"Never Bet the Devil Your Head: A Moral Tale" is a short story by American author

Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is wide ...

, first published in 1841. The satirical tale pokes fun at the notion that all literature should have a

moral A moral (from Latin ''morālis'') is a message that is conveyed or a lesson to be learned from a story or event. The moral may be left to the hearer, reader, or viewer to determine for themselves, or may be explicitly encapsulated in a maxim. A ...

Silverman, Kenneth. ''Edgar A. Poe: Mournful and Never-ending Remembrance''. New York: Harper Perennial, 1991. p. 169. and spoofs transcendentalism.

Synopsis

The narrator, presented as the author himself, is dismayed by literary critics saying that he has never written a moral tale. The narrator then begins telling the story of his friend Toby Dammit. Dammit is described as a man of many vices, at least in part due to his left-handed mother flogging him with her left hand, which is considered improper. Dammit often made rhetorical bets, becoming fond of the expression "I'll bet the devil my head". Although the narrator tries to break Dammit of bad habits, he fails. Nevertheless, the two remain friends. While traveling one day, they come across a covered bridge. It is gloomy and dark, lacking windows. Dammit, however, is unaffected by its gloom and is in an unusually good mood. As they cross the bridge, they are stopped by a

turnstile A turnstile (also called a turnpike, gateline, baffle gate, automated gate, turn gate in some regions) is a form of gate which allows one person to pass at a time. A turnstile can be configured to enforce one-way human traffic. In addition, a t ...

partway across. Dammit bets the devil his head that he can leap over it. Before the narrator can reply, a cough alerts them to the presence of a little old man. The old man is interested in seeing if Dammit is capable of making such a leap and offers him a good running start. The narrator thinks that it is improper for an old man to push Dammit into making the attempt — "I don't care who the devil he is", he adds. The narrator watches as Dammit makes a perfect jump, but directly above the turnstile he falls backwards. The old man quickly grabs something and limps away. The narrator, upon checking on his friend, sees that Dammit's head is gone ("what might be termed a serious injury"). He realizes that there is a sharp iron bar above the turnstile that severed his friend's head. The narrator sends for the " homeopathists", who "did not give him little enough physic, and what little they did give him he hesitated to take. So in the end he grew worse, and at length died". After the bill for his funeral expenses is left unpaid, the narrator has Dammit's body dug up and sold for dog meat.

Analysis

"Never Bet the Devil Your Head" is a clear attack on transcendentalism, which the narrator calls a "disease" afflicting Toby Dammit. The narrator, in fact, sends the bill for Dammit's funeral expenses to the transcendentalists, who refuse to pay because of their disbelief in evil. Despite specific mentions of transcendentalism and its flagship journal '' The Dial'', Poe denied that he had any specific targets. Elsewhere, he certainly admitted a distaste for transcendentalists, whom he called "Frogpondians" after the pond on Boston Common. He ridiculed their writings in particular by calling them "

metaphor A metaphor is a figure of speech that, for rhetorical effect, directly refers to one thing by mentioning another. It may provide (or obscure) clarity or identify hidden similarities between two different ideas. Metaphors are often compared wit ...

-run," lapsing into "obscurity for obscurity's sake" or "mysticism for mysticism's sake." Poe once wrote in a letter to

Thomas Holley Chivers Thomas Holley Chivers (October 18, 1809 – December 18, 1858) was an American doctor-turned-poet from the state of Georgia. He is best known for his friendship with Edgar Allan Poe and his controversial defense of the poet after his death. Bo ...

that he did not dislike transcendentalists, "only the pretenders and

sophists A sophist ( el, σοφιστής, sophistes) was a teacher in ancient Greece in the fifth and fourth centuries BC. Sophists specialized in one or more subject areas, such as philosophy, rhetoric, music, athletics, and mathematics. They taught ' ...

among them."

Publication history

The story was published in the September 1841 issue of '' Graham's Magazine'' as "Never Bet Your Head: A Moral Tale". Its republication in the August 16, 1845, issue of the '' Broadway Journal'' included its now-standard title "Never Bet the Devil Your Head".Sova, Dawn B. ''Edgar Allan Poe: A to Z''. New York: Checkmark Books, 2001. p. 170. Noted Poe biographer Arthur Hobson Quinn dismissed the story, stating "it is a trifle."

Adaptations

"Never Bet the Devil Your Head" is the final segment (retitled "Toby Dammit") of the three-part ''Histoires extraordinaires'' (English title: ''

Spirits of the Dead ''Spirits of the Dead'' (french: Histoires extraordinaires, lit=Extraordinary Tales, it, Tre passi nel delirio, lit=Three Steps to Delirium), also known as ''Tales of Mystery and Imagination'', is a 1968 horror anthology film comprising three ...

'') (1968), directed by

Federico Fellini Federico Fellini (; 20 January 1920 – 31 October 1993) was an Italian film director and screenwriter known for his distinctive style, which blends fantasy and baroque images with earthiness. He is recognized as one of the greatest and most i ...

. "Never Bet the Devil Your Head" was adapted as a radio play for the '' CBS Radio Workshop'' in 1957. The cast features noted voice actors John Dehner as Mr. Poe, Daws Butler as Toby Dammit and

Howard McNear Howard Terbell McNear (January 27, 1905 – January 3, 1969) was an American stage, screen, and radio character actor. McNear is best remembered as the original voice of Doc Adams in the radio version of ''Gunsmoke'' and as Floyd Lawson, the ...

as the Devil. The program is available on the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

References

External links