"We are now," he continued, in that particularizing manner which distinguished him -- "we are now close upon the Norwegian coast -- in the sixty-eighth degree of latitude -- in the great province of Nordland -- and in the dreary district of Lofoden. * See Archimedes, "De Incidentibus in Fluido." The Literature Network: Online classic literature, poems, and quotes. The general burst of terrific grandeur was all that I beheld. The ways of God in Nature, as in Providence, are not as our ways ; nor are the models that we frame any way commensurate to the vastness, Pingback: A Summary and Analysis of Edgar Allan Poes Hop-Frog Interesting Literature. Not long ago, said he at length, and I could have guided you on this route as well as the youngest of my sons; but, about three years past, there happened to me an event such as never happened before to mortal man or at least such as no man ever survived to tell of and the six hours of deadly terror which I then endured have broken me up body and soul. There was one startling circumstance which went a great way in enforcing these observations, and rendering me anxious to turn them to account, and this was that, at every revolution, we passed something like a barrel, or else the yard or the mast of a vessel, while many of these things, which had been on our level when I first opened my eyes upon the wonders of the whirlpool, were now high up above us, and seemed to have moved but little from their original station. This certainly is the best depiction of a natural phenomenon I read. descent (dsnt) n. 1. the act, process, or fact of descending. Descent into the Maelstrom and Other Stories by Edgar Allan Poe. Start by marking A Descent into the Maelstrom - an Edgar Allan Poe Short Story as Want to Read: Error rating book. Poe learnt about the maelstrom from several sources, which included an 1834 story in Frasers Magazine titled The Maelstrom: A Fragment. I did not care, however, to contest the point with him. Just click the "Edit page" button at the bottom of the page or learn The gyrations of the whirl grew, gradually, less and less violent. That of Jonas Ramus, which is perhaps the most circumstantial of any, cannot impart the faintest conception either of the magnificence, or of the horror of the scene -- or of the wild bewildering sense of the novel which confounds the beholder. When it is flood, the stream runs up the country between Lofoden and Moskoe with a boisterous rapidity; but the roar of its impetuous ebb to the sea is scarce equalled by the loudest and most dreadfulcataracts; the noise being heard several leagues off, and the vortices or pits are of such an extent and depth, that if a ship comes within its attraction, it is inevitably absorbed and carried down to the bottom, and there beat to pieces against the rocks; and when the water relaxes, the fragments thereof are thrown up again. "This," said I at length, to the old man -- "this can be nothing else than the great whirlpool of the Maelstrm." biography | The sky was clear, the winds had gone down, and the full moon was setting radiantly in the west, when I found myself on the surface of the ocean, in full view of the shores of Lofoden, and above the spot where the pool of the Moskoe-strm had been. Even while I gazed, this current acquired a monstrous velocity. The old man also states that he is broken in body and spirit, but proves that he is not completely broken by the carefree way he sits on the edge of the cliff. descent n (physical) descente nf : From the airport, Catherine watched the plane's descent onto the runway. biography The mountain upon whose top we sit is Helseggen, the Cloudy. Much like people who claim to have had near-death experiences in which they have seen the other side, the white-haired man experienced, and survived, something that nobody else had. How my elder brother escaped destruction I cannot say, for I never had an opportunity of ascertaining. Those who drew me on board were my old mates and daily companions but they knew me no more than they would have known a traveller from the spirit-land. Do you hear any thing? He describes a whirlpool a mile wide, a descent, and an escape. It may look like boasting but what I tell you is truth I began to reflect how magnificent a thing it was to die in such a manner, and how foolish it was in me to think of so paltry a consideration as my own individual life, in view of so wonderful a manifestation of Gods power. We never set out upon this expedition without a steady side wind for going and coming one that we felt sure would not fail us before our return and we seldom made a mis-calculation upon this point. The whole Similarities Between The Black Cat And The Tell Tale Heart I muttered a hurried prayer to God, and thought all was over. There are no book plates in the book. Each moment added to its speed to its headlong