Showing results for "Edgar Allan Poe" in Comedy & Humor

Eighteen of the very best American short stories, each a classic in its own right. Stories include "The Little Frenchman and his Water Lots", by George Pope Morris; "The Angel of the Odd", by Edgar Allan Poe; "The Schoolmasters’s Progress", by Caroline M.S. Kirkland; "The Watkinson Evening", by Eliza Leslie; "Titbottom’s Spectacles", by George William Curtis; "My Double and "How He Undid Me", by Edward Everett Hale; "A Visit to the Asylum for Aged and Decayed Punsters", by Oliver Wendell; and more.

Truth is stranger than fiction. In this wickedly funny sequel to the Arabian Nights, Edgar Allan Poe lets Scheherazade embark on a thousand-and-second night, spinning the untold final adventures of Sinbad. Sea monsters with blazing eyes, islands built by tiny engineers, forests of stone, rivers...

A witty and satirical Edgar Allan Poe tale, The Spectacles follows a vain young man whose romantic obsession leads to comic embarrassment and a sharp lesson about pride, perception, and appearances...

Let me introduce you to Signora Psyche Zenobia. An adopted name of course, but for someone so flamboyant, appropriate. The good signora has aspirations. She would like to be a writer. At present she is the corresponding secretary to an interesting group of notables in Philadelphia which goes by a lengthy name with the initials of P.R.E.T.T.Y. B.L.U.E. B.A.T.C.H.! But how to get published? She travels to Edinburgh to meet with the esteemed proprietor and editor of 'Blackwood Magazine.' A real publication of the 1830s.

As it is well known that the "wise men" came "from the East," and as Mr. Touch-and-go Bullet-head came from the East, it follows that Mr. Bullet-head was a wise man; and if collateral proof of the matter be needed, here we have it — Mr. B. was an editor. Irascibility was his sole foible; for in fact the obstinacy of which men accused him was anything but his foible, since he justly considered it his forte. It was his strong point — his virtue; and it would have required all the logic of a Brownson to convince him that it was "anything else.

"The Man That Was Used Up", sometimes subtitled "A Tale of the Late Bugaboo and Kickapoo Campaign", is a short story and satire by Edgar Allan Poe. It was first published in August 1839 in Burton's Gentleman's Magazine. The story follows an unnamed narrator who seeks out the famous war hero John A. B. C. Smith. He becomes suspicious that Smith has some deep secret when others refuse to describe him, instead remarking only on the latest advancements in technology. When he finally meets Smith, the man must first be assembled piece by piece.

Lion-izing (A Tale): I am — that is to say, I was, a great man. But I am neither the author of Junius, nor the man in the mask — for my name is Thomas Smith, and I was born somewhere in the city of Fum-Fudge. The first action of my life was the taking hold of my nose with both hands. My mother saw this and called me a genius. My father wept for joy, and bought me a treatise on Nosology.

"Bon-Bon" is a comedic short story by Edgar Allan Poe, first published in December 1832 in the Philadelphia Saturday Courier. Originally called "The Bargain Lost", it follows Pierre Bon-Bon, who believes himself a profound philosopher, and his encounter with the Devil. The story's humor is based on the verbal interchange between the two, which satirizes classical philosophers such as Plato and Aristotle. The Devil reveals that he has eaten the souls of many of these philosophers.

In this tale by sensational storyteller and poet Edgar Allen Poe, a newspaper article claims that a man by the name of Von Kempelen has discovered the alchemical process by which to turn iron into pure gold.

Cuando todos nos hubimos tranquilizado, nos pusimos a mirar la nave que se alejaba, hasta que se perdió de vista. El tiempo empeoraba y soplaba un ligero viento. En el preciso momento en que el buque desapareció en el horizonte, Parker se volvió hacia mí con una expresión en la cara que me dio escalofríos. Tenía un aire de seguridad y entereza que nunca le había observado. Antes de que despegara los labios, yo tenía el pálpito de lo que iba a decirme. En una palabra, insinuó que uno de nosotros debía morir con el fin de salvar a los demás. - Summary by Wikipedia

Edgar Poe est le maître incontesté du fantastique et une figure majeure du romantisme américain. Le fameux "Système du docteur Goudron et du professeur Plume" prouve aussi qu'il ne s'interdit pas l'humour noir ! En voyage dans le sud de la France, le narrateur se retrouve amené à visiter une bien étrange clinique psychiatrique, la maison de santé du docteur Maillard. On l'y entretient d'une toute nouvelle méthode mise au point pour traiter la folie, bien meilleure que la "douceur" préconisée dans les autres établissements.

Poe's humorous political satire, recounting a bizarre story of a group of academics who unwrap a Mummy late at night, and conduct a series of experiments upon the body. Unexpectedly the embalmed body wakes up and a most unusual and entertaining conversation ensues, in which the amazing achievements of the ancient Egyptians becomes manifest...and the achievements of modern Americans less so.

One of Edgar Allen Poe’s more lighthearted stories, this details the investigation of a mummy named Allamistakeo. After finding the body of the mummy in good condition, the mummy researchers use electricity to bring him back to life. Allamistakeo then proceeds to have a conversation with the crew - from what ancient Egypt was like to what religion was like. The conversation ends abruptly when the researchers ask him a question about the beginning of the universe, calling to play the reigning religion at the time.

Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849) was an American poet, critic and writer of fiction and is particularly well known for his morbid and supernatural stories. 'Never Bet the Devil Your Head' is a tale which reveals Poe's sense of humour - a gruesome and fantastic humour. It is a witty take on the Faust theme - an antihero inadvertently enters into a terrible wager with the devil.

Il racconto di Poe ci porta in un paese perfetto dove l'ordine regna sovrano e le radici culturali sono ironicamente notevolissime.Nulla può andare storto in un contesto di perfezione del genere... a meno che il diavolo non ci metta lo zampino.

A man rants and raves about people’s gullibility when he encounters the Angel of the Odd who claims to cause weird events. Unconvinced, the cynic drives the angel away and falls asleep. Then, a series of bizarre incidents follows.

Edgar Allan Poe (born Edgar Poe) was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on January 19th, 1809, and was orphaned at an early age. Taken in by the Allan family, his education was cut short by lack of money, and he went to the military academy West Point where he failed to become an officer. His early literary works were poetic, but he quickly turned to prose. He worked for several magazines and journals until in January 1845, The Raven was published and became an instant classic.

When researchers, through a scientific accident, reanimate a mummy, they learn the limits of their science.

A classic satire in which we find that those who can...do.... And those who can’t criticize and have higher stature in our society.

When life’s got you down and things aren’t going your way, who better to turn to than Edgar Allan Poe? Discover how to say "nevermore" to your problems in this darkly comedic and refreshing self-help guide. Of all the writers anywhere, Poe might be the least likely person you'd ever turn to...