Listen to Classic Stories & Poetry
Persuasion by Jane Austen Intro

Persuasion by Jane Austen Intro

Years separated Anne and Captain Wentworth, but their love may have a second chance, if bitterness and reticence do not part them forever. Listen to the unabridged audio book.

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Lancelot by Chrétien de Troyes Intro

Lancelot by Chrétien de Troyes Intro

Lancelot sacrifices his honor and suffers an arduous journey to rescue the abducted Queen Guinevere–the lady he loves more than his own life. Listen to the unabridged audio book.

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Turn of the Screw by Henry James Intro

Turn of the Screw by Henry James Intro

An inexperienced governess detects supernatural forces preying upon the two children in her care, but are the ghosts real, or imagined? Listen to the unabridged audio book.

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The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte P. Gilman

The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte P. Gilman

A short story about a woman driven across the line separating reality from fantasy.

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To Mary, On Receiving Her Picture by Byron

To Mary, On Receiving Her Picture by Byron

"This faint resemblance of thy charms, (Though strong as mortal art could give,) My constant heart of fear disarms, Revives my hopes, and bids me live."

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Sonnet 116 by William Shakespeare

Sonnet 116 by William Shakespeare

"Let me not to the marriage of true minds Admit impediments. Love is not love Which alters when it alteration finds, Or bends with the remover to remove..."

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Sonnet 18 by William Shakespeare

Sonnet 18 by William Shakespeare

"Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate: Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, And summer's lease hath all too short a date..."

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Jabberwocky by Lewis Carroll

Jabberwocky by Lewis Carroll

"'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves Did gyre and gimble in the wabe; All mimsy were the borogoves, And the mome raths outgrabe."

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The Fulness of Life by Edith Wharton

The Fulness of Life by Edith Wharton

When a woman dies, the Spirit of Life rewards her with the opportunity to spend all of eternity with her true soul mate. Trouble is, she still feels an allegiance to her awkward husband alive on earth who believed her to be his soul mate. Which man will she choose?

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Poems by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Poems by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

"In the world’s broad field of battle, In the bivouac of Life, Be not like dumb, driven cattle! Be a hero in the strife!"

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The Poetry of Emily Dickinson

The Poetry of Emily Dickinson

"As all the heavens were a bell, And Being but an ear, And I and silence some strange race, Wrecked, solitary, here."

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The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe

The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe

The old man is kind, but he has a vulture eye and his heart beats like a watch enveloped in cotton. It is too much for the narrator to bear, whose senses are acute. No, the old man must die. Yet, will death stop the beating heart, or will it never cease?

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The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe

The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe

Set in Italy during the carnival season, The Cask of Amontillado delves into the mind of a diabolical man bent on revenge. Montressor lures the buffoon Fortunato to his demise with an appeal to his vanity.

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Lord Arthur Savile's Crime by Oscar Wilde

Lord Arthur Savile's Crime by Oscar Wilde

A palmist predicts that Lord Arthur Savile will commit murder in the future, so Lord Arthur lends destiny a hand.

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The Lady of Shalott by Alfred, Lord Tennyson

The Lady of Shalott by Alfred, Lord Tennyson

"There she weaves by night and day A magic web with colours gay. A curse is on her if she stay To look down to Camelot."

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Six Sonnets by Various Authors

Six Sonnets by Various Authors

Sonnets by Sir Thomas Wyatt, Henry Howard, Edmund Spenser, William Shakespeare, John Donne, and Percy Bysshe Shelley.

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To Hope by John Keats

To Hope by John Keats

When by my solitary hearth I sit, And hateful thoughts enwrap my soul in gloom; When no fair dreams before my "mind's eye" flit, And the bare heath of life presents no bloom; Sweet Hope, ethereal balm upon me shed, And wave thy silver pinions o'er my head.

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The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe

Summary:

Set in Italy during the carnival season, The Cask of Amontillado delves into the mind of a diabolical man bent on revenge.  Montressor narrates the horrifying tale, which alerts the reader to impending doom for the buffoon Fortunato, who has reportedly inflicted a thousand injuries upon Montressor.  Yet, the unwitting Fortunato is easily lured to his demise with an appeal to his vanity.  He is asked to authenticate the Amontillado, which Montressor has stored in the catacombs of his palazzo.  With each step, the tale’s suspense grows, until at last, the shocking retribution has been exacted.

Duration: 00:24:04 (about 24 minutes)
File Size: 22 MB
Download: The Cask of Amontillado – MP3

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Recording Copyright © 2006 Nikolle Doolin

Title: The Cask of Amontillado
Author: Edgar Allan Poe
Published: November, 1846
Genre: Horror

Glossary:

  • Amontillado: a dry sherry
  • Catacombs: an underground series of tunnels where dead bodies are laid out in recesses
  • Cavern: underground chamber
  • Conical Cap and Bells: refers to a jester’s outfit
  • Conical: shaped like a cone
  • Connoisseurship: expertise
  • Flambeaux: a lit torch
  • Immolation: destruction
  • Impunity: freedom from harm
  • In pace requiescat: rest in peace
  • Medoc: a red wine
  • Nemo me impune lacessit: no one attacks me with impunity
  • Nitre: potassium nitrate; a mineral used in the production of explosives
  • Palazzo: palace
  • Pipe: a cask of wine, or a container used to hold liquid
  • Roquelaire: a knee-length cloak
  • Unredressed: not corrected
  • Virtuoso: one who is highly skilled
Posted in *Short Stories, Poe, Edgar Allan at October 8th, 2009. Comments Off.

Edgar Allan Poe Bio

Poe

Edgar Allan Poe

Edgar Allan Poe was born on January 19, 1809, in Boston, Massachusetts.  His parents were both actors who left him orphaned.  Edgar went to live with the family of John Allan—a tobacco merchant from Virginia–but eventually broke with his step father, who gave him little or no money.

In his late 20s, Poe married his young cousin Virginia, who died two years into the marriage.  Her death drove Poe to drink heavily.  Unfortunately, alcohol abuse plagued his entire adult life.

Trying to earn his way, Poe worked as an editor and struggled as a writer.  Yet he persevered and produced numerous poems, short stories, and literary criticisms.  His works delved into the dark side of humanity through mainly horror and detective fiction and have often been called macabre.  Some of his most popular works include the Murders in the Rue Morgue, The Raven, and The Tell-Tale Heart.

In an eerie coincidence to his work, Poe’s last days on earth and his death remain a mystery, though alcohol may have been a factor.  Poe died in Baltimore, Maryland, on October 7, 1849.  He was 40 years old.

Works by Edgar Allan Poe Available on the Podcast:

Posted in *Biography, Poe, Edgar Allan at October 8th, 2009. Comments Off.

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