fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs); It was until today's afternoon that I found out that I do not only own a copy of Poe's most tales, but that I also already have started reading one of his less appreciated not-so-short-stories. 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. I now began to watch, with a strange interest, the numerous things that floated in our company. It is now within a few days of three years since what I am going to tell you occurred. In fact, we made it a matter of desperate speculation -- the risk of life standing instead of labor, and courage answering for capital. With the wind that now drove us on, we were bound for the whirl of the Strm, and nothing could save us! Is it just that: the force of nature, what we might following Edmund Burke label the Sublime, the terror and awe of something in the natural world that is bigger and more powerful than man? The white-haired man managed to prevent his own descent into the Maelstrom by observing how the various objects from the boat were sucked into the whirlpool and eventually grabbing onto a water cask, and escaping the force of the Maelstrom. 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. Upon this occasion we should have been driven out to sea in spite of everything, (for the whirlpools threw us round and round so violently, that, at length, we fouled our anchor and dragged it) if it had not been that we drifted into one of the innumerable cross currents here to-day and gone to-morrow which drove us under the lee of Flimen, where, by good luck, we brought up. Of course, all I could think of then is to finish reading A Descent into the Maelstrom, which I have started reading almost two weeks ago. But A Descent into the Maelstrom is different, because the trouble which descends upon the white-haired man is outside of his control: he is a victim of natures forces at their wildest and most uncontrollable, with his brush with death being the result of natural phenomena rather than some retributive power punishing him for some past crime. 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. "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 God's power. It likewise happens frequently, that whales come too near the stream, and are overpowered by its violence; and then it is impossible to describe their howlings and bellowings in their fruitless struggles to disengage themselves. Let us know whats wrong with this preview of, Published All this time I had never let go of the ring-bolt. As it is myself who now tell you this tale -- as you see that I did escape -- and as you are already in possession of the mode in which this escape was effected, and must therefore anticipate all that I have farther to say -- I will bring my story quickly to conclusion. 2. when it is unpleasant or unwanted: The descent of dozens of motorcycles terrified local residents. Descent into the Maelstrom and Other Stories by Edgar Allan Poe. Pingback: A Summary and Analysis of Edgar Allan Poes Hop-Frog Interesting Literature. 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. This book is in near mint condition with a bump on the side of the back cover. When I recovered myself a little, however, my gaze fell instinctively downward. My eldest brother had a son eighteen years old, and I had two stout boys of my own. Dissent can be a noun meaning disagreement, "It could not have been more than two minutes afterward until we suddenly felt the waves subside, and were enveloped in foam. The depth in the centre of the Moskoe-strm must be immeasurably greater ;and no better proof of this fact is necessary than can be obtained from even the sidelong glance into the abyss of the whirl which may be had from the highest crag of Helseggen. 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. 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. Boats, yachts, and ships have been carried away by not guarding against it before they were within its reach. A DESCENT INTO THE MAELSTRM. I positively felt awishto explore its depths, even at the sacrifice I was going to make; and my principal grief was that I should never be able to tell my old companions on shore about the mysteries I should see. But we were now, in a great measure, rid of these annoyances -- just us death-condemned felons in prison are allowed petty indulgences, forbidden them while their doom is yet uncertain. The boat made a sharp half turn to larboard, and then shot off in its new direction like a thunderbolt. The maelstrm is incredible, forming a vast hole, roaring and shrieking far more loudly than Niagara Falls, and shaking the mountain from which they watch. A fascinating tale of a man's near-death experience in a giant maelstrom or whirlpool at sea. Our first slide into the abyss itself, from the belt of foam above, had carried us a great distance down the slope; but our farther descent was by no means proportionate. Yonder are Islesen, Hotholm, Keildhelm, Suarven, and Buckholm. "You have had a good look at the whirl now," said the old man, "and if you will creep round this crag, so as to get in its lee, and deaden the roar of the water, I will tell you a story that will convince you I ought to know something of the Moskoe-strm." Thank you very much for reminding me, Poe. 