A brief literary analysis
essay concerning the tale of “Hop-Frog” by Edgar Allan Poe
By Ryan
“Hop-Frog” is an excellent tale of tyranny and revenge and is enhanced by the use of literary elements. Edgar Allan Poe was a 19th century Romanticist writer. In the story, Hop Frog, the main character, wanted to break free of the king’s tyranny, but he is enslaved as the king’s jester, so he forms a plot of regicide and decides to kill the king in a way that everyone knew what would happen. Poe’s use of literary elements such as powerful characters, themes, and irony really pull the story together and broaden it into a more moving piece.
Poe makes you really feel emotion and an almost internal connection to his characters. By drawing up the mood and background, he pulls you into the story and makes you feel emotions as you follow the characters on their journey. By giving you key details about a character’s past or being he makes you feel truly sorry for Hop Frog. Hop Frog is a fat, crippled dwarf who was taken from his family, friends, and country to be the king’s court jester. He is oppressed and tortured by the king. Another important character in the story is Trippetta, who is also a dwarf and a slave that was taken from her home country. By giving you these details and drawing you into the character’s plight, Poe is able to contrast their problems in the story and make you feel emotion to pull you into the story on a deeper level.
Poe also uses symbols to convey deeper messages in his stories. By employing these symbols the subtle elements of the story can convey a deeper meaning. One of the symbols in “Hop Frog” is the chains by which the king and his ministers were bound during the masquerade’s practical joke. These chains symbolize the entrapment of Hop Frog and his friend. They may also symbolize the iron grip the king and his generals may have over the land they control. This would imply that his power and influence was stretched too thin and that even somebody within his own court was able to do him in. Another symbol that appears in “Hop Frog” is fire. In the story, fire would symbolize punishment. This is evident when Hop Frog uses a torch to set the king and his ministers ablaze when they are suspended over the masquerade. The symbols Poe uses in his stories help to reveal stronger underlying meanings in context of the story.
Poe also incorporates ironies into his stories to add to the style. Irony is a literary element that involves the opposite of what is expected to happen. One of the biggest examples of irony in “Hop Frog” is that at the end of the story, Hop Frog turns the tables on the king by making him the one bound and made a fool of. The king originally ruled over Hop Frog, but Hop Frog ends up holding the king’s fate in his own hands at the end of the masquerade. Another example of irony is that Hop Frog is fat, short, and crippled, so you wouldn’t expect him to be as athletic as he turns out to be. He is able to maneuver up the chain with ease. It is hard to imagine Hop Frog could get much exercise, so it is unexpected that he is athletic as he turns out to be. In “Hop Frog”, Poe’s implication of irony keeps the reader interested and makes them think on a slightly deeper level in the story.
When Poe implements these literary elements into his stories, it enhances the feel of the story and makes you think on a deeper level. I feel Poe’s use of characters, themes, and ironies really sets his stories apart from normal writings. “Hop Frog” is an interesting tale of hardship, tyranny, and perseverance and its incorporation of literary elements bolsters its strength and effect on the reader.