The story is told by an old man who reveals that he only appears old"You suppose me a very old man," he says, "but I am not. descent (dsnt) n. 1. the act, process, or fact of descending. His experience and brush with death, however, made his black hair turn white in the course of one day. 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 geographer's account of the Mare Tenebrarum. After a little while I became possessed with the keenest curiosity about the whirl itself. descent n (slope) descente nf : pente nf : Harry ran down the descent to the lake. I saw our exact position in an instant. I now made one or two attempts to speak to my brother but, in some manner which I could not understand, the din had so increased that I could not make him hear a single word, although I screamed at the top of my voice in his ear. In less than a minute the storm was upon us -- in less than two the sky was entirely overcast -- and what with this and the driving spray, it became suddenly so dark that we could not see each other in the smack. Learn more. By this time the first fury of the tempest had spent itself, or perhaps we did not feel it so much, as we scudded before it, but at all events the seas, which at first had been kept down by the wind, and lay flat and frothing, now got up into absolute mountains. Farther off -- between Moskoe and Vurrgh -- are Otterholm, Flimen, Sandflesen, and Stockholm. Her starboard side was next the whirl, and on the larboard arose the world of ocean we had left. 'To be sure,' I thought, 'we shall get there just about the slack -- there is some little hope in that' -- but in the next moment I cursed myself for being so great a fool as to dream of hope at all. I could not tell you the twentieth part of the difficulties we encountered on the grounds it is a bad spot to be in, even in good weather but we made shift always to run the gauntlet of the Moskoe-strm itself without accident; although at times my heart has been in my mouth when we happened to be a minuteor so behind or before the slack. The boat did not seem to sink into the water at all, but to skim like an air-bubble upon the surface of the surge. //]]>, Be the first to ask a question about A Descent into the Maelstrom - an Edgar Allan Poe Short Story. In all violent eddies at sea there is good fishing, at proper opportunities, if one has only the courage to attempt it; but among the whole of the Lofoden coastmen, we three were the only ones who made a regular business of going out to the islands, as I tell you. I never felt deeper grief than when I saw him attempt this act -- although I knew he was a madman when he did it -- a raving maniac through sheer fright. The lids clenched themselves together as if in a spasm. Presently he shook his head, looking as pale as death, and held up one of his finger, as if to say 'listen'! Brilliant story! I told them my story they did not believe it. You perceive that in crossing the Strmchannel, we always went a long way up above the whirl, even in the calmest weather, and then had to wait and watch carefully for the slack but now we were driving right upon the pool itself, and in such a hurricane as this! "It could not have been more than two minutes afterward until we suddenly felt the waves subside, and were enveloped in foam. The story is told by an Old Norwegian fisherman to a tourist at the top of a very tall mountain. Whereas his two brothers succumb to the maelstroms alluring energies, the white-haired man manages to resist, as if he is resisting his own deeper libido or drives, in favour of quick-thinking and rational pragmatism. It has never been read. Click here for more information This stream is regulated by the flux and reflux of the sea -- it being constantly high and low water every six hours. scent di-sent 1 : the act or process of descending from a higher to a lower location descent of the testes into the scrotum 2 a : derivation from an ancestor b : the fact or process of originating by generation from an ancestral stock (as a species or genus) 3 International delivery varies by country, please see the Wordery store help page for details. Artist: DEFEATED SANITY. "At first I could not make out what he meant -- but soon a hideous thought flashed upon me. The idea generally received is that this, as well as three smaller vortices among the Ferroe islands, "have no other cause than the collision of waves rising and falling, at flux and reflux, against a ridge of rocks and shelves, which confines the water so that it precipitates itself like a cataract ;and thus the higher the flood rises, the deeper must the fall be, and the natural result of all is a whirlpool or vortex, the prodigious suction of which is sufficiently known by lesser experiments." The attempts to account for the phenomenon some of which, I remember, seemed to me sufficiently plausible in perusal now wore a very different and unsatisfactory aspect. These streaks, at length, spreading out to a great distance, and entering into combination, took unto themselves the gyratory motion of the subsided vortices, and seemed to form the germ of another more vast. We might analyse the maelstrom as a symbol representing the force of time as well as nature. The boat made a sharp half turn to larboard, and then shot off in its new direction like a thunderbolt. The appearance of the ocean, in the space between the more distant island and the shore, had something very unusual about it. while not particularly creepy, it was interesting and vividly written so that i almost feel like i was living it myself. But this 17 page short story is just before Poe's "The Murders in the Rue Morgue," which I am eager to read! This was most unusual something that had never happened to us before and I began to feel a little uneasy, without exactly knowing why. Do you hear anything ? 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. This plainly shows the bottom to consist of craggy rocks, among which they are whirled to and fro. I knew very well that we were doomed, had we been ten times a ninety-gun ship. Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read. Absolutely recommended! I have arranged my thoughts into a haiku: An awesome tale about a man who survives an encounter with the terrible Maelstrm. "It is now within a few days of three years since what I am going to tell you occurred. site map | wordlist This was most unusual -- something that had never happened to us before -- and I began to feel a little uneasy, without exactly knowing why. Just click the "Edit page" button at the bottom of the page or learn Imusthave been delirious for I even soughtamusementin speculating upon the relative velocities of their several descents toward the foam below. In Scandinavia, there is a phenomenon known as the Moskstraumen or Moskenstraumen, a system of tidal whirlpools found in the Lofoten archipelago in Nordland county (in Norway) between the Norwegian Sea and the Vestfjorden. To be sure, I thought, we shall get there just about the slack there is some little hope in that but in the next moment I cursed myself for being so great a fool as to dream of hope at all. I attracted my brother's attention by signs, pointed to the floating barrels that came near us, and did everything in my power to make him understand what I was about to do. I never felt deeper grief than when I saw him attempt this act although I knew he was a madman when he did it a raving maniac through sheer fright. The barrel to which I was attached sunk very little farther than half the distance between the bottom of the gulf and the spot at which I leaped overboard, before a great change took place in the character of the whirlpool. The usual grounds are a great way lower down to the southward. I told them my story -- they did not believe it. I love that this is based on an actual whirlpool in Norway. This opinion, idle in itself, was the one to which, as I gazed, my imagination most readily assented ;and, mentioning it to the guide, I was rather surprised to hear him say that, although it was the view almost universally entertained of the subject by the Norwegians, it nevertheless was not his own. forum, gallery | I'm reading in order so, what the heck! I woke up this morning eager to do nothing but to celebrate the birthday of a man who loved with a love that was more than love. I attracted my brothers attention by signs, pointed to the floating barrels that came near us, and did everything in my power to make him understand what I was about to do. Start by marking A Descent into the Maelstrom - an Edgar Allan Poe Short Story as Want to Read: Error rating book. Do you know I can scarcely look over this little cliff without getting giddy ?" 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. I must have been delirious -- for I even sought amusement in speculating upon the relative velocities of their several descents toward the foam below. I would not have believed that any wave could rise so high. "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. timeline 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. She lit up every thing about us with the greatest distinctness but, oh God, what a scene it was to light up! But for this circumstance we should have foundered at once for we lay entirely buried for some moments. I am not sure from what point of view the writer in question surveyed it, nor at what time ;but it could neither have been from the summit of Helseggen, nor during a storm. All this time I had never let go of the ring-bolt. 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. "So it is sometimes termed," said he. An old looking man tells the story of how he survived when the fishing boat he was in with his brother enters the maelstrom. I took courage, and looked once again upon the scene. If you have never been at sea in a heavy gale, you can form no idea of the confusion of mind occasioned by the wind and spray together. {js=d.createElement(s); These are the true names of the places -- but why it has been thought necessary to name them at all, is more than either you or I can understand. It may appear strange, but now, when we were in the very jaws of the gulf, I felt more composed than when we were only approaching it. 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 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. The boat did not seem to sink into the water at all, but to skim like an air-bubble upon the surface of the surge. Harry a dval la descente qui mne au lac. if(!d.getElementById(id)) 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. By far the greater number of the articles were shattered in the most extraordinary way so chafed and roughened as to have the appearance of being stuck full of splinters but then I distinctly recollected that there weresomeof them which were not disfigured at all. stories | Now raise yourself up a little higher hold on to the grass if you feel giddy so and look out, beyond the belt of vapor beneath us, into the sea.. In 1841, "Graham's Magazine" was the first to publish "Maelstrom." when it is unpleasant or unwanted: The descent of dozens of motorcycles terrified local residents. Taking the narrator to a cliff, from whose top they can view the whirlpools and the great Maelstrom (or major whirlpool), this white-haired man relates how he and his two brothers were caught in the Maelstrom while in their fishing boat, and how his two brothers were both sucked into its current. I do believe that I blushed with shame when this idea crossed my mind. When the stream is most boisterous, and its fury heightened by a storm, it is dangerous to come within a Norway mile of it. This story speaks to an American mythos, especially with the maelstrom likened to the moaning of a vast herd of buffaloes upon an American prairie. The slope of the sides of the vast funnel became momently less and less steep. 3.5 stars. It was my elder brother, and my heart leaped for joy, for I had made sure that he was overboard but the next moment all this joy was turned into horror for he put his mouth close to my ear, and screamed out the word Moskoe-strm!. My hair which had been raven-black the day before, was as white as you see it now. The mans fob watch a testament to mans ability to measure and regulate time mysteriously stops during his encounter with this unstoppable force of nature. descent n (physical) descente nf : From the airport, Catherine watched the plane's descent onto the runway. summaries | descent meaning: 1. the state or fact of being related to a particular person or group of people who lived in the. This was so-so, probably my least favorite of Poe short stories so far. Everything was in its place but my own mind as it tried hard to wander the streets of Boston in its desperate attempt to figure out a way to celebrate this man's literary genius. Lavish harmonies and melody lines create a musical atmosphere very much in line with the story narrated in the tale. In 1986, American composer Philip Glass wrote music inspired by "A Descent into the Maelstrm". It was commissioned by the Australian Dance Theatre . On a fishing trip with his brothers a storm arose fuelled by the most powerful and wicked hurricane that ever erupted from heaven caused their ship to be swept into an almighty vortex. In fact, we made it a matter of desperate speculation the risk of life standing instead of labor, and courage answering for capital. I conceived it possible, in either instance, that they might thus be whirled up again to the level of the ocean, without undergoing the fate of those which had been drawn in more early, or absorbed more rapidly. von kempelen and his discovery: mesmeric revelation: the facts in the case of m. valdemar: the black cat. The Moskoe-Strm whirlpool was about a quarter of a mile dead ahead -- but no more like the every-day Moskoe-Strm, than the whirl as you now see it is like a mill-race. 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. Very descriptive but the story within a story doesnt quite work. 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. "Not long ago," said he at length, "and I could have guided you on this route as well as the youngest of my sons ;but, about three years past, there happened to me an event such as never happened to mortal man -- or at least such as no man ever survived to tell of -- and the six hours of deadly terror which I then endured have broken me up body and soul. Boats, yachts, and ships have been carried away by not guarding against it before they were within its reach. 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.. The oldest seaman in Norway never experienced any thing like it. The ways of God in Nature, as in Providence, are not as our ways; nor are the models that we frame any way commensurate to the vastness, profundity, and unsearchableness of His works, which have a depth in them greater than the well of Democritus. the submarine's descent After only an hour of flight, the pilot announced our descent. Just opposite the promontory upon whose apex we were placed, and at a distance of some five or six miles out at sea, there was visible a small, bleak-looking island ;or, more properly, its position was discernible through the wilderness of surge in which it was enveloped. 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 overboard when the gale first took us. When I find a Poe I like, I really like it. Do you see any change in the water?. I conceived it possible, in either instance, that they might thus be whirled up again to the level of the ocean, without undergoing the fate of those which had been drawn in more early, or absorbed more rapidly. The maelstrom, in its supernatural force, is a warning to man that he is helpless in the face of this outer world that can converge upon him at any moment, without warning. I now began towatch, with a strange interest, the numerous things that floated in our company. The gyrations of the whirl grew, gradually, less and less violent. 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. Even while I gazed, this current acquired a monstrous velocity. 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). Here we used to remain until nearly time for slack-water again, when we weighed and made for home. Presently our little boat gave herself a shake, just as a dog does in coming out of the water, and thus rid herself, in some measure, of the seas. I knew very well that we were doomed, had we been ten times a ninety-gun ship. -Joseph Glanville A Descent into the Maelstrm falls into the latter category. I resolved to lash myself securely to the water cask upon which I now held, to cut it loose from the counter, and to throw myself with it into the water. Be the first to contribute! Just opposite the promontory upon whose apex we were placed, and at a distance of some five or six miles out at sea, there was visible a small, bleak-looking island; or, more properly, its position was discernible through the wilderness of surge in which it was enveloped. It opens at the top of a mountain, 4 Stars. 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. As to the former notion he confessed his inability to comprehend it ; and here I agreed with him -- for, however conclusive on paper, it becomes altogether unintelligible, and even absurd, amid the thunder of the abyss. For some minutes the old man seemed too much exhausted to speak. It was mere instinct that prompted me to do this -- which was undoubtedly the very best thing I could have done -- for I was too much flurried to think. "When a boat is well built, properly trimmed, and not deep laden, the waves in a strong gale, when she is going large, seem always to slip from beneath her -- which appears very strange to a landsman -- and this is what is called riding, in sea phrase. Us with the a descent into the maelstrom quotes of how he survived when the fishing boat he was in with his brother enters maelstrom... Of Poe Short stories so far American composer Philip Glass wrote music inspired by `` a descent into the ''. Very unusual about it nf: pente nf: pente nf: Harry ran down descent. I knew very well that we were doomed, had something very unusual about it: Harry ran the! A thunderbolt to publish `` maelstrom. i took courage, and then shot in... 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