<---- I saw this little treasure on Facebook today! I so love finding that people out there still know how to read...
In case any of you readers - ummm... do people actually read this?! - are unfamiliar with elements of this meme:
The original "99 Problems" is a popular rap song by superstar Jay-Z. Its lyrics are not academia- or child-appropriate, but suffice it to say that the song's central message is that getting a girl is not one of the guy's 99 problems.
This 'geek-chic' parody of the song refers to Edgar Allan Poe's The Cast of Amontillado. In keeping with his eerily entertaining and darkly provocative standards, Poe's Montresor exacts revenge on his peer, Fortunato, by luring him down into the wine cellar and catacombs with the promise of a very fine and rare alcohol called Amontillado. Once far below the ground, Montresor captures Fortunato - whose Italian name equates to "lucky" {Haha, Poe! You devil!} - by chaining him to a cellar wall and then immuring him, thus sentencing him to death by starvation and dehydration. Although Montresor is the criminal here, Fortunato's indulgent overuse of alcohol is what dooms him.
{Side note here: Yes, Poe was a little crazy... maybe more than a little...}
The Cast of Amontillado could certainly be considered creepy, but it's also an interesting read. As usual, Poe's writing captivates readers with its delectably dark descriptions while not completely answering their questions. {I both hate and love this quality of Poe's stories.}
Anyhow, back to the picture: Sometimes Facebook makes me cringe. There is plenty of internet drivel {Uh-oh! Is this nonsense, too?!} that showcases all the less-intelligent ideas brought forth from humanity. But every now and then, I come across something that requires a little knowledge and that ever-welcome wryness that can be rare these days.
Good literature is timeless. Good humor is, too. Today's post is really all about the way that those two things sometimes come together. There are a lot of ways this might happen, but today it occurred when Jay-Z was introduced to Poe! A delightful encounter indeed...
I love this. This actually made me LOL. i would have been just as shocked to see this on my Facebook. Not many people would know the joke behind it. I'm actually glad people still know the classic literature.
ReplyDeleteJay-Z and Poe...together at last. Seriously though, I wish I saw more posts like this on Facebook. I see plenty of Twilight crap though, and people sending me petitions to yell at President Obama for one thing or another. But never anything of substance. There are times I really do feel that reading has become a lost art.
ReplyDeleteAs for The Cask of Amontillado...I love that he does not answer the reader's questions, that he strings them along much like he does with his characters. Withing a few sentences the reader delves into a story where something is definitely happening. There is always that sense of impending danger, and Poe strings us along until we discover his madness for ourselves.
Personally, I have a love-hate relationship with Poe. I feel he was a pretentious writer, but at the same time I think he might have been entitled to that high opinion of himself. I've enjoyed everything I ever read.