Shadowy Things and Dying Forms: Investigating an Original Manuscript of Poe’s “The Conqueror Worm”

Abstract

In the summer of 2013, what purported to be a manuscript of “The Conqueror Worm,” written entirely in Poe’s hand, unexpectedly appeared at auction. Its history was essentially unknown, but there were tantalizing clues that prevented it from being dismissed outright as a forgery. Could it be genuine? An initial examination was inconclusive. Subsequent evaluation of the manuscript, however, not only reveals much about the document itself, and Poe’s iconic poem, but also allows an enlightening opportunity to peer into the misty realm of authenticating rare artifacts.

The broad range of mood in Poe’s poetry is perhaps best exemplified at the extreme poles by “Israfel” (with its defiant optimism in the face of life’s limitations) and “The Conqueror Worm” (in which life is bleakly portrayed as a tragic play, finding its consummation only in inevitable death). Poe himself thought particularly highly of the latter poem, stating in 1844 “I think my best poems ‘The Sleeper,’ ‘The Conqueror Worm,’ ‘The Haunted Palace,’ ‘Lenore,’ ‘Dreamland,’ and the ‘Coliseum,’” but modestly offering the qualifying judgment that “all have been hurried and unconsidered.”¹ Most commentators have felt somewhat unsettled by the dark vision of “The Conqueror Worm” while simultaneously recognizing the artistry evident in its creation. Few scholars working extensively on Poe have been able entirely to ignore the poem, even if a number have simply used it as a metaphor for the tragic darkness that seemed to hover nearby throughout Poe’s life.²

It is, therefore, with a mixture of surprise and delight that not just a manuscript but Poe’s original draft for “The Conqueror Worm” has recently resurfaced, having been hidden from the eyes of scholarship for nearly a century. Because it had never been reproduced publicly, nor completely described, and its whereabouts were not clearly documented, some questions were raised and very reasonable doubts surrounded the reappearance of the manuscript in 2013. Concerns were heightened by the fact that this discovery surfaced in the context of an auction, and the final hammer price was an impressive $300,000.³

The owner who put the manuscript up for sale knew only that it had been in his family for longer than anyone could remember, at least as far back as the early 1920s, and that the family itself had deep roots in and around Bangor, Maine, where the manuscript had resided until the death of his parents some years previously. There was an unverifiable oral tradition that the manuscript had been shown at the local historical society and possibly taken to school for show-and-tell more than once over the years. (In possible confirmation of the later recollection, small holes indicate that it was held up by thumbtacks at some point, and other traces of discoloration suggest that it had been taped at the corners, perhaps as a careless effort for display.) No one was aware of any further provenance, and there was no clear record of contact with scholars concerning the manuscript. It had simply been sitting buried in a stack of other papers in an old trunk, with the owners having a vague recollection of its existence but no particular understanding of its significance or the extent of its literary and financial value. At the auction, it was offered with an extremely modest estimate for an original Poe manuscript in the current market, with the intention of reflecting the lack of certain authentication. As part of the purchase agreement, the buyer was granted a short period of time to have the manuscript studied by experts. I was honored to be one of the participants in this evaluation, and ultimately I was the only one at that time who was willing to argue in favor for the probable authenticity of the document, and to seek out further details that might address the question of its history.⁴

Understandably, the initial examination was deeply clouded by the lack of a provenance and the inherently suspicious nature of the sudden public appearance of a...