Poe's short story \"Ligeia\" and its companion poem \"The Conqueror Worm\" have garnered little critical attention, though he believed them to be his best works. Considering the archetypal image of the worm, contemporary references, and Poe's other uses of the symbol, an analysis of the poem and its context within the short story reveals the identity of the \"hero\" described in the final verse. This paper explores the archetypal nature of the worm by looking at snake myths from across the globe and applying Platonic/Jungian ideas to the image and its function in the poem. This work also discusses the worm symbol in the work of Poe and his contemporaries, along with biographical information that provides insight into other symbols in the poem and the short story. The information considered demonstrates the poem's allegorical nature with multiple layers of meaning including an interpretation for the individual, for mankind, and for the universe. Finally, though the prevalence of snake myth would lead to its equation with the Miltonic serpent and its cross-cultural counterparts, the \"blood-red\" and \"writhing\" creature represents death as a beginning. Using mythos, Poe's contemporary knowledge, and Poe's own writings leads to the conclusion that the \"conqueror\" is the deathless soul of the lowly \"worm,\" man. Poe plays out this idea in \"Ligeia\" where she, a human, succeeds in conquering the primordial power of death.
","abstract_html":"<p>Poe's short story "Ligeia" and its companion poem "The Conqueror Worm" have garnered little critical attention, though he believed them to be his best works. Considering the archetypal image of the worm, contemporary references, and Poe's other uses of the symbol, an analysis of the poem and its context within the short story reveals the identity of the "hero" described in the final verse. This paper explores the archetypal nature of the worm by looking at snake myths from across the globe and applying Platonic/Jungian ideas to the image and its function in the poem. This work also discusses the worm symbol in the work of Poe and his contemporaries, along with biographical information that provides insight into other symbols in the poem and the short story. The information considered demonstrates the poem's allegorical nature with multiple layers of meaning including an interpretation for the individual, for mankind, and for the universe. Finally, though the prevalence of snake myth would lead to its equation with the Miltonic serpent and its cross-cultural counterparts, the "blood-red" and "writhing" creature represents death as a beginning. Using mythos, Poe's contemporary knowledge, and Poe's own writings leads to the conclusion that the "conqueror" is the deathless soul of the lowly "worm," man. Poe plays out this idea in "Ligeia" where she, a human, succeeds in conquering the primordial power of death.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Senn, Farrah"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Arts in English (M.A.)","degree_level":"Thesis (open access)","degree_discipline":"Department of Literature and Philosophy","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Timothy Whelan","Richard Flynn"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2012,"date_issued":"2012-10-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2012-10-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:26:17Z","subjects":["ETD","Edgar Allan Poe","Ligeia","Conqueror Worm","Archetype","American Literature"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/etd/5","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Timothy Whelan","Richard Flynn"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Senn, Farrah"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2013-07-18T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Department of Literature and Philosophy"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis (open access)"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts in English (M.A.)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["ETD","Edgar Allan Poe","Ligeia","Conqueror Worm","Archetype","American Literature"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/etd/5"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Poe's short story \"Ligeia\" and its companion poem \"The Conqueror Worm\" have garnered little critical attention, though he believed them to be his best works. Considering the archetypal image of the worm, contemporary references, and Poe's other uses of the symbol, an analysis of the poem and its context within the short story reveals the identity of the \"hero\" described in the final verse. This paper explores the archetypal nature of the worm by looking at snake myths from across the globe and applying Platonic/Jungian ideas to the image and its function in the poem. This work also discusses the worm symbol in the work of Poe and his contemporaries, along with biographical information that provides insight into other symbols in the poem and the short story. The information considered demonstrates the poem's allegorical nature with multiple layers of meaning including an interpretation for the individual, for mankind, and for the universe. Finally, though the prevalence of snake myth would lead to its equation with the Miltonic serpent and its cross-cultural counterparts, the \"blood-red\" and \"writhing\" creature represents death as a beginning. Using mythos, Poe's contemporary knowledge, and Poe's own writings leads to the conclusion that the \"conqueror\" is the deathless soul of the lowly \"worm,\" man. Poe plays out this idea in \"Ligeia\" where she, a human, succeeds in conquering the primordial power of death.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Monster Quest: Background Myth and Contemporary Context of Edgar Allan Poe's \"The Conqueror Worm\""]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Timothy Whelan","Richard Flynn"],"dc:creator":["Senn, Farrah"],"dc:date.available":["2013-07-18T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Poe's short story \"Ligeia\" and its companion poem \"The Conqueror Worm\" have garnered little critical attention, though he believed them to be his best works. Considering the archetypal image of the worm, contemporary references, and Poe's other uses of the symbol, an analysis of the poem and its context within the short story reveals the identity of the \"hero\" described in the final verse. This paper explores the archetypal nature of the worm by looking at snake myths from across the globe and applying Platonic/Jungian ideas to the image and its function in the poem. This work also discusses the worm symbol in the work of Poe and his contemporaries, along with biographical information that provides insight into other symbols in the poem and the short story. The information considered demonstrates the poem's allegorical nature with multiple layers of meaning including an interpretation for the individual, for mankind, and for the universe. Finally, though the prevalence of snake myth would lead to its equation with the Miltonic serpent and its cross-cultural counterparts, the \"blood-red\" and \"writhing\" creature represents death as a beginning. Using mythos, Poe's contemporary knowledge, and Poe's own writings leads to the conclusion that the \"conqueror\" is the deathless soul of the lowly \"worm,\" man. Poe plays out this idea in \"Ligeia\" where she, a human, succeeds in conquering the primordial power of death.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/etd/5"],"dc:subject":["ETD","Edgar Allan Poe","Ligeia","Conqueror Worm","Archetype","American Literature"],"dc:title":["Monster Quest: Background Myth and Contemporary Context of Edgar Allan Poe's \"The Conqueror Worm\""],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Department of Literature and Philosophy"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis (open access)"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts in English (M.A.)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:26:17Z"}