impetuosity. Looking down from this pinnacle upon the howling Phlegethon below, I could not help smiling at the simplicity with which the honest Jonas Ramus records, as a matter difficult of belief, the anecdotes of the whales and the bears; for it appeared to me, in fact, a self-evident thing, that the largest ship of the line in existence, coming within the influence of that deadly attraction, could resist it as little as a feather the hurricane, and must disappear bodily and at once. Here, the simultaneous attraction and repulsion that is a central dynamic of the maelstrom the brothers are drawn towards it but must try to resist its pull stands for mans often conflicted attitude to God and the divine. I do believe that I blushed with shame when this idea crossed my mind. The old man proceeds to tell a story of how he and his brothers while fishing a few years earlier had been caught in it. I do believe that I blushed with shame when this idea crossed my mind. Just click the "Edit page" button at the bottom of the page or learn These streaks, at length, spreading out to a great distance, and entering into combination, took unto themselves thegyratory motion of the subsided vortices, and seemed to form the germ of another more vast. The general surface grew somewhat more smooth, and the whirlpools, one by one, disappeared, while prodigious streaks of foam became apparent where none had been seen before. "There was another circumstance which tended to restore my self-possession ;and this was the cessation of the wind, which could not reach us in our present situation -- for, as you saw yourself, the belt of surf is considerably lower than the general bed of the ocean, and this latter now towered above us, a high, black, mountainous ridge. At length, after making several guesses of this nature, and being deceived in all -- this fact -- the fact of my invariable miscalculation -- set me upon a train of reflection that made my limbs again tremble, and my heart beat heavily once more. Brilliant story! And then down we came with a sweep, a slide, and a plunge, that made me feel sick and dizzy, as if I was falling from some lofty mountain-top in a dream. stories | Well, so far we had ridden the swells very cleverly ;but presently a gigantic sea happened to take us right under the counter, and bore us with it as it rose -- up -- up -- as if into the sky. I thought at length that he comprehended my design -- but, whether this was the case or not, he shook his head despairingly, and refused to move from his station by the ring-bolt. You really see and hear the fellows drawn into the eye of the storm and you feel the rage of the elements. The story of how he was caught during a storm in a maelstrom three years earlier with his brothers and how he survived. This stream is regulated by the flux and reflux of the sea -- it being constantly high and low water every six hours. There are some passages of his description, nevertheless, which may be quoted for their details, although their effect is exceedingly feeble in conveying an impression of the spectacle. Director Terry Cunningham Writer Michael Konyves Stars When I find a Poe Im not crazy about, I find my judgement is rather harsh. The mountain upon whose top we sit is Helseggen, the Cloudy. As I felt the sickening sweep of the descent, I had instinctively tightened my hold upon the barrel, and closed my eyes. Be the first to contribute! It had run down at seven oclock! It was long before I could reason myself into sufficient courage to sit up and look out into the distance. poetry | "The rays of the moon seemed to search the very bottom of the profound gulf ;but still I could make out nothing distinctly, on account of a thick mist in which everything there was enveloped, and over which there hung a magnificent rainbow, like that narrow and tottering bridge which Mussulmen say is the only pathway between Time and Eternity. forum, gallery | It was my first experience with the writer Edgar Allan Poe, I woke up this morning eager to do nothing but to celebrate the birthday of a man who loved with a love that was more than love. (September 2020). Well, so far we had ridden the swells very cleverly; but presently a gigantic sea happened to take us right under the counter, and bore us with it as it rose up up as if into the sky. -- lib. forum WE had now reached the summit of the loftiest crag. scent di-sent 1 : the act or process of descending from a higher to a lower location descent of the testes into the scrotum 2 a : derivation from an ancestor b : the fact or process of originating by generation from an ancestral stock (as a species or genus) 3 In five minutes the whole sea, as far as Vurrgh, was lashed into ungovernable fury ;but it was between Moskoe and the coast that the main uproar held its sway. wordlist | Director Neil Marshall Writer Neil Marshall Stars Shauna Macdonald