American and Bergsonian humor

So far we have not detected characteristics of Poe’s humor that could identify him as “American”. It would seem that Poe’s sense of humor was very personal or, at best, attributable to a European-style comedy. In reality, if we do not limit ourselves to a superficial impression, we realize that even in Poe we find some humorous elements typical of the most genuine American comic spirit. All his stories, always bizarre, paradoxical, can be considered as tall tales, that is, tales of exaggeration. That General Smith of The Man who was Used up has been reconstructed so well that no one notices his horrific…