Ligeia | Techniques
Poe's descriptive language presents both a source of wonder and a stumbling block for readers. He employs baroque sentences, piled on phrases, prodigious vocabulary, obscure allusions. The challenge for readers is to determine what these descriptions convey beyond the impressive-sounding words. His lengthy celebration of her appearance places Ligeia in the context of antique beauty; by referring to myths and art works of the Greeks and Moslems, Poe seeks to link Ligeia to age-old definitions of perfection and thus to take her out of time. She becomes an enduring emblem both of feminine...
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