"King Pest" by Edgar Allan Poe

Paper Summary:

This paper reviews one of Edgar Allan Poe's least popular short stories, "King Pest". This paper also takes a look at the life and history of Poe, and the various factors that influenced his opinions and outlook as expressed in "King Pest".

From the Paper:

"The title character directly proclaims himself a "monarch" who rules over an "undivided empire under the title of 'King Pest the First.'" Here it would seem that Poe is clearly taking stabs at the British Monarchy, even more so because the story is set in England, not in the author's native country the United States. The phrase "undivided empire" is a sarcastic jab at the United Kingdom, especially as it had recently lost the War of American Independence at the time Poe was writing.
King Pest speaks glowingly about the undertaker's apartment as the "Dais-Chamber of our Palace," and to his cohorts as "the councils of our kingdom." His "Serene Consort" is called Queen Pest, and the other members of the grotesque council are humorously named "His Grace the Arch Duke Pest-Iferous," "His Grace the Duke Pest-Ilential," "His Grace the Duke Tem-Pest," "Her Serene Highness the Arch Duchess Ana-Pest." Finally, King Pest refers to the council's "sacred and lofty purposes." Juxtaposing monarchic titles and regalia with gory imagery of rotting corpses and paralyzed mummies half alive in coffins, Poe is unquestionably snickering at the British monarchy. The supposedly "sacred and lofty purpose" of drinking every sip of wine, ale, and spirit in the undertaker's apartment proves to be a powerful critique of arrogant British political maneuvers during colonization and the nation's egomaniacal self-aggrandizement."

More papers on "King Pest" by Edgar Allan Poe:

• Analytical Essay # 120371 : "Edgar Allan Poe and Alcoholism"
• Book Review # 104786 : "The Oblong Box" by Edgar Allan Poe"
• Poem Review # 66691 : "The Raven": A Sculpture by Edgar Allan Poe"

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