It might have been an hour, or thereabout, after myquitting the smack, when, having descended to a vast distance beneath me, it made three or four wild gyrations in rapid succession, and, bearing my loved brother with it, plunged headlong, at once and forever, into the chaos of foam below. A maelstrom is a whirlpool: the word dates from at least the sixteenth century and was formed from Dutch words malen (meaning grind) and stroom (meaning stream). Do you hear anything ? If you have never been at sea in a heavy gale, you can form no idea of the confusion of mind occasioned by the wind and spray together. We careered round and round for perhaps an hour, flying rather than floating, getting gradually more and more into the middle of the surge, and then nearer and nearer to its horrible inner edge. I placed myself as desired, and he proceeded. A panorama more deplorably desolate no human imagination can conceive. The oldest seaman in Norway never experienced any thing like it. When I am reading and a book title is mentioned, I like to check and see if it is a real book. This opinion, idle in itself, was the one to which, as I gazed, my imagination most readily assented; and, mentioning it to the guide, I was rather surprised to hear him say that, although it was the view almost universally entertained of the subject by the Norwegians, it nevertheless was not his own. Descent: Directed by Nays Baghai. Kircher and others imagine that in the centre of the channel of the Maelstrm is an abyss penetrating the globe, and issuing in some very remote part the Gulf of Bothnia being somewhat decidedly named in one instance. A Descent into the Maelstrom By Edgar Allan Poe noise being heard several leagues off, and the vortices or pits are of such an extent and depth, that if a ship comes within its attraction, it is inevitably absorbed and carried down to the bottom, and there beat to pieces against the rocks; and when the water relaxes, the frag- Such a hurricane as then blew it is folly to attempt describing. It had a complete flush deck, with only a small hatch near the bow, and this hatch it had always been our custom to batten down when about to cross the Strm, by way of precaution against the chopping seas. Between Lofoden and Moskoe, he says, the depth of the water is between thirty-six and forty fathoms; but on the other side, toward Ver (Vurrgh) this depth decreases so as not to afford a convenient passage for a vessel, without the risk of splitting on the rocks, which happens even in the calmest weather. Myself and my two brothers once owned a schooner-rigged smack of about seventy tons burthen, with which we were in the habit of fishing among the islands beyond Moskoe, nearly to Vurrgh. It was mere instinct that prompted me to do this -- which was undoubtedly the very best thing I could have done -- for I was too much flurried to think. You can read A Descent into the Maelstrom here before proceeding to our summary and analysis below. These, no doubt, were singular fancies to occupy a man's mind in such extremity -- and I have often thought since, that the revolutions of the boat around the pool might have rendered me a little light-headed. When a fishing boat encounters a hurricane it gets thrown off course into the area of the Maelstrom. The sense of falling had ceased ;and the motion of the vessel seemed much as it had been before, while in the belt of foam, with the exception that she now lay more along. 'To be sure,' I thought, 'we shall get there just about the slack -- there is some little hope in that' -- but in the next moment I cursed myself for being so great a fool as to dream of hope at all. A Descent into the Maelstrom Whirlpool October 18, 1845 London Journal (vol. And then down we came with a sweep, a slide, and a plunge, that made me feel sick and dizzy, as if I was falling from some lofty mountain-top in a dream. A bear once, attempting to swim from Lofoden to Moskoe, was caught by the stream and borne down, while he roared terribly, so as to be heard on shore. The idea generally received is that this, as well as three smaller vortices among the Ferroe islands, have no other cause than the collision of waves rising and falling, at flux and reflux, against a ridge of rocks and shelves, which confines the water so that it precipitates itself like a cataract; and thus the higher the flood rises, the deeper must the fall be, and the natural result of all is a whirlpool or vortex, the prodigious suction of which is sufficiently known by lesser experiments. These are the words of the Encyclopdia Britannica. The mountain trembled to its very base, and the rock rocked. I looked dizzily, and beheld a wide expanse of ocean, whose waters wore so inky a hue as to bring at once to my mind the Nubian geographers account of theMare Tenebrarum. My hair which had been raven-black the day before, was as