John Collins covers the
greatest adaptation of Poe's work yet...
I love Halloween, it’s the time of year I can indulge my interest in all things funny and macabre by watching The Simpsons' Treehouse of Horror Specials. Much like the series itself, they are a mixed bag. You never remember the episodes as a whole, but the brilliant parodies of famous books, movies and TV shows. There have been a lot over the years such as spoofs of The Shining and King Kong.
One of the most memorable is the parody of Edgar Allan Poe’s poem The Raven, as seen in the Treehouse debut from 1990. What makes it so special is that, while Homer playing the poems protagonist and Bart as the Raven highlights the parody, the writer’s chose to use Poe’s original text which demonstrates an acceptance that his incredible words are simply too powerful to be changed or erased. This even led to Poe having a writing credit in the opening titles. Therefore you could see this as an adaptation of the poem in the same vein as A Muppet’s Christmas Carol.
What makes this parody work? There are some voices that you could listen an entire story to and James Earl Jones is one of them. His narration of the story makes an intriguing listen and wouldn't seem out of place as a reading for an audiobook.
This parody also demonstrates Poe’s contemporary popularity. While his type of horror may seem somewhat dated, the history behind it and the sheer richness of Gothic elements make for an intriguing read. They are incredible stories that should be widely appreciated and what The Simpsons take on the story does is bring Poe’s creation to a younger audience who may be put off by the archaic nature and language.
While some critics and fans dislike The Raven parody as it is seen as simple adaptation, the physical comedy and just seeing Homer spout archaic language is enough to make this both worthy of any Simpsons Treehouse spoof and a tribute to a writer who defined the word terror for a generation.
I love Halloween, it’s the time of year I can indulge my interest in all things funny and macabre by watching The Simpsons' Treehouse of Horror Specials. Much like the series itself, they are a mixed bag. You never remember the episodes as a whole, but the brilliant parodies of famous books, movies and TV shows. There have been a lot over the years such as spoofs of The Shining and King Kong.
One of the most memorable is the parody of Edgar Allan Poe’s poem The Raven, as seen in the Treehouse debut from 1990. What makes it so special is that, while Homer playing the poems protagonist and Bart as the Raven highlights the parody, the writer’s chose to use Poe’s original text which demonstrates an acceptance that his incredible words are simply too powerful to be changed or erased. This even led to Poe having a writing credit in the opening titles. Therefore you could see this as an adaptation of the poem in the same vein as A Muppet’s Christmas Carol.
What makes this parody work? There are some voices that you could listen an entire story to and James Earl Jones is one of them. His narration of the story makes an intriguing listen and wouldn't seem out of place as a reading for an audiobook.
This parody also demonstrates Poe’s contemporary popularity. While his type of horror may seem somewhat dated, the history behind it and the sheer richness of Gothic elements make for an intriguing read. They are incredible stories that should be widely appreciated and what The Simpsons take on the story does is bring Poe’s creation to a younger audience who may be put off by the archaic nature and language.
While some critics and fans dislike The Raven parody as it is seen as simple adaptation, the physical comedy and just seeing Homer spout archaic language is enough to make this both worthy of any Simpsons Treehouse spoof and a tribute to a writer who defined the word terror for a generation.
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