{"id":13020,"date":"2024-04-15T02:39:59","date_gmt":"2024-04-15T02:39:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.everywritersresource.com\/shortstories\/?p=13020"},"modified":"2024-04-15T02:40:20","modified_gmt":"2024-04-15T02:40:20","slug":"silence-a-fable-by-edgar-allan-poe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.everywritersresource.com\/shortstories\/silence-a-fable-by-edgar-allan-poe\/","title":{"rendered":"SILENCE\u2014A FABLE by Edgar Allan Poe"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"SILENCE\u2014A<\/h2>\n

SILENCE\u2014A FABLE by Edgar Allan Poe<\/b><\/h2>\n

\u201cThe mountain pinnacles slumber; valleys, crags and caves <\/span>are silent<\/span><\/i>.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cListen to me,\u201d said the Demon as he placed his hand upon my head. \u201cThe region of which I speak is a dreary region in Libya, by the borders of the river Zaire. And there is no quiet there, nor silence.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe waters of the river have a saffron and sickly hue; and they flow not onwards to the sea, but palpitate forever and forever beneath the red eye of the sun with a tumultuous and convulsive motion. For many miles on either side of the river\u2019s oozy bed is a pale desert of gigantic water-lilies. They sigh one unto the other in that solitude, and stretch towards the heaven their long and ghastly necks, and nod to and fro their everlasting heads. And there is an indistinct murmur which cometh out from among them like the rushing of subterrene water. And they sigh one unto the other.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBut there is a boundary to their realm\u2014the boundary of the dark, horrible, lofty forest. There, like the waves about the Hebrides, the low underwood is agitated continually. But there is no wind throughout the heaven. And the tall primeval trees rock eternally hither and thither with a crashing and mighty sound. And from their high summits, one by one, drop everlasting dews. And at the roots strange poisonous flowers lie writhing in perturbed slumber. And overhead, with a rustling and loud noise, the gray clouds rush westwardly forever, until they roll, a cataract, over the fiery wall of the horizon. But there is no wind throughout the heaven. And by the shores of the river Zaire there is neither quiet nor silence.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt was night, and the rain fell; and falling, it was rain, but, having fallen, it was blood. And I stood in the morass among the tall and the rain fell upon my head\u2014and the lilies sighed one unto the other in the solemnity of their desolation.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAnd, all at once, the moon arose through the thin ghastly mist, and was crimson in color. And mine eyes fell upon a huge gray rock which stood by the shore of the river, and was lighted by the light of the moon. And the rock was gray, and ghastly, and tall,\u2014and the rock was gray. Upon its front were characters engraven in the stone; and I walked through the morass of water-lilies, until I came close unto the shore, that I might read the characters upon the stone. But I could not decypher them. And I was going back into the morass, when the moon shone with a fuller red, and I turned and looked again upon the rock, and upon the characters, and the characters were DESOLATION.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAnd I looked upwards, and there stood a man upon the summit of the rock; and I hid myself among the water-lilies that I might discover the actions of the man. And the man was tall and stately in form, and was wrapped up from his shoulders to his feet in the toga of old Rome. And the outlines of his figure were indistinct\u2014but his features were the features of a deity; for the mantle of the night, and of the mist, and of the moon, and of the dew, had left uncovered the features of his face. And his brow was lofty with thought, and his eye wild with care; and, in the few furrows upon his cheek I read the fables of sorrow, and weariness, and disgust with mankind, and a longing after solitude.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAnd the man sat upon the rock, and leaned his head upon his hand, and looked out upon the desolation. He looked down into the low unquiet shrubbery, and up into the tall primeval trees, and up higher at the rustling heaven, and into the crimson moon. And I lay close within shelter of the lilies, and observed the actions of the man. And the man trembled in the solitude;\u2014but the night waned, and he sat upon the rock.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAnd the man turned his attention from the heaven, and looked out upon the dreary river Zaire, and upon the yellow ghastly waters, and upon the pale legions of the water-lilies. And the man listened to the sighs of the water-lilies, and to the murmur that came up from among them. And I lay close within my covert and observed the actions of the man. And the man trembled in the solitude;\u2014but the night waned and he sat upon the rock.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThen I went down into the recesses of the morass, and waded afar in among the wilderness of the lilies, and called unto the hippopotami which dwelt among the fens in the recesses of the morass. And the hippopotami heard my call, and came, with the behemoth, unto the foot of the rock, and roared loudly and fearfully beneath the moon. And I lay close within my covert and observed the actions of the man. And the man trembled in the solitude;\u2014but the night waned and he sat upon the rock.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThen I cursed the elements with the curse of tumult; and a frightful tempest gathered in the heaven where, before, there had been no wind. And the heaven became livid with the violence of the tempest\u2014and the rain beat upon the head of the man\u2014and the floods of the river came down\u2014and the river was tormented into foam\u2014and the water-lilies shrieked within their beds\u2014and the forest crumbled before the wind\u2014and the thunder rolled\u2014and the lightning fell\u2014and the rock rocked to its foundation. And I lay close within my covert and observed the actions of the man. And the man trembled in the solitude;\u2014but the night waned and he sat upon the rock.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThen I grew angry and cursed, with the curse of silence, the river, and the lilies, and the wind, and the forest, and the heaven, and the thunder, and the sighs of the water-lilies. And they became accursed, and were still. And the moon ceased to totter up its pathway to heaven\u2014and the thunder died away\u2014and the lightning did not flash\u2014and the clouds hung motionless\u2014and the waters sunk to their level and remained\u2014and the trees ceased to rock\u2014and the water-lilies sighed no more\u2014and the murmur was heard no longer from among them, nor any shadow of sound throughout the vast illimitable desert. And I looked upon the characters of the rock, and they were changed; and the characters were SILENCE.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAnd mine eyes fell upon the countenance of the man, and his countenance was wan with terror. And, hurriedly, he raised his head from his hand, and stood forth upon the rock and listened. But there was no voice throughout the vast illimitable desert, and the characters upon the rock were SILENCE. And the man shuddered, and turned his face away, and fled afar off, in haste, so that I beheld him no more.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Now there are fine tales in the volumes of the Magi\u2014in the iron-bound, melancholy volumes of the Magi. Therein, I say, are glorious histories of the Heaven, and of the Earth, and of the mighty sea\u2014and of the Genii that over-ruled the sea, and the earth, and the lofty heaven. There was much lore too in the sayings which were said by the Sybils; and holy, holy things were heard of old by the dim leaves that trembled around Dodona\u2014but, as Allah liveth, that fable which the Demon told me as he sat by my side in the shadow of the tomb, I hold to be the most wonderful of all! And as the Demon made an end of his story, he fell back within the cavity of the tomb and laughed. And I could not laugh with the Demon, and he cursed me because I could not laugh. And the lynx which dwelleth forever in the tomb, came out therefrom, and lay down at the feet of the Demon, and looked at him steadily in the face.<\/span><\/p>\n

