It’s a welcome return to Poe this week over at LibraryThing’s Deep Ones.
Review: “Some Words with a Mummy”, Edgar Allan Poe, 1845.
The plot on this one is pretty straightforward, and it’s less weird fiction than sort of American proto-science fiction as well as being a satire. A mummy is revived and discusses Ancient Egypt and nineteenth century America with the narrator and three other men.
So, with some help from Stephen Peithman’s annotations, let’s look at this one.
Poe’s humor doesn’t always work here. Jokes tend not to age well in literature. After all, many modern Shakespeare productions omit some of his humor which, if you’re reading it, often has to be footnoted to get the joke. A joke explained is no longer a joke. Still, the story does have its funny moments.
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