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The Conqueror Worm
A meditation on death and mortality, “The Conqueror Worm” describes a cryptic and ghoulish play that represents the inevitability of death.
Despite the fact that his first published works were books of poetry, during his lifetime Edgar Allan Poe was recognized more for his literary criticism and prose than his poetry. However, Poe’s poetic works have since become as well-known as his famous stories, and reflect similar themes of mystery and the macabre.
HarperPerennial Classics brings great works of literature to life in digital format, upholding the highest standards in ebook production and celebrating reading in all its forms. Look for more titles in the HarperPerennial Classics collection to build your digital library.
Despite the fact that his first published works were books of poetry, during his lifetime Edgar Allan Poe was recognized more for his literary criticism and prose than his poetry. However, Poe’s poetic works have since become as well-known as his famous stories, and reflect similar themes of mystery and the macabre.
HarperPerennial Classics brings great works of literature to life in digital format, upholding the highest standards in ebook production and celebrating reading in all its forms. Look for more titles in the HarperPerennial Classics collection to build your digital library.
25 pages, ebook
First published January 1, 1843
About the author
Edgar Allan Poe
10.6k books29.6k followersThe name Poe brings to mind images of murderers and madmen, premature burials, and mysterious women who return from the dead. His works have been in print since 1827 and include such literary classics as The Tell-Tale Heart, The Raven, and The Fall of the House of Usher. This versatile writer’s oeuvre includes short stories, poetry, a novel, a textbook, a book of scientific theory, and hundreds of essays and book reviews. He is widely acknowledged as the inventor of the modern detective story and an innovator in the science fiction genre, but he made his living as America’s first great literary critic and theoretician. Poe’s reputation today rests primarily on his tales of terror as well as on his haunting lyric poetry.
Just as the bizarre characters in Poe’s stories have captured the public imagination so too has Poe himself. He is seen as a morbid, mysterious figure lurking in the shadows of moonlit cemeteries or crumbling castles. This is the Poe of legend. But much of what we know about Poe is wrong, the product of a biography written by one of his enemies in an attempt to defame the author’s name.
The real Poe was born to traveling actors in Boston on January 19, 1809. Edgar was the second of three children. His other brother William Henry Leonard Poe would also become a poet before his early death, and Poe’s sister Rosalie Poe would grow up to teach penmanship at a Richmond girls’ school. Within three years of Poe’s birth both of his parents had died, and he was taken in by the wealthy tobacco merchant John Allan and his wife Frances Valentine Allan in Richmond, Virginia while Poe’s siblings went to live with other families. Mr. Allan would rear Poe to be a businessman and a Virginia gentleman, but Poe had dreams of being a writer in emulation of his childhood hero the British poet Lord Byron. Early poetic verses found written in a young Poe’s handwriting on the backs of Allan’s ledger sheets reveal how little interest Poe had in the tobacco business.
For more information, please see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edgar_al...
Just as the bizarre characters in Poe’s stories have captured the public imagination so too has Poe himself. He is seen as a morbid, mysterious figure lurking in the shadows of moonlit cemeteries or crumbling castles. This is the Poe of legend. But much of what we know about Poe is wrong, the product of a biography written by one of his enemies in an attempt to defame the author’s name.
The real Poe was born to traveling actors in Boston on January 19, 1809. Edgar was the second of three children. His other brother William Henry Leonard Poe would also become a poet before his early death, and Poe’s sister Rosalie Poe would grow up to teach penmanship at a Richmond girls’ school. Within three years of Poe’s birth both of his parents had died, and he was taken in by the wealthy tobacco merchant John Allan and his wife Frances Valentine Allan in Richmond, Virginia while Poe’s siblings went to live with other families. Mr. Allan would rear Poe to be a businessman and a Virginia gentleman, but Poe had dreams of being a writer in emulation of his childhood hero the British poet Lord Byron. Early poetic verses found written in a young Poe’s handwriting on the backs of Allan’s ledger sheets reveal how little interest Poe had in the tobacco business.
For more information, please see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edgar_al...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews
March 22, 2023
"It writhes!—it writhes!—with mortal pangs
The mimes become its food,
And the angels sob at vermin fangs
In human gore imbued."
genuinely can't even begin to explain this one, but i loved it nonetheless. i had to pull up the wikipedia for it to figure out what it was really about. this poem is so gothic and dark, it's said to imply that "human life is mad folly ending in hideous death, the universe is controlled by dark forces man cannot understand [...]" (stolen from wikipedia, which explained it far greater than i ever could).