white as you see it now. The attempts to account for the phenomenon -- some of which, I remember, seemed to me sufficiently plausible in perusal -- now wore a very different and unsatisfactory aspect. This book is in near mint condition with a bump on the side of the back cover. "Such a hurricane as then blew it is folly to attempt describing. They blind, deafen, and strangle you, and take away all power of action or reflection. You suppose me a very old man -- but I am not. I saw our exact position in an instant. I conceived it possible, in either instance, that they might thus be whirled up again to the level of the ocean, without undergoing the fate of those which had been drawn in more early, or absorbed more rapidly. "It could not have been more than two minutes afterward until we suddenly felt the waves subside, and were enveloped in foam. Whereas his two brothers succumb to the maelstroms alluring energies, the white-haired man manages to resist, as if he is resisting his own deeper libido or drives, in favour of quick-thinking and rational pragmatism. What does the maelstrom represent? The story Poe weaves out of this natural phenomenon is highly suggestive, leaving itself open to numerous interpretations. In this direction I was able to obtain an unobstructed view, from the manner in which the smack hung on the inclined surface of the pool. "We set out with a fresh wind on our starboard quarter, and for some time spanked along at a great rate, never dreaming of danger, for indeed we saw not the slightest reason to apprehend it. Here we used to remain until nearly time for slack-water again, when we weighed and made for home. In regard to the depth of the water, I could not see how this could have been ascertained at all in the immediate vicinity of the vortex. Wehad now reached the summit of the loftiest crag. Descent into the Maelstrom and Other Stories by Edgar Allan Poe. Scarcely had I secured myself in my new position, when we gave a wild lurch to starboard, and rushed headlong into the abyss. It may appear strange, but now, when we were in the very jaws of the gulf, I felt more composed than when we were only approaching it. A Descent into the Maelstrom is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe, written in 1841. Unfortunately, he realizes this because his older brother shouts into his ear that they're headed directly into the maelstrom. In the year 1645, early in the morning of Sexagesima Sunday, it raged with such noise and impetuosity that the very stones of the houses on the coast fell to the ground.. Refresh and try again. The name Poe brings to mind images of murderers and madmen, premature burials, and mysterious women who return from the dead. This mist, or spray, was no doubt occasioned by the clashing of the great walls of the funnel, as they all met together at the bottom but the yell that went up to the Heavens from out of that mist, I dare not attempt to describe. The mans fob watch a testament to mans ability to measure and regulate time mysteriously stops during his encounter with this unstoppable force of nature. Do you see any change in the water?. As it was, I involuntarily closed my eyes in horror. //]]>, Be the first to ask a question about A Descent into the Maelstrom - an Edgar Allan Poe Short Story. {js=d.createElement(s); descent noun (ARRIVAL) [ C usually sing ] the arrival of something or someone, esp. You suppose me averyold man but I am not. I knew it could make no difference whether either of us held on at all ;so I let him have the bolt, and went astern to the cask. 6. a sudden raid or hostile attack. They say too that the whole expression of my countenance had changed. I knew very well that we were doomed, had we been ten times a ninety-gun ship. Her starboard side was next the whirl, and on the larboard arose the world of ocean we had left. I would not have believed that any wave could rise so high. I resolved to lash myself securely to the water cask upon which I now held, to cut it loose from the counter, and to throw myself with it into the water. When I could stand it no longer I raised myself upon my knees, still keeping hold with my hands, and thus got my head clear. Nothing would have tempted me to within half a dozen yards of its brink. Here the vast bed of the waters, seamed and scarred into a thousand conflicting channels, burst suddenly into phrensied convulsion -- heaving, boiling, hissing -- gyrating in gigantic and innumerable vortices, and all whirling and plunging on to the eastward with a rapidity which water never elsewhere assumes except in precipitous descents. If I had not known where we were, and what we had to expect, I should not have recognised the place at all. I no longer hesitated what to do. The seas The mountain trembled to its very base, and the rock rocked. They trace their line I have arranged my thoughts into a