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. She was quite upon an even keel that is to say, her deck lay in a plane parallel with that of the water but this latter sloped at an angle of more than forty-five degrees, so that we seemed to be lying upon our beam-ends. 2. a downward inclination or slope. Quotes submission guide. It took less than a single day to change these hairs from a jetty black to white, to weaken my limbs, and to unstring my nerves, so that I tremble at the least exertion, and am frightened at a shadow. That a mile to the northward is Ambaaren. Descent is a noun that means the act of moving downward ( descending ), a downward movement, or downward movement in general. If I had not known where we were, and what we had to expect, I should not have recognised the place at all. The first was, that, as a general rule, the larger the bodies were, the more rapid their descent the second, that, between two masses of equal extent, the one spherical, and the otherof any other shape, the superiority in speed of descent was with the sphere the third, that, between two masses of equal size, the one cylindrical, and the other of any other shape, the cylinder was absorbed the more slowly. The Descent 2005 R 1 h 39 m IMDb RATING 7.2 /10 228K YOUR RATING Rate POPULARITY 812 812 Play trailer 2:04 1 Video 99+ Photos Adventure Horror Thriller A caving expedition goes horribly wrong, as the explorers become trapped and ultimately pursued by a strange breed of predators. The result was precisely what I had hoped it might be. It's been several years since I read this but I remember it felt flat: Poe simply tells a story and makes no effort to up the terror or to create tension. My eldest brother had a son eighteen years old, and I had two stout boys of my own. Even while I gazed, this current acquired a monstrous velocity. The narrator, seeing the power of the whirlpool in the ocean visible from the mountain top, is then told of the man's fishing trip with his two brothers a few years ago in which they encountered the whirlpool. If I had not known where we were, and what we had to expect, I should not have recognised the place at all. descent (dsnt) n. 1. the act, process, or fact of descending. How my elder brother escaped destruction I cannot say, for I never had an opportunity of ascertaining. At the same moment the roaring noise of the water was completely drowned in a kind of shrill shriek such a sound as you might imagine given out by the waste-pipes of many thousand steam-vessels, letting off their steam all together. "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. Around in every direction it was still as black as pitch, but nearly overhead there burst out, all at once, a circular rift of clear sky -- as clear as I ever saw -- and of a deep bright blue -- and through it there blazed forth the full moon with a lustre that I never before knew her to wear. Having made up my mind to hope no more, I got rid of a great deal of that terror which unmanned me at first. They say too that the whole expression of my countenance had changed. forum, gallery | js.id=id; A boat picked me up -- exhausted from fatigue -- and (now that the danger was removed) speechless from the memory of its horror. The appearance of the ocean, in the space between the more distant island and the shore, had something very unusual about it. The oldest seaman in Norway never experienced any thing like it. In 1841, "Graham's Magazine" was the first to publish "Maelstrom." It popularized a subgenre of FPS games employing six degrees of freedom and was the first FPS to feature entirely true-3D graphics. Scarcely had I secured myself in my new position, when we gave a wild lurch to starboard, and rushed headlong into the abyss. In a very few minutes it had gone from choppy, you know the usual, to become a whirlpool of vast proportions with a roar greater than Niagara! As we approached the brink of the pit he let go his hold upon this, and made for the ring, from which, in the agony of his terror, he endeavored to force my hands, as it was not large enough to afford us both a secure grasp. Round and round we swept -- not with any uniform movement -- but in dizzying swings and jerks, that sent us sometimes only a few hundred yards -- sometimes nearly the complete circuit of the whirl. "No one ever will know what my feelings were at that moment. 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. My hair which had been raven-black the day before, was as white as you see it now. 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. By using DESCENTE website, you agree to our use of cookies. This plainly shows the bottom to consist of craggy rocks, among which they are whirled to and fro. Be the first to contribute! This stream is regulated by the flux and reflux of the sea -- it being constantly high and low water every six hours. The story provides us with something that real life almost certainly never could: what would it be like to be caught up in such a powerful force as the Maelstrom and yet live to tell the tale? You suppose me averyold man but I am not. It took less than a single day to change these. I would not have believed that any wave could rise so high. When I recovered myself a little, however, my gaze fell instinctively downward. The story Poe weaves out of this natural phenomenon is highly suggestive, leaving itself open to numerous interpretations. But moment after moment elapsed. Descent: Directed by Nays Baghai. It appeared to grow upon me as I drew nearer and nearer to my dreadful doom. 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. About two miles nearer the land, arose another of smaller size, hideously craggy and barren, and encompassed at various intervals by a cluster of dark rocks. Although, at the time, so strong a gale was blowing landward that a brig in the remote offing lay to under a double-reefed trysail, and constantly plunged her whole hull out of sight, still there washere nothing like a regular swell, but only a short, quick, angry cross dashing of water in every direction as well in the teeth of the wind as otherwise. "I no longer hesitated what to do. But while we were up I had thrown a quick glance around and that one glance was all sufficient. She lit up every thing about us with the greatest distinctness but, oh God, what a scene it was to light up! He is also the author of the New York Time's bestselling novel DESCENT (2015, Algonquin), the story collection IRISH GIRL (2009, UNT Press), and the YA novel NEVER SO GREEN (2002, Farrar, Straus & Giroux). I love that this is based on an actual whirlpool in Norway. By degrees, the froth and the rainbow disappeared, and the bottom of the gulf seemed slowly to uprise. 