The mimes become its food,
And the angels sob at vermin fangs
In human gore imbued."
genuinely can't even begin to explain this one, but i loved it nonetheless. i had to pull up the wikipedia for it to figure out what it was really about. this poem is so gothic and dark, it's said to imply that "human life is mad folly ending in hideous death, the universe is controlled by dark forces man cannot understand [...]" (stolen from wikipedia, which explained it far greater than i ever could).
September 22, 2020
A gory, morbid and gruesome poem, but it was also delightful in a Halloween-y way!
May 24, 2017
The tragedy is man, and the hero is the Conquerer Worm. The greatest tragedy of man is that death will always be inevitable.
Read
September 23, 2017"The Conqueror Worm" is a poem by Edgar Allan Poe about human mortality and the inevitability of death as the poem implies that human life is mad folly ending in hideous death, the universe is controlled by forces man cannot understand, and the only supernatural forces that might help are powerless spectators who can only affirm the tragedy of the scene. [1]
The Conqueror Worm. Written by Edgar Allan Poe. Read by Henry Halloway.
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iB5br...
"Lo! 't is 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.
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 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,
While the angels, all pallid and wan,
Uprising, unveiling, affirm
That the play is the tragedy, 'Man,'
And its hero, the Conqueror Worm."
Reference
1.Quinn, Arthur Hobson. Edgar Allan Poe: A Critical Biography. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1998: 391. ISBN 0-8018-5730-9
The Conqueror Worm. Written by Edgar Allan Poe. Read by Henry Halloway.
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iB5br...
"Lo! 't is 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.
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 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,
While the angels, all pallid and wan,
Uprising, unveiling, affirm
That the play is the tragedy, 'Man,'
And its hero, the Conqueror Worm."
Reference
1.Quinn, Arthur Hobson. Edgar Allan Poe: A Critical Biography. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1998: 391. ISBN 0-8018-5730-9
November 7, 2020
I’ll be honest and admit I went into this one somewhat dubious. The Conqueror Worm was a title that left me unsure what I was going to get, and it did not scream out to me. Much to my surprise, I adored this one. It came together well and gave more than expected. It’s not a poem that will work for everyone, but I enjoyed this one a lot more than the title had me expecting. It’s certainly one of Poe’s poems that felt like a hidden gem.
April 4, 2020
the writing was great but I just hated the message. and i was forced to read it and do a worksheet about it so i hated it even more.
May 31, 2017
Men die and become worm food. There, I've summed up this waste of your time poem in six words and saved you the trouble I just endured.
May 25, 2020
Show me a better poem.
December 6, 2019
Mortality of man, the final winner? the (unmentioned until the last word) worm!
"The Conqueror Worm"
By Edgar Allan Poe
Lo! 't is 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 Woe!
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.
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 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 the angels all pallid and wan
Uprising unveiling affirm
That the play is the tragedy "Man"
And its hero the Conqueror Worm.
"The Conqueror Worm"
By Edgar Allan Poe
Lo! 't is 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 Woe!
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.
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 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 the angels all pallid and wan
Uprising unveiling affirm
That the play is the tragedy "Man"
And its hero the Conqueror Worm.
January 13, 2018
While I appreciate a good man-eating worm--any of the millions in the nonfiction world and the dozens in fiction--the majority of the poem wasn't about the worm. I think the earlier part of the poem was a funeral or something parallel. The language in that part is more Gothic, exclamation point!, words not used in English anymore, and so I didn't get into the rhythm. I like the ending though. Overall though I prefer other Poe poems.
