If memory serves, this word was created by Edgar Allen Poe. In that case,though it may be etymologically sound, it owes a great deal to alcohol and laudanum.

Welcome to the madhouse, Allan!

Charlotte? I've got kin in Charlotte, so it's a special pleasure to meet you.

P.S. Didn't Lewis Carroll pen a post-Poe poem titled Phantasmagoria?

I'm not too sure about Poe having coined the word. The Dictionary.com entry makes no mention of him, giving an etymology from Old French, and in fact quotes from Sir Walter Scott. Scott lived from 1771-1832, so his life overlapped Poe's (1809-1849) to some degree, but I'd guess it was already in use.

quote:

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Originally posted by shufitz:
P.S. Didn't Lewis Carroll pen a post-Poe poem titled _Phantasmagoria?_

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Aha, my specialist subject.
Indeed he did. It's far too long to post here (and, if we're brutally honest, it's actually not very good) but here's a link for it.

Lewis Carroll may well have written my favourite two books in the English Language but sadly none of his other works really come close. His poetry varies from very poor to moderately competent with only The Hunting of the Snark elevated beyond.
Of course that's just my opinion, feel free to disagree - providing you have managed to read Sylvie and Bruno all the way through that is.

Quid quid latine dictum sit, altum viditur

Read all about my travels around the world here.

Welcome, Allan!
I do love posts about words! Hope you stay with us.

So, Bob, what exactly is your specialty? Is it Carroll or poetry or what? I find that Carroll brings out the child in me, and for that reason I like him.

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Originally posted by Kalleh:
_Welcome, Allan!_

So, Bob, what exactly is your _specialty_? Is it Carroll or poetry or what? I find that Carroll brings out the child in me, and for that reason I like him.

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Let me put it this way.
I'm not sure how many editions of Alice In Wonderland and related books that I currently have but it's certainly greater than fifty and includes editions in French, Mandarin and Spanish (none of which I can read) and German (which I can read).
Among my bookmarked sites can be found


this marvelous collection of Artwork
(I'd especially recommend the Dali)

this collection of Alice related links

this collection of Jabberwocky translations

and


this excellent site.

Just call me obsessive !

Quid quid latine dictum sit, altum viditur

Read all about my travels around the world here.

I thought somewhere in my cob-webbed mind, that Poe first introduced the word "phantasmagoria" in "The Pit and the Pendulum". Can anyone verify that for me?

This site gives a date of "circa 1802". It does not however give any source for this date. It may be the Sir Walter Scott quote I mentioned earlier in the thread. The Pit and the Pendulum was written in 1842 so it looks like Poe was using a word that was at least forty years old at the time.

*Edit* I've traced at least one use by Scott of "phantasmagoria" to Guy Mannering, which appeared in 1815. Bartleby.com have the text online: It was, however, conscience that had prepared this mental phantasmagoria.

[This message was edited by arnie on Wed Nov 6th, 2002 at 11:27.]

[This message was edited by arnie on Wed Nov 6th, 2002 at 11:28.]

[This message was edited by arnie on Wed Nov 6th, 2002 at 11:28.]

Another site also gives the 1802 date, with a bit more detail:

"phantasmagoria - 1802, name of a London 'magic lantern' exhibition"

"Magic lantern" was the key to finding the story on-line. In 1799 the toast of Paris was an elaborate spook show. called Fantasmagorie. It was the original horror movie, using magic lanterns to create ghosts that grew and swirled.

quote:

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Thunder roared and lightning flashed. Church bells tolled, the lightning and thunder increased, and a tiny figure -- half-human, half-demon -- appeared in the air, shimmering and ghostly. Gradually the figure seemed to approach, growing larger and larger, until suddenly it disappeared with a wail. Bats fluttered on the walls, ghosts and goblins groaned, skeletons came hurtling toward the audience. Women who had come to the show fainted in terror. Bold men hid their eyes.

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The show came to London in 1801 or 1802, and to America in 1803. Phantasmagoria shows were still playing a century later.