A Descent into the Maelström

When Poe takes us to the sea, we get sucked in. In " A Descent into the Maelstrom" (1841) Poe' s narrator recounts his horrific experience when he and his brother' s boat get sucked down in the world' s fastest moving current of water, the tumultuous maelstrom known as Moskenesstraumen. Constructed as a story within a story, " A Descent into the Maelström" is a beautiful and gripping tale about the rough life on the seven seas told in the manner of Coleridge' s " The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. " In 1980, the legendary American composer Philip Glass composed a much-praised 66-minute piece based on the short story.