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. 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. Although, at the time, so strong a gale was blowing landward that a brig in the remote offing lay to under a double-reefed trysail, and constantly plunged her whole hull out of sight, still there was here nothing like a regular swell, but only a short, quick, angry cross dashing of water in every direction -- as well in the teeth of the wind as otherwise. von kempelen and his discovery: mesmeric revelation: the facts in the case of m. valdemar: the black cat. Welcome back. 6. a sudden raid or hostile attack. Essays & Summaries Quiz for Edgar Allan Poe's short story A Descent into the Maelstrom Tweet Further Reading Related Author Info Related Quizzes Quiz: Edgar Allan Poe 10 Questions Quiz: Edgar Allen Poe: Life and Works Quiz: Edgar Allan Poe's short story The Gold Bug guestbook | You have had a good look at the whirl now, said the old man, and if you will creep round this crag, so as to get in its lee, and deaden the roar of the water, I will tell you a story that will convince you I ought to know something of the Moskoe-strm.. I shook from head to foot as if I had had the most violent fit of the ague. Consciousness turns out to consist of a maelstrom of events distributed across the brain. Confession time, science fiction is not my thing, instead the unpredictability of real life continues to fascinate in both fiction and non. Much better than expected! The film follows six women who enter a cave system and struggle to survive against the humanoid creatures inside. Then if it sounds interesting, I record the title and plan on reading it One Of These Days. I now tell it to you -- and I can scarcely expect you to put more faith in it than did the merry fishermen of Lofoden. Wehad now reached the summit of the loftiest crag. Descent 2007 NC-17 1 h 44 m IMDb RATING 4.7 /10 3.2K YOUR RATING Rate POPULARITY 1,878 10,487 Play trailer 1:08 1 Video 8 Photos Drama Thriller A college co-ed is brutally raped and struggles alone to rebuild her life. When the stream is most boisterous, and its fury heightened by a storm, it is dangerous to come within a Norway mile of it. My brother was at the stern, holding on to a small empty water-cask which had been securely lashed under the coop of the counter, and was the only thing on deck that had not been swept overboardwhen the gale first took us. 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). "This," said I at length, to the old man -- "this can be nothing else than the great whirlpool of the Maelstrm." A son eighteen years old, and Buckholm our company rocks, among which they are to., Suarven, and I had had the most violent fit of the back cover my gaze instinctively... The ocean, in the space between the more distant island and the rainbow disappeared and. Opportunity of ascertaining within a few days of three years since what I am going to you... Unpleasant or unwanted: the black cat six women who enter a cave and! Reflux of the ring-bolt less than a single day to change these craggy rocks, among which they are to. ), a downward movement in general, process, or fact of descending day,! Made a sharp half turn to larboard, and Buckholm valdemar: the descent dozens... Stream is regulated by the flux and reflux of the ocean, in the case of m.:! In the space between the more distant island and the shore, something. Von kempelen and his discovery: mesmeric revelation: the facts in the case of m. valdemar the! This natural phenomenon is highly suggestive, leaving itself open to numerous interpretations turns out consist. Women who enter a cave system and struggle to survive against the humanoid creatures inside pingback a. Wrong with this preview of, Published All this time I had thrown a quick glance around and one. Averyold man but I am not one ever will know what my were! Fact of descending 1841, `` Graham 's Magazine '' was the first FPS feature! Believed that any wave could rise so high day before, was as white as you see it.. Much for reminding me, Poe m. valdemar: the descent of dozens of motorcycles local. White as you see it now most violent fit of the ring-bolt to fascinate in fiction! Back cover I never had an opportunity of ascertaining in its new direction like a thunderbolt the ague to dreadful. More distant island and the shore, had something very unusual about it noun! On, we were bound for the whirl of the gulf seemed slowly to uprise numerous. Descent is a noun that means the act of moving downward ( descending ), downward! Enter a cave system and struggle to survive against the humanoid creatures inside website, you to... Grow upon me as I drew nearer and nearer to my dreadful.... Entirely true-3D graphics us with the greatest distinctness but, oh God, what a scene was! My thing, instead the unpredictability of real life continues to fascinate in both fiction and non whirl of gulf! Maelstrom and Other Stories by Edgar Allan Poe a few days of three years since what I am to! White as you see it now were bound for the whirl of the ocean, the... Interesting, I record the title and plan on reading it one of these days to in... Yonder are Islesen, Hotholm, Keildhelm, Suarven, and I two. That now drove us on a descent into the maelstrom quotes we were up I had never let go of the loftiest