Why should you read Edgar Allan Poe? - Scott Peeples

譯者: Lilian Chiu 審譯者: Helen Chang

A high forehead topped by disheveled black hair,

很高的額頭，上面是凌亂的頭髮，

a sickly pallor,

蒼白到像是生病，

and a look of deep intelligence and deeper exhaustion

外表看來是深深的智慧 和更深的疲累，

in his dark, sunken eyes.

下陷的眼窩中是深色的眼睛。

Edgar Allan Poe’s image is not just instantly recognizable –

愛倫坡的形象不只是 可以馬上認出來——

it’s perfectly suited to his reputation.

而是到了已經被拿來研究的程度。

From the prisoner strapped under a descending pendulum blade,

從被綁在不斷下降的 擺片刀底下的囚犯，

to a raven who refuses to leave the narrator’s chamber,

到不願離開講述者房間的烏鴉，

Poe’s macabre and innovative stories of gothic horror

艾倫坡的哥德式恐怖故事 與死亡有關又有著創新，

have left a timeless mark on literature.

在文學上留下了永恆的痕跡。

But just what is it that makes Edgar Allan Poe

但到底是什麼原因，讓艾倫坡成為

one of the greatest American authors?

最偉大的美國作家之一？

After all, horror was a popular genre of the period,

畢竟，在那時， 恐怖題材是很熱門的，

with many practitioners.

很多人都在寫。

Yet Poe stood out thanks to his careful attention to form and style.

然而，艾倫坡因為對於形式和風格 非常注意，因而脫穎而出。

As a literary critic,

身為文學評論家，

he identified two cardinal rules for the short story form:

他知道關於短篇故事的形式 有兩條重要規則：

it must be short enough to read in one sitting,

必須要夠短，能在坐著 休息的一段時間內就看完，

and every word must contribute to its purpose.

且每個字詞都必須要 符合故事的目的。

By mastering these rules,

因為精通這些規則，

Poe commands the reader’s attention

艾倫坡得以操控讀者的注意力，

and rewards them with an intense and singular experience –

回報給他們的是 強烈又非凡的體驗——

what Poe called the unity of effect.

即艾倫坡所謂的「效果統一」。

Though often frightening, this effect goes far beyond fear.

雖然這種效果通常很嚇人， 但它能超越恐懼。

Poe’s stories use violence and horror to explore the paradoxes and mysteries

艾倫坡的故事用暴力和恐怖 來探索矛盾和神秘的

of love,

愛、悲慟，

grief,

and guilt,

以及罪惡，

while resisting simple interpretations or clear moral messages.

拒絕使用簡單的詮釋 或明確的道德訊息。

And while they often hint at supernatural elements,

雖然他的故事通常 都有超自然元素的暗示，

the true darkness they explore is the human mind

但它們真正在探索的， 是人心的黑暗，

and its propensity for self-destruction.

以及人心的自我毀滅的傾向。

In “The Tell-Tale Heart,” a ghastly murder

在《告密的心》中， 一件可怕的謀殺

is juxtaposed with the killer’s tender empathy towards the victim –

卻搭配著兇手對於 受害者的溫柔同理心——

a connection that soon returns to haunt him.

這個連結很快就回來困擾著他。

The title character of "Ligeia" returns from the dead

《麗姬亞》的主角起死回生，

through the corpse of her husband’s second wife –

透過她先生第二任太太的 屍體返回人間——

or at least the opium-addicted narrator thinks she does.

至少講故事的人是這麼認為的， 不過他有著鴉片癮。

And when the protagonist of “William Wilson”

而《威廉威爾森》的主人翁

violently confronts a man he believes has been following him,

堅信有個人在跟蹤他， 因而火爆地與這個人對質，

he might just be staring at his own image in a mirror.

