First publication of "A Descent Into the Maelstrom" by Edgar Allan Poe in "Graham's Lady's & Gentleman's Magazine," May, 1841.
The story begins in July on a mountain crag in northwestern Norway along the coast of the Norwegian Sea at 68 degrees latitude in the Arctic Circle. The crag overlooks a group of islands and a treacherous tidal channel called Moskenstraumen. In “A Descent Into the Maelström," Poe refers to this channel by a Norwegian name, Moskoe-strom, and a Dutch name, Maelström. Poe’s use of the latter term popularized it among speakers of English, and it entered English dictionaries as a synonym for whirlpool. In 1851, author Herman Melville refers to the Maelström in his great sea novel, Moby Dick, when Captain Ahab says he will chase the white whale (Moby Dick) around the world, including "round the Norway Maelström." In 1870, author Jules Verne mentioned the Maelström in Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, calling it a "whirlpool from which no vessel ever escapes." The Maelström is a real phenomenon occurring off the coast of Norway. However, in the story, Poe greatly exaggerates the danger it poses to seafarers.
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First publication of "A Descent Into the Maelstrom" by Edgar Allan Poe in "Graham's Lady's & Gentleman's Magazine," May, 1841.
The story begins in July on a mountain crag in northwestern Norway along the coast of the Norwegian Sea at 68 degrees latitude in the Arctic Circle. The crag overlooks a group of islands and a treacherous tidal channel called Moskenstraumen. In “A Descent Into the Maelström," Poe refers to this channel by a Norwegian name, Moskoe-strom, and a Dutch name, Maelström. Poe’s use of the latter term popularized it among speakers of English, and it entered English dictionaries as a synonym for whirlpool. In 1851, author Herman Melville refers to the Maelström in his great sea novel, Moby Dick, when Captain Ahab says he will chase the white whale (Moby Dick) around the world, including "round the Norway Maelström." In 1870, author Jules Verne mentioned the Maelström in Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, calling it a "whirlpool from which no vessel ever escapes." The Maelström is a real phenomenon occurring off the coast of Norway. However, in the story, Poe greatly exaggerates the danger it poses to seafarers.
[www.cummingsstudyguides.net/Guides4/Maelstrom.html]