Contemplating COVID-19 through disease and death in three short stories by Edgar Allan Poe

Abstract

Wort-case scenarios depicted in literary works may function to mourn and warn people about the real situation, such as the spread of COVID-19 that has altered worldwide life drastically. This study offers a reflection on the current pandemic time through a close reading of selected American classic literary works. The imagination of fear, isolation, and mask-wearing in Edgar Allan Poe’s short stories is resonant with the new expressions of the COVID-19 pandemic. Three short stories by Poe, i.e., ‘The Masque of the Red Death’, ‘The Cask of Amontillado’, and ‘The Sphinx’ are chosen for examination using the thematic analysis method. Repeated reading of the short stories shows that parallels can be drawn between these stories and today’s phenomenon about anxiety, social restriction, and health protocols. What can be implied from the analysis are as follows: (1) Fear of the disease results in the characters’ added distress, (2) The characters’ aberrant behaviour as to overprotect themselves is exacerbated by the dreadful situation, and (3) Poe’s obsession with dread and death to shock the readers can be historically traced through his own inner predicaments, ill-health, and the 1832 Cholera contagion. In conclusion, the findings resonate with the COVID-19 epidemic’s upshots.

Intolerance of Uncertainty Mediates the Influence of Viral Anxiety on Social Distancing Phobia Among the General Korean Population During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic

“…On the other hand, one of the reasons for the phobic situation experienced by individuals is the “social distance rule” that should be followed to reduce the risk of transmission of COVID-19. It is observed that individuals’ reactions are similar to the previously mentioned phobic situations in the literature [ 7 ]. Further, it is a more appropriate conceptualization to express social distancing phobia due to this rule that individuals must comply with against the risk of virus transmission [ 8 , 9 ].…”

“…It is observed that individuals' reactions are similar to the previously mentioned phobic situations in the literature. 7 Further, it is a more appropriate conceptualization to express social distancing phobia due to this rule that individuals must comply with against the risk of virus transmission. 8,9 Phobias manifest as unusual fears of particular objects or situations.…”

Exploring Efl Learners’ Literary Competence Through Their Critical Stance in Reading Narrative

“…In her study, Prasasti (2020) argues that EFL learners are managed to read a literary work critically by applying their literary competence, particularly by placing the meaning of certain figurative language in wider sociocultural contexts. Critical reading can be applied in a reading class employing a literary text, as such a text may serve as a sphere for readers to do a selfreflection (Dewi, 2021).…”