Summary<\/strong><\/h3>\n

“Silence\u2014A Fable” is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe, in which the narrator recounts a tale told to him by a Demon. The story is set in a dreary and desolate region of Libya, near the river Zaire, where there is no peace or quiet. The landscape is described as eerie and unsettling, with saffron-colored waters, gigantic water-lilies, and a dark, lofty forest.<\/span><\/p>\n

The narrator witnesses a man sitting on a rock, seemingly in deep contemplation and despair. As the night progresses, the narrator observes the man’s reactions to various terrifying events, such as the arrival of hippopotami and behemoths, a violent tempest, and the cursing of the elements.<\/span><\/p>\n

Despite these disturbances, the man remains on the rock, trembling in solitude. Finally, the narrator curses the environment with the curse of silence, causing everything to become still and lifeless. The characters on the rock change to read “SILENCE,” and the man, terrified by the complete absence of sound, flees the scene.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Demon concludes the story and laughs, while the narrator, unable to laugh with him, is cursed by the Demon. The tale is described as the most wonderful of all the stories in the volumes of the Magi and the sayings of the Sibyls.<\/span><\/p>\n

10 guided reading questions for “Silence\u2014A Fable” by Edgar Allan Poe:<\/strong><\/h3>\n
    \n
  1. How does Poe describe the setting of the story, and what atmosphere does it create?<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. What is the significance of the river Zaire and the water-lilies in the story?<\/span><\/li>\n
  3. Describe the appearance and demeanor of the man on the rock. What do you think he represents?<\/span><\/li>\n
  4. How does the man react to the various disturbances in the environment, such as the tempest and the arrival of the hippopotami and behemoths?<\/span><\/li>\n
  5. What is the meaning behind the changing characters on the rock, from “DESOLATION” to “SILENCE”?<\/span><\/li>\n
  6. Why do you think the narrator curses the elements, first with tumult and then with silence?<\/span><\/li>\n
  7. How does the complete absence of sound at the end of the story affect the man on the rock, and what do you think it symbolizes?<\/span><\/li>\n
  8. What is the role of the Demon in the story, and why do you think he laughs at the end?<\/span><\/li>\n
  9. Poe mentions the volumes of the Magi and the sayings of the Sibyls. What do you think these references add to the story?<\/span><\/li>\n
  10. Analyze the overall theme of the story. What message do you think Poe is trying to convey through this tale?<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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