Book Anatomy · The Murders in the Rue Morgue
The Murders in the Rue Morgue: Openings and endings
13 lenses on openings and endings for The Murders in the Rue Morgue by Edgar Allan Poe. Count lenses are exact for our text. AI lenses are our reading and cite only quotes that passed a word for word check.
Jump to: F1 F2 F3 F4 F5 F6 F7 F8 F9 F10 F11 F12 F13
F1. First line and first paragraph: what each does. Both
The first full paragraph runs to 24 words and 1 sentences.
What song the Syrens sang, or what name Achilles assumed when he hid himself among women, although puzzling questions, are not beyond all conjecture. (Ch 1, para 2)
The first line is the title. The first paragraph introduces the analytical method as the book's central concern, setting intellectual puzzle-solving as the theme.
Chapters: Ch 1
F2. What the first page sets up: voice, world, question. AI
The first page establishes the narrator's voice as admiring and reflective, introduces Paris as the setting, and poses the question of what makes Dupin extraordinary.
Chapters: Ch 1
We appreciate them only in their effects. We know of them, among other things, that they are always to their possessor, when inordinately possessed, a source of the liveliest enjoyment. (Ch 1, para 4)
He seemed, too, to take an eager delight in its exercise—if not exactly in its display—and did not hesitate to confess the pleasure thus derived. (Ch 1, para 13)
F3. How many words before the lead appears? Count
First dialogue after 534 words. See the full lens on the book page.
F4. How many words before the first line of dialogue? Count
First dialogue after 534 words. See the full lens on the book page.
F5. The hook of chapter one. AI
The hook is Dupin's extraordinary analytical power and the narrator's fascination with it. The promise is that this power will solve an impossible mystery.
Chapters: Ch 1
He seemed, too, to take an eager delight in its exercise—if not exactly in its display—and did not hesitate to confess the pleasure thus derived. (Ch 1, para 13)
F6. Prologue: its job and its length. Both
No prologue: the book starts in its first chapter.
No prologue. The book begins directly with section 1, which serves as introduction to character and world.
F7. How fast is the main story question posed? AI
The main story question is posed in section 2 when the murders are reported. The question of how and why they occurred drives the narrative from that point forward.
Chapters: Ch 2
Extraordinary Murders.—This morning, about three o’clock, the inhabitants of the Quartier St. Roch were aroused from sleep by a succession of terrific shrieks (Ch 2, para 2)
To this horrible mystery there is not as yet, we believe, the slightest clew. (Ch 2, para 6)
F8. Final chapter: which beats resolve what. AI
Section 5 resolves the mystery through the sailor's confession, frees the innocent man Le Bon, and confirms Dupin's deduction about the orang-outang.
Chapters: Ch 5
So help me God!” said he, after a brief pause, “I will tell you all I know about this affair;—but I do not expect you to believe one half I say (Ch 5, para 2)
With one determined sweep of its muscular arm it nearly severed her head from her body. (Ch 5, para 7)
F9. Last line: what it leaves in the mind. Both
The last full paragraph runs to 142 words.
I mean the way he has ‘de nier ce qui est, et d’expliquer ce qui n’est pas.’” (*) (Ch 5, para 10)
The last line is a footnote reference to Rousseau, leaving the mind on a literary note rather than emotional closure. The mystery is solved but the book ends quietly.
Chapters: Ch 5
F10. Loose ends tied and left open. AI
The mystery is fully resolved. The orang-outang's fate is not detailed. Le Bon's future is not explored. The sailor's subsequent life is left open.
Chapters: Ch 5
F11. Epilogue: its job. Both
No chapter called an epilogue. The last chapter is 1,399 words.
No epilogue. The book ends with the sailor's confession and the Prefect's reaction, providing closure to the main plot.
Chapters: Ch 5
F12. Echoes between the opening and the ending. AI
Section 1 establishes Dupin's analytical power as the book's theme. Section 5 confirms it by showing the power solve the impossible crime, echoing the opening promise.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 5
He seemed, too, to take an eager delight in its exercise—if not exactly in its display—and did not hesitate to confess the pleasure thus derived. (Ch 1, para 13)
Let him talk,” said Dupin, who had not thought it necessary to reply. “Let him discourse; it will ease his conscience, I am satisfied with having defeated him in his own castle. (Ch 5, para 10)
F13. Length of the wind down after the climax. Count
After the climax (chapter 4, our reading) the book runs 1,399 more words, 10.1% of the whole.
Ask The Murders in the Rue Morgue a question about its craft (free beta)
Answers cite chapter and paragraph, and every quote is checked against the text. (3 free questions a day).
Weekly email: coming soon
One short email a week on new AI tools for authors. Sign up opens soon.