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The story opens with the unnamed narrator recounting a summer sea voyage from Charleston, South Carolina to New York City aboard the ship Independence. The narrator learns that his old college friend Cornelius Wyatt is aboard with his wife and two sisters, though he has reserved three state-rooms. After conjecturing the extra room was for a servant or extra baggage, he learns his friend has brought on board an oblong pine box: "It was about six feet in length by two and a half in breadth." The narrator notes its peculiar shape and especially an odd odor coming from it. Even so, he presumes his friend has acquired an especially valuable copy of The Last Supper.
The box, the narrator is surprised to learn, shares the state-room with Wyatt and his wife, while the second room is shared by the two sisters. However, for several nights, the narrator witnesses his friend's surprisingly unattractive wife leaving the state-room every night around 11 o'clock and going into the third state-room before returning first thing in the morning. While she is gone, the narrator believes he hears his friend opening the box and sobbing, which he attributes to "artistic enthusiasm."
As the Independence passes Cape Hatteras it is caught in a terrible hurricane. Escape from the damaged ship was made via lifeboat, but Wyatt refuses to part with the box and issues an emotional plea but was denied by Captain Hardy. Wyatt decides he cannot part with the box and returns to the ship, ties himself to it with a rope. "In another instant both body and box were in the sea--disappearing suddenly, at once and forever."
About a month after the incident, the narrator happens to meet the captain. Hardy explains that the box had, in fact, held the corpse of Wyatt's recently deceased young wife. He had intended to return the body to her mother but bringing a corpse on board would have caused panic among the passengers. Captain Hardy had arranged, then, to register the box merely as baggage. As passage was already registered with Wyatt and his wife, so as not to arouse suspicion, a maid posed as the wife.
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∙ 13y ago
Edgar Allan Poe uses similes in "The Oval Portrait" to create vivid imagery and enhance the reader's understanding of the setting and characters. Similes such as "as the hues of some ornamented but dark sunset... faded away" help to paint a visual picture and convey the eerie atmosphere of the story. Through these comparisons, Poe adds depth to his descriptions and engages the reader's imagination.
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∙ 10y agoThere is a conflict between the Portrait and the Bride
Wiki User
∙ 9y agoBy having the painter call out "This is life itself" as a metaphore when the portrait did actually have life in it since it sucked the life out of the painter's wife.
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∙ 14y agothe consequences of unrequited love
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∙ 10y agothe setting of oval portrait
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In Edgar Allan Poe's 'The Oval Portrait' when the narrator moves the candelabrum what painting does he see?
When the narrator moves the candelabrum in Edgar Allan Poe's 'The Oval Portrait', he sees a portrait of a young woman that appears to have been recently painted. The sight of the painting, juxtaposed with the dying woman in the bed, captures the theme of art vs. life and the consequences of sacrificing reality for art.
What were the four stories Edgar Allan Poe published in 1842?
The Oval Portrait The Masque of the Red Death The Landscape Garden The Mystery of Marie Roget
Who is the antagonist in the oval portrait?
The antagonist in "The Oval Portrait" by Edgar Allan Poe is considered to be the artist himself. His obsession with capturing his wife's beauty in his painting leads to her untimely death, revealing his disregard for her well-being in pursuit of his artistic vision.
Why does the narrator valet break into the chateau in the oval portrait?
The narrator's valet breaks into the chateau in "The Oval Portrait" by Edgar Allan Poe in search of shelter from a storm. The valet's curiosity leads him to the oval portrait, and upon viewing it, he becomes captivated by its lifelike appearance, which ultimately has tragic consequences.
List stories of Edgar Allan Poe?
The Tell-Tale Heart The Spectacles The Oval Portrait The Man Of The Crowd The Island of the Fay The Gold Bug The Black Cat The Angel of the Odd
How is the conflict resolved in the oval portrait?
In "The Oval Portrait" by Edgar Allan Poe, the conflict is resolved through the death of the young wife who posed for the portrait. The painter's obsession with capturing her beauty on canvas ultimately leads to her demise, as he paints with such intensity that he fails to notice her deteriorating health until it's too late. The conflict is resolved with a haunting realization of the consequences of his artistry.
When was The Oval Portrait created?
The Oval Portrait was created in 1842-04.
In Edgar Allan Poe's the oval portrait why was the painting disturbing?
The painting is disturbing because it captures the dying beauty of the young wife in a way that suggests the death-like quality of the portrait has overtaken her true essence. The fusion of life and art in the portrait blurs the line between reality and illusion, creating an unsettling and eerie effect.
What are the release dates for The Oval Portrait - 2011?
The Oval Portrait - 2011 was released on: USA: 22 August 2011
What did Edgar Allan Poe look like?
'The Oval Portrait' is a short story written by Edgar Allan Poe. It tells the story of a man that discovers a portrait of a young woman inside an abandoned house, it marvels him at the level of realism it has. He feels the need to investigate in a book about the story of the painting, it results that it's the work of an artist who painted his bride, and that became so obsessed with portraying her as realistically as possible, that once the portrait is finished, the model dies.
What actors and actresses appeared in The Oval Portrait - 2011?
The cast of The Oval Portrait - 2011 includes: Nicole Kinsley as Nancy Early Zurab Match as Artist
Did Edgar Allan Poe have vampires in his stories?
Not in the traditional sense of the term, but a few of his stories did feature vampiric overtones. These include "Berenice" (1835), "Ligeia" (1838), "The Fall of the House of Usher" (1839) and "The Oval Portrait" (1842).A few of these are collected in the anthology, Dead Brides: Vampire Tales (1999).Manly Wade Wellman featured Poe as a character in his short vampire story, "When It Was Moonlight" (1940).
