Classics to read
6 stories
The Picture of Dorian Gray (1890) by OscarWilde
OscarWilde
  • WpView
    Reads 1,230,598
  • WpVote
    Votes 16,423
  • WpPart
    Parts 21
"The Picture of Dorian Gray" tells of a young man named Dorian Gray, the subject of a painting by artist Basil Hallward. Basil is impressed by Dorian's beauty and becomes infatuated with him, believing his beauty is responsible for a new mode in his art. Dorian meets Lord Henry Wotton, a friend of Basil's, and becomes enthralled by Lord Henry's world view. Espousing a new hedonism, Lord Henry suggests the only things worth pursuing in life are beauty and fulfilment of the senses.
The Pit and the Pendulum (1842) by EdgarAllanPoe
EdgarAllanPoe
  • WpView
    Reads 8,079
  • WpVote
    Votes 214
  • WpPart
    Parts 1
"The Pit and the Pendulum" is a short story written by Edgar Allan Poe and first published in 1842 in the literary annual The Gift: A Christmas and New Year's Present for 1843. The story is about the torments endured by a prisoner of the Spanish Inquisition, though Poe skews historical facts. The narrator of the story describes his experience of being tortured. The story is especially effective at inspiring fear in the reader because of its heavy focus on the senses, such as sound, emphasizing its reality, unlike many of Poe's stories which are aided by the supernatural. The traditional elements established in popular horror tales at the time are followed, but critical reception has been mixed. Cover by the lovely @KatrinHollister
The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe. by The_Ssssilent_Bang
The_Ssssilent_Bang
  • WpView
    Reads 5,928
  • WpVote
    Votes 190
  • WpPart
    Parts 1
This is one of my favorite Poem. I am just putting it on here so that other's might read it and enjoy this Hauntingly Great Poem by Edgar Allan Poe. The poem show's the human need to self torture. In “The Raven,” Poe exploits several themes that are found throughout his creative works, including the tragic death of a beautiful woman at a young age, and the grief of the bereft young man whose affection for his lost love transcends the physical boundaries of death and life. The motif of the “devil-beast” as the harbinger of misery and sorrow, found here in the form of the raven, is another theme common to the creative works of Poe. I repeat this is not my work but a work of a genius by the name Edgar Allan Poe.
The Tell-Tale Heart (1843) by EdgarAllanPoe
EdgarAllanPoe
  • WpView
    Reads 21,708
  • WpVote
    Votes 1,102
  • WpPart
    Parts 1
"The Tell-Tale Heart" is a short story by American writer Edgar Allan Poe, first published in 1843. It is relayed by an unnamed narrator who endeavors to convince the reader of his sanity while simultaneously describing a murder he committed. The victim was an old man with a filmy "vulture-eye", as the narrator calls it. The narrator emphasizes the careful calculation of the murder, and he hides the body by dismembering it, and hiding it under the floorboards. Ultimately, the narrator's feelings of guilt, or a mental disturbance, result in him hearing a thumping sound, which he interprets as the dead man's beating heart. Cover by the lovely @FayLane.
The Raven (1845) by EdgarAllanPoe
EdgarAllanPoe
  • WpView
    Reads 21,107
  • WpVote
    Votes 908
  • WpPart
    Parts 1
"The Raven" tells of a talking raven's mysterious visit to a distraught lover, tracing the man's slow fall into madness. The lover, often identified as being a student, is lamenting the loss of his love, Lenore. Sitting on a bust of Pallas, the raven seems to further instigate his distress with its constant repetition of the word "Nevermore". Cover by @Lujayna
The Hound of the Baskervilles (1902) by ArthurConanDoyle
ArthurConanDoyle
  • WpView
    Reads 149,098
  • WpVote
    Votes 3,516
  • WpPart
    Parts 15