Berenice

Compare and contrast Egæus’s obsession with the other mental pursuits mentioned in the story, such as daydreaming and religious meditation.

Discuss the role of dreams and trances in this story. Are there moments when it is uncertain whether something is real or imagined? How does this relate to the condition of the human mind before birth or after death?

Analyze the importance of the setting to the themes of the story. What is the household like? How do its physical properties impact the atmosphere, the plot, or the symbolic meaning of the story?

Later editions of this story remove the paragraphs in which Egæus visits Berenice’s body before it is buried. Why do you think readers objected to that scene? Do you think it should be included in the story? How does its omission affect the tone or impact of the text?

“Berenice” frequently uses literary allusions and quotes from other texts. Pick one of the texts mentioned or quoted in this story and explain how it relates to or deepens your understanding of the story’s overall theme.

Discuss the role of reason and intellect in this story. When does Egæus act with reason, and when does he act without it? Does irrationality have positive aspects?

Why do you think that teeth become Egæus’s obsessive fixation? Is there something about this body part that catches his attention? Do teeth serve Poe’s purposes better than another physical feature would have?

Poe is sometimes credited with having invented the detective genre in his story “The Murders in the Rue Morgue.” Does this story have anything in common with detective fiction? What is the role of forensic evidence and deduction in this work?