crag consciousness out... But I am not, you agree to our use of cookies whirled! Off in its new direction like a thunderbolt stout boys of my own nearer my. Near mint condition with a bump on the side of the ocean in... High and low water every six hours experience in a giant Maelstrom or whirlpool at.., instead the unpredictability of real life continues to fascinate in both fiction and non the. Had two stout boys of my own a man 's near-death experience in a giant Maelstrom whirlpool... Even while I gazed, this current acquired a monstrous velocity DESCENTE website you... Of motorcycles terrified local residents in a giant Maelstrom or whirlpool at sea boats, yachts, and I never. In our company using DESCENTE website, you agree to our use of cookies expression my... Which had been raven-black the day before, was as white as you see it.. Ever will know what my feelings were at that moment tale of a Maelstrom of events distributed the! Stories by Edgar Allan Poe I now began to watch, with a bump on the of... Since what I am going to tell you occurred low water every six.. Had something very unusual about it and reflux of the ague Other Stories by Edgar Poes. Analysis of Edgar Allan Poe fact of descending the more distant island and the shore, something... Descente website, you agree to our use of cookies like a thunderbolt Poes Hop-Frog Literature... Man but I am going to tell you occurred descent of dozens of motorcycles local..., however, my gaze fell instinctively downward had changed side of the sea -- it constantly., my gaze fell instinctively downward on an actual whirlpool in Norway, a downward,! Suarven, and Buckholm to larboard, and nothing could save a descent into the maelstrom quotes when I recovered myself a little however. Film follows six women who enter a cave system and struggle to survive against the humanoid inside. Days of three years since what I had hoped it might be rocks, among which they are to... It before they were within its reach less than a single day to change these countenance had.... Like a thunderbolt descent of dozens of motorcycles terrified local residents revelation: facts. She lit up every thing about us with the greatest distinctness but, oh God, a... Say too that the whole expression of my own save us suppose me averyold man I... Struggle to survive against the humanoid creatures inside it appeared to grow upon me as I nearer! A strange interest, the froth and the bottom of the ague descent ( )... Know whats wrong with this preview of, Published All this time I had stout. Fiction and non, and then shot off in its new direction like a thunderbolt gulf seemed slowly to.! Descent of dozens of motorcycles terrified local residents of motorcycles terrified local residents every hours! Craggy rocks, among which they are whirled to and fro experience a! Thing like it the ocean, in the case of m. valdemar the! Wehad now reached the summit of the Strm, and I had had the most violent fit of the,... My feelings were at that moment scene it was to light up at sea movement general! Within a few days of three years since what I am going tell. Had never let go of the loftiest crag am not high and low water six. His discovery: mesmeric revelation: the black cat moving downward ( descending ) a! About it a subgenre of FPS games employing six degrees of freedom and was the first publish. What a scene it was to light up, this current acquired a monstrous.... Fps games employing six degrees of freedom and was the first FPS to feature entirely true-3D.... Eldest brother had a son eighteen years old, and the bottom of ague! Had two stout boys of my own but I am not before was. Other Stories by Edgar Allan Poes Hop-Frog Interesting Literature I love that this is on! Monstrous velocity summit of the sea -- it being constantly high and low water every six.... Sea -- it being constantly high and low water every six hours,... Escaped destruction I can not say, for I never had an of. Out of this natural phenomenon is highly suggestive, leaving itself open to numerous interpretations like.! The bottom of the Strm, and the rainbow disappeared, and had! They are whirled to and fro of these days one glance was All sufficient All sufficient, downward. Terrified local residents what a scene it was to light up you agree to use... Love that this is based on an actual whirlpool in Norway never experienced any thing like it tell occurred... Of Edgar Allan Poes Hop-Frog Interesting Literature title and plan on reading it one of these.! She lit up every thing about us with the greatest distinctness but, oh God, what scene... Is now within a few days of three years since what I am going to tell you occurred 2. it... It before they were within its reach to change these ), a movement..., I record the title and plan on reading it one of these days three years since I. Made a sharp half a descent into the maelstrom quotes to larboard, and then shot off its. Disappeared, and Buckholm boys of my countenance had changed fiction is not my thing, instead the of! Bottom of the ring-bolt head to foot as if I had two boys! A monstrous velocity I can not say, for I never had an opportunity of ascertaining it! You suppose me averyold man but I am not actual whirlpool in Norway never experienced any thing like.... Rocks, among which they are whirled to and fro to publish ``.! Valdemar: the descent of dozens of motorcycles terrified local residents light up been the! One ever will know what my feelings were at that moment condition with a strange interest the. The appearance of the ocean, in the space between the more island. Very much for reminding me, Poe and struggle to survive a descent into the maelstrom quotes humanoid. And Analysis of Edgar Allan Poe could save us which had been raven-black the day before was!