但他可能只是在瞪著 鏡中自己的影像。

Through his pioneering use of unreliable narrators,

艾倫坡採用很前衛的做法， 藉由不可靠的人來說故事，

Poe turns readers into active participants

把讀者變成主動參與者，

who must decide when a storyteller might be misinterpreting

必須要自己決定 說故事的人是否有誤解，

or even lying about the events they’re relating.

或甚至因為事件 和自己有關而說謊。

Although he’s best known for his short horror stories,

雖然艾倫坡最有名的 是短篇恐怖故事，

Poe was actually one of the most versatile

他其實是十九世紀

and experimental writers of the nineteenth century.

最多才多藝的實驗性作家之一。

He invented the detective story as we know it,

我們現在所知的 偵探故事就是他發明的，

with “The Murders in the Rue Morgue,”

他寫了《莫爾格街兇殺案》，

followed by “The Mystery of Marie Roget”

接著還有《瑪麗羅傑奇案》

and “The Purloined Letter.”

和《失竊的信》。

All three feature the original armchair detective,

這三部作品的共同特色就是 一位無實際經驗的原創偵探，

C. Auguste Dupin,

C. 奧古斯特杜邦，

who uses his genius and unusual powers of observation and deduction

他運用他的才智 和不凡的觀察推理能力，

to solve crimes that baffle the police.

來解決難倒警方的犯罪案件。

Poe also wrote satires of social and literary trends,

艾倫坡也會寫與社會 和文學趨勢相關的諷刺作品，

and hoaxes that in some cases anticipated science fiction.

還有些惡作劇，在某些情況下 以科幻小說的形式呈現。

Those included an account of a balloon voyage to the moon,

那些作品的內容包括 氣球航行到月球，

and a report of a dying patient put into a hypnotic trance

還有病危的病人進入催眠狀態時，

so he could speak from the other side.

能夠從另一個世界說話。

Poe even wrote an adventure novel about a voyage to the South Pole

艾倫坡甚至寫了 到南極旅行的冒險小說，

and a treatise on astrophysics,

以及天體物理學的論文，

all while he worked as an editor,

都是在他擔任編輯時的作品，

producing hundreds of pages of book reviews and literary theory.

那時他產出了數百頁的 書評以及文學理論。

An appreciation of Poe’s career wouldn’t be complete without his poetry:

要讚頌艾倫坡的職涯， 萬萬不能漏掉他的詩：

haunting and hypnotic.

縈繞在心頭且有催眠效果。

His best-known poems are songs of grief, or in his words,

他最著名的詩作都是 悲慟之歌，或用他的說法：

“mournful and never-ending remembrance.”

「永遠無法忘懷的悲傷記憶」。

“The Raven,” in which the speaker projects his grief onto a bird

《烏鴉》的講述者把他的悲慟 投射到一隻鳥身上，

who merely repeats a single sound,

這隻鳥只會重覆一個單音，

made Poe famous.

這部詩作讓艾倫坡成名。

But despite his literary success,

但儘管在文學上很成功，

Poe lived in poverty throughout his career,

艾倫坡在他的職涯中 一直都很貧窮，

and his personal life was often as dark as his writing.

他的私人生活通常 也和他的作品一樣黑暗。

He was haunted by the loss of his mother and his wife,

他失去他的母親和妻子， 這失落感始終困擾著他，

who both died of tuberculosis at the age of 24.

她們都在 24 歲時 因為結核病而過世。

Poe struggled with alcoholism

艾倫坡擺脫不了酒精，

and frequently antagonized other popular writers.

且常常要對抗其他知名作家。

Much of his fame came from posthumous – and very loose – adaptations of his work.

他大部分的聲望來自

他死後才出版的、 很鬆散的作品改編版。

And yet, if he could’ve known how much pleasure and inspiration

但是，如果他能知道 他的作品帶給了

his writing would bring to generations of readers and writers alike,

後世讀者和作家多少樂趣和靈感，

perhaps it may have brought a smile to that famously brooding visage.

也許可以在那著名的 沉思面孔上增添一抹微笑。