight instead of concealed in some obscure hideaway.
pq
Boredom; the Minister in this respect joins ranks with characters like Roderick Usher (“The Fall of the House of Usher”) or old Mentoni (“The Assignation”), whose boredom signals ill fortune for them.
pr
Receptacle for formal calling cards.
ps
The Latin, slightly misquoted, comes from the Aeneid, an epic poem by Roman writer Virgil (70-19 B.C.): “the descent into Avernus [that is, Hell] is easy” (6.126); Avernus was a smoldering Italian volcano.
pt
No such remark has been traced to Angelica Catalani (1780-1849), renowned Italian opera singer and teacher.
pu
Horrible monster (Latin); Poe gives the phrase a psychological twist.
pv
Castle, palace, or mansion. The opening paragraphs of this tale bear significant similarities to the opening of “The Fall of the House of Usher.”
pw
That is, theories of mental derangement.
px
Mischance, accident. The “thoughtlessness” mentioned by Maillard foreshadows subsequent events in the tale in which the visitor’s unawareness leaves him unprepared for the final contretemps, which results in his bodily and emotional tarring and feathering.
py
Family or household members (French).
pz
Reduced to absurdity (Latin).
qa
Literally, “moon madness,” from folk beliefs that phases of the moon were linked with human behavior, and that lunatics tended to frenzied behavior during a f
ull moon. Poe draws upon such beliefs elsewhere—for example, in “The Sleeper”; an eerie moon also illuminates the closing of “The Fall of the House of Usher,” a tale in which crazed states become paramount.
qb
Discredited; viewed with contempt.
qc
The veal is coated with crumbs, then braised and grilled; velouté sauce is a white sauce flavored with parsley and white stock (from chicken or veal); Clos de Vougeôt is a high-quality red Burgundy wine.
qd
Dining room (French).
qe
Poe meant the French phrase to read “old court”; ville (French for “town”) is a misprint for vieille (“old”).
qf
Fine needlepoint or bobbin laces with floral designs.
qg
Natives of one of the southern provinces in France.
qh
Sons of Anak, a giant mentioned in the Bible, Numbers 13:33, therefore having voracious appetites.
qi
Showing no astonishment (Latin)—that is, sophisticated.
qj
Metal alloy resembling pewter.
qk
Probably a reference to Charles-Paul de Kock ( 1793-1871 ), French writer of lurid novels.
ql
Reference to Marquis Pierre-Simon de Laplace (1749-1827), French mathematician and astronomer; his interest in the moon perhaps aligns him with the lunacy previously mentioned.
qm
My friend (French); perhaps an ironic response.
qn
“A horrible deformed huge monster, deprived of light” (Latin); quotation from Virgil’s epic poem the Aeneid.
qo
Morsel (French).
qp
Rabbit prepared like cat (chat is French for “cat”); this combination paves the way for the essentially comic names and comedy involved in the bracketing of disparate names that follows.
qq
Pumpkin pie made of shoes (soulier is French for “shoe”).
qr
Rogue, rascal, scoundrel (French).
qs
A boullard is a ball and a teetotum is a spinning top; the pairing is understandable.
qt
That is, undressing and thus approaching the nudity of the famous statue of Venus.
qu
Trifle (French).
qv
That is, yells given in conjunction or harmony.
qw
My God! (French).
qx
Haughtiness (French).
qy
Greek tyrant (c.570-554 B.C.) of Sicily, who tortured victims by placing them within a brass bull statue, then building a fire beneath it; the victims’ cries simulated a bull’s roaring.
qz
Tricked; this paragraph epitomizes what will befall the hapless narrator.
ra
Pell-mell; confusedly (French).
rb
Cape in South Africa; baboons are not native there.
Essential Tales and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe Page 83