The Conversation of Eiros and Charmion

"The Conversation of Eiros and Charmion"
Author	Edgar Allan Poe
Country	United States
Language	English
Genre(s)	Science fiction short story
Published in	Burton's Gentleman's Magazine
Media type	Print (periodical)
Publication date	December, 1839

"The Conversation of Eiros And Charmion" is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe, an apocalyptic science fiction story first published in Burton's Gentleman's Magazine in 1839.

Plot summary

Two people, who have been renamed Eiros and Charmion after death, discuss the manner in which the world ended. Eiros, who died in the apocalypse, explains the circumstances to Charmion, who died ten years previously. A new comet is detected in the Solar System, and as it approaches the Earth, people experience in turn exhilaration, then pain and delirium. The cause is discovered to be the loss of nitrogen from the atmosphere, leaving pure oxygen, which finally bursts into flame when the comet nucleus hits.

Analysis

Poe was capitalizing on the excitement in the 1830s caused by William Miller's predictions of the end of the world.^[1]

Publication history

"The Conversation of Eiros and Charmion" was first published in the December 1839 issue of Burton's Gentleman's Magazine and was included that same month in the collection Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque.^[2]

References

1. ^ Campbell, Killis. "The Origins of Poe", The Mind of Poe and Other Studies. New York: Russell & Russell, Inc., 1962: 169.
2. ^ Sova, Dawn B. Edgar Allan Poe: A to Z. New York: Checkmark Books, 2001: 212. ISBN 081604161X.

External links

• Full Text at Wikisource
• Publication history at the Edgar Allan Poe Society