The Curious Case Of Edgar Allan Poe & The Rapper Eminem

[ManOnTheMoon]

Really interesting article.

 

Surely, there’s nothing that potty-mouthed gangster rapper who’s never read a poem in his life has in common with Edgar Allan Poe. Just think about it for a few seconds. One of them writes long, disturbing tales with complex rhyme schemes which reveal the underlying madness, delusion and depravity in their narrators. They’re works of clear literary merit, which show an inventive use of language and expert control of narrative. The characters are so well-formed it’s like reading the graffiti scrawled on the inside of a lunatic’s mind as his life crumbles around him. They’re timeless pieces of writing from the horror genre which will still be appreciated hundreds of years from now.

 

And the other guy, Edgar Allan Poe? I think he’s the bloke who wrote an episode of The Simpsons. The scary one where Mr Burns sees an eagle in a tree or something. I don’t know. All I’m saying is, he’s no Slim Shady.

 

Or is the case really so clear cut? Is there actually an argument to say that the Detroit poet laureate Marshall Mathers III, also known as Eminem, is the reincarnation of 19th century author, poet and critic Edgar Allan Poe?

 

 

'Medicine Ball' vs 'The Raven'

 

Let’s play a game to get the ball rolling. I’m going to select a word or a place name, and I’d like you to ad-lib a little narrative using as much rhyme, assonance and consonance with that original word as you can, until it peters out or you can bring it to a fitting end. And it has to be in the Horror or Gothic genre. Feel free to add some extra rhythms or rhymes as you see fit, but it’s not essential. So I’m looking for a long, rhyming horror narrative. Does this sound easy enough? Alright, pencils at the ready. Let’s start with the word Mecca. Take as long as you please.

 

How did you do? If it lasted more than five lines, I’d be impressed. 10 lines and you’ve clearly got talent. But, see, I don’t know how to break this to you. The winner, by some margin, is a guy from Detroit who came up with 26 rhymes in 17 lines. In fact, he got so many, underlining them all makes the page look like a game of word Tetris:

 

 

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