Text: Edgar Allan Poe, “The Conqueror Worm” (comparative text)


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Texts Represented:


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[page 27:]

Title: THE CONQUEROR WORM.

Rule: ~~~~~~~~~~~~

Line-01-001 LO! 'tis a gala night

Line-01-002 [[indent]] Within the lonesome latter years!

Line-01-003 An angel throng, bewinged, bedight

Line-01-004 [[indent]] In veils, and drowned in tears,

Line-01-005 Sit in a theatre, to see

Line-01-006 [[indent]] A play of hopes and fears,

Line-01-007 While the orchestra breathes fitfully

Line-01-008 [[indent]] The music of the spheres.

Line-01-009 Mimes, in the form of God on high,

Line-01-010 [[indent]] Mutter and mumble low,

Line-01-011 And hither and thither fly —

Line-01-012 [[indent]] Mere puppets they, who come and go

Line-01-013 At bidding of vast formless things

Line-01-014 [[indent]] That shift the scenery to and fro,

Line-01-015 Flapping from out their Condor wings

Line-01-016 [[indent]] Invisible Wo!

Line-01-017 That motley drama — oh, be sure

Line-01-018 [[indent]] It shall not be forgot!

Line-01-019 With its Phantom chased for evermore,

Line-01-020 [[indent]] By a crowd that seize it not,

Line-01-021 Through a circle that ever returneth in

Line-01-022 [[indent]] To the self-same spot,

Line-01-023 And much of Madness, and more of Sin,

Line-01-024 [[indent]] And Horror the soul of the plot. [page 28:]

Line-01-025 But see, amid the mimic rout

Line-01-026 [[indent]] A crawling shape intrude!

Line-01-027 A blood-red thing that writhes from out

Line-01-028 [[indent]] The scenic solitude!

Line-01-029 It writhes! — it writhes! — with mortal pangs

Line-01-030 [[indent]] The mimes become its food,

Line-01-031 And {{1845-01: the angels //1849-02: seraphs }} sob at vermin fangs

Line-01-032 [[indent]] In human gore imbued.

Line-01-033 Out — out are the lights — out all!

Line-01-034 [[indent]] And, over each quivering form,

Line-01-035 The curtain, a funeral pall,

Line-01-036 [[indent]] Comes down with the rush of a storm,

Line-01-037 {{1845-01: And //1849-02: While }} the angels, all pallid and wan,

Line-01-038 [[indent]] Uprising, unveiling, affirm

Line-01-039 That the play is the tragedy, “Man,”

Line-01-040 [[indent]] And its hero the Conqueror Worm.

 


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[[Alternate presenation giving the text as originally printed, with indications for Poe's changes]]

[page 27:]

THE CONQUEROR WORM.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

LO! 'tis a gala night

Within the lonesome latter years!

An angel throng, bewinged, bedight

In veils, and drowned in tears,

Sit in a theatre, to see

A play of hopes and fears,

While the orchestra breathes fitfully

The music of the spheres.

Mimes, in the form of God on high,

Mutter and mumble low,

And hither and thither fly —

Mere puppets they, who come and go

At bidding of vast formless things

That shift the scenery to and fro,

Flapping from out their Condor wings

Invisible Wo!

That motley drama — oh, be sure

It shall not be forgot!

With its Phantom chased for evermore,

By a crowd that seize it not,

Through a circle that ever returneth in

To the self-same spot,

And much of Madness, and more of Sin,

And Horror the soul of the plot. [page 28:]

But see, amid the mimic rout

A crawling shape intrude!

A blood-red thing that writhes from out

The scenic solitude!

It writhes! — it writhes! — with mortal pangs

The mimes become its food,

And >>the angels<< <seraphs> sob at vermin fangs

In human gore imbued.

Out — out are the lights — out all!

And, over each quivering form,

The curtain, a funeral pall,

Comes down with the rush of a storm,

>>And<< <While> the angels, all pallid and wan,

Uprising, unveiling, affirm

That the play is the tragedy, “Man,”

And its hero the Conqueror Worm.

 


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Notes:

For an explanation of the formatting used in this comparative text, see editorial policies and methods. This format is very much an experiment, particularly for poetry. For the version with changes applied, see the full poem.

 

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[S:0 - comparative] - Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore - Works - Poems - The Conqueror Worm (comparative - RAOP-JLG)