Subject
Fwd: Ada's "Black Belfry group"
From
Date
Body
Hello list,
I've been picking away at Ada's part 1, chapter 30, the "Mascodagama"
chapter, and note this on page 183:
"The work of a poet, and only a poet, ("especially of the Black Belfry
group," as some wit said) could have adequately described a certain macabre
quiver that marked Van's extraordinary act."
Who is this Black Belfry group? At first I thought the phrase recalls the
"Black Mountain group," but that didn't lead me anywhere interesting. The
phrase also points to "bats in the belfry," which makes a bit more sense, given
the chapter's references to Demon: "wings, enormous and black," "the swoosh of
nameless wings" (183). But the real gem is one step further. The "Black Belfry
group" may point to Edgar Allen Poe's short story "The Devil in the Belfry,"
which is about a strange Dutch (Veen connection) hamlet which is invaded by a
mischevious Devil who inhabits the clock tower, disrupting the villagers sense
of time, just as Van does on stage as Mascodagama.
So my question is, am I coming late to this party or have I made a
discovery?
Ted Frushour
----- End forwarded message -----
EDNOTE. The Poe association might be new--if well founded. You might find VN
1923 story "Wingstroke" worth looking at.
I've been picking away at Ada's part 1, chapter 30, the "Mascodagama"
chapter, and note this on page 183:
"The work of a poet, and only a poet, ("especially of the Black Belfry
group," as some wit said) could have adequately described a certain macabre
quiver that marked Van's extraordinary act."
Who is this Black Belfry group? At first I thought the phrase recalls the
"Black Mountain group," but that didn't lead me anywhere interesting. The
phrase also points to "bats in the belfry," which makes a bit more sense, given
the chapter's references to Demon: "wings, enormous and black," "the swoosh of
nameless wings" (183). But the real gem is one step further. The "Black Belfry
group" may point to Edgar Allen Poe's short story "The Devil in the Belfry,"
which is about a strange Dutch (Veen connection) hamlet which is invaded by a
mischevious Devil who inhabits the clock tower, disrupting the villagers sense
of time, just as Van does on stage as Mascodagama.
So my question is, am I coming late to this party or have I made a
discovery?
Ted Frushour
----- End forwarded message -----
EDNOTE. The Poe association might be new--if well founded. You might find VN
1923 story "Wingstroke" worth looking at.