Oh believe me, I've told others that HPL is the more consistently fine writer, and elsewhere I've expressed disappointment in quite a few of CAS's stories (I can barely stomach his "Captivity in Serpens"; there are bland rip-offs of Conan that were more satisfying pulp adventures than that!), or in certain decisions he made within otherwise decent stories. It just happens that in spite of his inconsistencies, I really enjoy CAS's high points in word-weaving, dark irony, and creative conjurings more. Even so, I praise and defend some of HPL's qualities, and acknowledge the differences and even weaknesses in CAS's work. For instance, as I mentioned in another post, HPL is one of those extremely rare authors who can make me feel the sheer presence of mysterious Elder Ones, make me hear the gibbering and fluttering in unknown darkness, and make me lose my breath in the sheer vastness of some time-flung city! CAS does the same for me, of course, but not consistently, and Lovecraft's heightened sense of realism gave him an advantage in that element.

I'm suddenly in a hurry to go somewhere, so I'll have to continue this discussion next time I'm around. I'm eager to learn more about HPL's unique worldview: that strange realm of magic within a material universe. In his letters he is extremely certain, enthusiastic, and sometimes strongly insistent about his purest materialistic worldview, so it would be interesting to explore the deeper nuances in that, especially compared to CAS's own philosophical and mystical inclinations. As I recall, CAS is not religious at all, but has poured libations to Dionysus, and mused about human senses not perceiving a greater, stranger world right under their noses.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 6 Aug 20 | 02:15PM by Hespire.

SeventhSon Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I like Lovecraft but I do think his style is far
> from perfect, first he does so much useless
> adjective excess, that I was often bored reading
> his work even for the first time. His Dunsany's
> imitations show his limitations as a "poet". On
> the other hand, I could learn CAS's best stuff by
> heart, as the best of a Poe or Shakespeare, it's
> amazing, it has it all, music, images, etc. Not
> many people can appreciate good poetry, or such
> kind of prose these days, so no surprise he is
> underrated, but he's definitely a better writer,
> one of the best of his century.


I agree. At his best, Smith's style and poetic imagination are of a higher caliber, and he was amazingly diverse. No two stories alike as with HPL and Poe. The horror element is where Lovecraft is seen as having the edge, yet his stories only rarely induce a feeling of dreadful suspense or terror. An excess of narrative rhetoric is involved, a sense of inevitability rather than shock. A minor flaw in the scheme of things? Maybe, but I think there are other flaws, summed up well by Gilles Menegaldo:. "Lovecraft can, , be criticized for a too 'intellectual' and somewhat contrived approach. Beneath an apparent diversity, a shimmering of forms and colours, the same schemas, the same stereotypes are often found, which reveals a somewhat mechanical utilisation of the theme and a certain paucity of inspiration. Lovecraft too often resorts to techniques which resemble somewhat tiresome mannerisms: repetitive descriptions, situations, even characters, which are too much of a type and destitute of psychological depth"

("The City in H.P. Lovecraft's Work" by Gilles Menegaldo, trans. by S.T. Joshi, in Lovecraft Studies #4, April 1, 1979).

jkh

"No two stories alike as with HPL and Poe."

Well, I am not sure ... "The Murder In The Fourth Dimension" and "The Supernumerary Corpse" are almost identical in theme - a meek individual decides to kill his employer who bullies him and who is going to marry the girl he loves in his halting way, with only the means of killing being different (in the first case, the victim is lured out into what seems to be fourth dimension; in the second case, the victim is poisoned with horrific consequences).



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 20 Mar 22 | 06:46AM by Minicthulhu.

You're right, but Smith wrote twice as many stories as Lovecraft. David Schultz wrote an essay about several pairs of Lovecraft stories that begin with and follow the same basic idea.

jkh