Found manuscripts were a common framing
device in early science fiction. It was used in the works of Edgar Rice
Burroughs and is still incorporated in horror films today. The idea of a remote
possibility that the fantastic things you are reading may have been true adds
an extra layer of texture to the story. It is a framing device I toy with in my
own novel. It also lends well to HPL's love of writing in the archaic style of
old handwritten journals and letters.
The Temple tells the first-hand accounts
of a lieutenant-commander in the German Navy during World War I. Essentially a
"buried-alive" story, this frightening tale may in fact be the very
first story of the horrors of being trapped in a submarine deep beneath the
ocean. Submarines were still new, but a growing threat in world military
events. That alone, makes this story rather eerie, but Lovecraft adds what
would come to be his signature elements into this story.
Themes that started in Dagon, also a
World War I story, and that continue into the Call of Cthulhu, The Temple
conjures up ancient prehistoric cities and unholy temples, underwater
nightmares and strange haunting idols. Oddly enough, in this story, the city
appears to be of human origin, perhaps even being the lost city of Atlantis and
the birthplace of human culture.
The Temple was HPL's first publication
in the famous Weird Tales magazine that would become the center of his
publishing career. Lovecraft defined Weird Tales as much as they defined him.
Both relying on each other for mainstream success. As the story progresses,
Lovecraft once again conjures up imagery of madness. Even by the end we are
left wondering if the events, in all their fantasy, are even real, or purely
the works of a madman trapped in isolation under the sea.
The Temple is one of the most accesable
of the HPL stories we have covered so far. It is not surprising it would be
picked up by a popular adventure magazine of the day. Cinematic in scope and
presentation, The Temple is certainly an enjoyable read, and if you want to
check out this tale of undersea psychosis and nightmare you can check out the
original text here: HPL's The Temple
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| Illustration by Jeff Powers © 2013 |
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