March 30, 2026
the poem is part if the story ' Ligeia ' written by poe
which is wow 😮 😮 😮
there is a whole paragraph in which he was describing her eyelashes ☺️
another one for her nose
one for her mouth, another for her intellectual
and one for her eyes
"I cannot speak of this process in its earthly sense. Her eyes were, I must believe, far larger than the ordinary eyes of our own race. They were even fuller than the fullest of the gazelle eyes of the tribes of the valley of Nourjahad. Yet it was only at intervals—in moments of intense excitement—that this peculiarity became more than slightly noticeable in Ligeia."
and after all of that he is saying that he has failed to describe her 🫠
Poe 's love and obsession with his wife was really indescribable. I just love that 🥰
which is wow 😮 😮 😮
there is a whole paragraph in which he was describing her eyelashes ☺️
another one for her nose
one for her mouth, another for her intellectual
and one for her eyes
"I cannot speak of this process in its earthly sense. Her eyes were, I must believe, far larger than the ordinary eyes of our own race. They were even fuller than the fullest of the gazelle eyes of the tribes of the valley of Nourjahad. Yet it was only at intervals—in moments of intense excitement—that this peculiarity became more than slightly noticeable in Ligeia."
and after all of that he is saying that he has failed to describe her 🫠
Poe 's love and obsession with his wife was really indescribable. I just love that 🥰
May 12, 2024
FULL REVIEW ON MY WEBSITE
http://thebookcornerchronicles.com/20...
This poem is sort of a morbid, gory together with gruesome poem. And it sort of also have the Halloween vibe to it which I personally love.
The hero of this story is Conqueror Worm. And he shows that the greatest tragedy of man is that death will always be inevitable.
This poem as a whole isn’t that great, its not even okay. Its bad but worth reading if you are a big Edgar Allan Poe fan like me.
The writing was great for the most part but I just didn’t get the message with this one. And all it did was to confuse me for the start to the end.
http://thebookcornerchronicles.com/20...
This poem is sort of a morbid, gory together with gruesome poem. And it sort of also have the Halloween vibe to it which I personally love.
The hero of this story is Conqueror Worm. And he shows that the greatest tragedy of man is that death will always be inevitable.
This poem as a whole isn’t that great, its not even okay. Its bad but worth reading if you are a big Edgar Allan Poe fan like me.
The writing was great for the most part but I just didn’t get the message with this one. And all it did was to confuse me for the start to the end.
April 8, 2023
Very interesting depiction of death by using a worm, as they scavenge remains that provide nutrients to the earth. A pretty grim read that illustrates how life, to Poe, is meaningless and that we as man define ourselves through delusions of grandeur. I enjoy the allegory of “Man” being a play, and have life be a stage for the world to see. My favorite line has to be “While the orchestra breathes fitfully, the music of the spheres” (music is universal!)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 15, 2023
This is my favorite Poe-em. The terror! The despairing impotence of the mimes and spectators alike... and hauntingly beautiful writing. This poem is best read in the greatest Poe short story: Ligeia, because I could understand why someone would find The Conqueror Worm's themes shallow--- but in the context of Ligeia, the poem retains its beauty and attains newfound meaning.
October 31, 2022
I feel like whatever production was put on went horribly wrong. But that could also be a view on life from Poe.
So I don’t know what he was truly writing about but it is a great little poem. Doesn’t overstay it’s welcome.
So I don’t know what he was truly writing about but it is a great little poem. Doesn’t overstay it’s welcome.
January 7, 2024
I did not understand this one as much as The Raven or Annabel Lee, but I definitely enjoyed the flow of the stanzas and I will work on appreciating the meaning of this poem more and more as time goes by.
April 27, 2018
And the angels, all pallid and wan,
Uprising, unveiling, affirm
That the play is the tragedy, “Man,”
And its hero the Conqueror Worm.
Read
November 17, 2019A Nice poem,best read in context of Ligea.
November 9, 2020
Quite abstract but also a lot to think about.
January 10, 2021
Poe is back to thinking about death in this one with a clear reference to death in. the title.
Somewhat mournful but not as much as you would expect.
Nice imagery, but not one of my favourites.
Somewhat mournful but not as much as you would expect.
Nice imagery, but not one of my favourites.
July 8, 2021
4.5 out of 5
Read
April 19, 2022watch the livestream discussion
https://youtu.be/xMJhL8Sin8Q
https://youtu.be/xMJhL8Sin8Q
May 21, 2023
Worms are kinda op
October 12, 2024
The last two lines are so chilling.
April 4, 2025
i want a short film of this asap
July 31, 2025
So many emotions and thoughts in such a short poem. Worth come back to read it again.
September 28, 2025
Rather confusing one, however, if understood, a very interesting poem about inevitable death.
October 3, 2026
Philosophical, atmospheric, shocking, terrifying, beautiful, prosaic...
COULD this be the BEST work of literature EVER!?
COULD this be the BEST work of literature EVER!?
Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews