Celebrate Poe George Bartley

Episode 236 - A Star is Born is the first of two episodes that deal with the influence of William Shakespeare (the anniversary of his birthday was earlier this week.). The first episode deals with the influence of Shakespeare's plays (and acting in general) on the marriage of David and Eliza Poe.  Using some original information that I doubt you will find anywhere else, I would like to point out how Eliza Poe was the "star" of the family using the Shakespearean roles she played (compared to the roles that David played.)  

This episode continues a series that compare’s elements of Christopher Nolan’s Inception with Poe’s dream works. The episode ends with Poe’s poem Dreams - a classic work that  weaves a narrative transitioning from a sense of hope in dreams to a realization of their illusory nature. The speaker reminisces about reveling in dreams of light and loveliness, escaping into imagined realms apart from his own reality. However, as the poem progresses, the tone shifts to acknowledge the fleeting nature of dreams and the speaker's recognition that they are ultimately transient illusions

Welcome to Celebrate Poe - episode 234 - Spinning Tops, Part Two

In this episode, Celebrate Poe continues its examination of some of Poe’s works against the background of Christopher Nolan’s movie - Inception.

First, it is important to remember that many of Poe's tales are narrated by characters with questionable sanity or motives.  Stories like "The Tell-Tale Heart" leave readers unsure of what truly happened or if the narrator's perception can be trusted. 

The majority of this episode deals with observations regarding Poe and Inception, and ends with the topic of motifs -  a good example is the symbolic use of water in Inception, and the sea in Poe’s Annabel Lee.

 Spinning Top, Part One is a the first of five episodes devoted to an examination of Poe's "Dream Works" and Christopher Nolan's movie "Inception."  This episode emphasizes that Poe's characters are often haunted by memories and past traumas, while Inception reflects this with Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) grappling with his deceased wife Mal, who manifests within his dreams.  The film explores how unresolved issues and memories can shape our perception of reality, a theme also central to many of Poe's works.

This episode delves into (for the  most part) some of the some shorter passages from Shakespeare dealing with dreams  passages that are also among the most well known.
Sections vary from Julius Caesar to Henry IV, Part 1 to Romeo and Juliet to Hamlet to The Tempest, among others.

This episode takes a deep dive into the three dreams of Richard III - from a dream about falling off a ship to the admonitions of "Despair and Die" before the Battle of Bosworth in The Tragedy of Richard III.