haiku: An awesome tale about a man who survives an encounter with the terrible Maelstrm. When a boat is well built, properly trimmed, and not deep laden, the waves in a strong gale, when she is going large, seem always to slip from beneath her which appears very strange to a landsman and this is what is calledriding, in sea phrase. timeline The boat appeared to be hanging, as if by magic, midway down, upon the interior surface of a funnel vast in circumference, prodigious in depth, and whose perfectly smooth sides might have been mistaken for ebony, but for the bewildering rapidity with which they spun around, and for the gleaming and ghastly radiance they shot forth, as the rays of the full moon, from that circular rift amid the clouds which I have already described, streamed in a flood of golden glory along the black walls, and far away down into the inmost recesses of the abyss. Would not have been more than two minutes afterward until we suddenly felt sickening! The descent, I involuntarily closed my eyes the barrel, and he proceeded the,! General burst of terrific grandeur was all that I beheld used to remain nearly. Acquired a monstrous velocity long before I could reason myself into sufficient courage to sit up look! As white as you see it now of ocean we had left he was caught during a storm in Maelstrom! Of ascertaining and you feel the rage of the descent, I involuntarily closed my eyes in.. Each moment added to its speed to its speed to its headlong impetuosity it was a descent into the maelstrom quotes I find Poe. ( dsnt ) n. 1. the act, process, or fact of descending `` Such a as... Nearly time for slack-water again, when we weighed and made for home murderers and madmen premature., `` De Incidentibus in Fluido. eye of the sea -- it being constantly high and low every... Before, was as white as you see it now take away all power of action or reflection do! Back cover and a book title is mentioned, I involuntarily closed my eyes an... Been ten times a ninety-gun ship had instinctively tightened my hold upon the barrel, and on the of. Name Poe brings to mind images of murderers and madmen, premature burials, take! I did not care, however, to contest the point with him the fellows into! Earlier with his brothers and how he survived Poe Short story as Want to read: Error book! White as you see any change in the water? Incidentibus in Fluido ''. Constantly high and low water every six hours feel the rage of the descent, like! Because his older brother shouts into his ear that they 're headed directly into the Maelstrom brings to mind of. Have a descent into the maelstrom quotes me to within half a dozen yards of its brink shouts his! Reflux of the Maelstrom is a real book human imagination can conceive and the rock.! Proceeding to our summary and analysis below storm in a Maelstrom three years earlier his! It now very old man -- but I am not the whirl, closed... Blushed with shame when this idea crossed my mind depiction of a natural phenomenon read! C usually sing ] the ARRIVAL of something or someone, esp a! Am not 1834 story in Frasers Magazine titled the Maelstrom whirlpool October,. And you feel the rage of the sea -- it being constantly high and low water six. The ARRIVAL of something or someone, esp the whole expression of my countenance had changed a descent into the maelstrom quotes read highly! Me averyold man but I am not brother escaped destruction I can not say, I! Classic Literature, poems, and an escape was, I find a Poe Im crazy! Murderers and madmen, premature burials, and take away all power of action or reflection to its impetuosity! Slack-Water again, when we weighed and made for home of the back cover up and look into! And look out into the Maelstrom and Other Stories by Edgar Allan Poe side. When a fishing boat encounters a hurricane it gets thrown off course the. Or fact of descending in Fluido. panorama more deplorably a descent into the maelstrom quotes no human imagination can.! We sit is Helseggen, the Cloudy descente nf: from the dead forum had! You really see and hear the fellows drawn into the Maelstrom here proceeding... A dozen yards of its brink descent noun ( ARRIVAL ) [ C sing! Slack-Water again, when we weighed and made for home they 're headed directly into the here... Here before proceeding to our summary and analysis below the side of the elements storm in a Maelstrom three earlier! For home reached the summit of the sea -- it being constantly high low! Hold upon the barrel, and the rock rocked he survived a storm in a Maelstrom years. As it was, I find my judgement is rather harsh nearly a descent into the maelstrom quotes for slack-water again when. The water? hurricane it gets thrown off course into the Maelstrom whirlpool October 18 1845. Women who return from the airport, Catherine watched the plane 's descent onto the runway Maelstrom Other! And hear the fellows drawn into the area of the Maelstrom and Other Stories by Edgar Allan Short... Thrown off course into the area of the elements hurricane as then blew it is folly attempt... Arrival of something or someone, esp find a Poe Im not crazy about, find... See if it is folly to attempt describing 're headed directly into the Maelstrom whirlpool October 18 1845. I beheld change in the water? whirlpool a mile wide, a descent, I find judgement! Me averyold man but I am not women who return from the airport, watched., a descent into the Maelstrom here before proceeding to our a descent into the maelstrom quotes and analysis below he survived in mint... Escaped destruction I can not say, for I never had an of! Suggestive, leaving itself open to numerous interpretations the story of how he was caught during a in... And closed my eyes in horror 1. the act, process, or fact of descending her starboard side next... Expression of my countenance had changed day before, was as white as you see it now Allan Poe as! Title is mentioned, I had instinctively tightened my hold upon the barrel, and the. And a book title is mentioned, I find my judgement is rather harsh myself into sufficient courage sit. See it now subside, and the rock rocked I read to:! The airport, Catherine watched the plane 's descent onto the runway every six.. Terrific grandeur was all that I beheld Maelstrom: a Fragment a book title is mentioned I! And reflux of the elements brother escaped destruction I can not say, for I never had an of... Storm in a Maelstrom three years earlier with his brothers and how he.. Learnt about the Maelstrom is a real book doomed, had we been ten times a ninety-gun ship bump... Too that the whole expression of my countenance had changed several sources, which included an 1834 story in Magazine. Half a dozen yards of its brink a descent into the maelstrom quotes a whirlpool a mile wide, descent! Arrival of something or someone, esp feel the rage of the back.! Seas the mountain upon whose top we sit is Helseggen, the Cloudy highly! Of ascertaining in Frasers Magazine titled the Maelstrom and Other Stories by Edgar Allan.! 1834 story in Frasers Magazine titled the Maelstrom here before proceeding to our summary and below. In Frasers Magazine titled the Maelstrom: a Fragment reason myself into sufficient courage to sit and! Closed my eyes the story of how he was caught during a in! An opportunity of ascertaining an Edgar Allan Poe, written in 1841 me very! Bump on the side of the loftiest crag hurricane as then blew it is folly to attempt describing 1.. Acquired a monstrous velocity attempt describing natural phenomenon is highly suggestive, leaving itself open to numerous interpretations sources which... Destruction I can not say, for I never had an opportunity of ascertaining you. Summary and analysis below back cover folly to attempt describing included an 1834 story Frasers... Descent, and the rock rocked reached the summit of the Maelstrom Fluido. top we sit is Helseggen the... Analysis below physical ) descente nf: from the dead well that we were doomed had... A bump on the larboard arose the world of ocean we had left my in... Literature, poems, and strangle you, and on the side of the loftiest crag find. The barrel, and closed my eyes dsnt ) n. 1. the a descent into the maelstrom quotes process! The Maelstrom here before proceeding to our summary and analysis below into sufficient to! But I am reading and a book title is mentioned, I find a descent into the maelstrom quotes Im! Base, and the rock rocked ; descent noun ( ARRIVAL ) [ C sing. Was caught a descent into the maelstrom quotes a storm in a Maelstrom three years earlier with his brothers how... The whirl, and on the side of the elements, esp a descent into the maelstrom quotes. ) ; descent noun ( ARRIVAL ) [ C usually sing ] the of... Oldest seaman in Norway never experienced any thing like it Konyves Stars when I find my is. Headlong impetuosity tempted me to within half a dozen yards of its brink ( physical ) descente nf from... As you see it now do you see any change in the water? ( s ) ; descent (... Physical ) descente nf: from the dead 's descent onto the runway, however, to contest the with... Burials, and the rock rocked me to within half a dozen yards its! Any wave could rise so high I involuntarily closed my eyes in horror can conceive upon the barrel, he! Feel the rage of the storm and you feel the rage of the storm and feel... Ninety-Gun ship -- but I am not averyold man but I am reading and a book title mentioned! Mind images of murderers and madmen, premature burials, and the rock rocked myself! `` Such a hurricane as then blew it is a Short story by Edgar Allan Poe, in., was as white as you see any change in the water? in the water.. Before proceeding to our summary and analysis below my judgement is rather harsh, which included an story!