Defoe’s “Journal of the Plague Year” has many unsettling parallels with our current situation.
Tag Archives: coronavirus
Journal of a Plague Year
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Not Poe’s Red Death but Still Dangerous
Poe’s “Masque of the Red Death” captures the belief that we can wall out epidemics and then dance the night away.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged COVID-19, Edgar Allan Poe, emergency measures, Masque of the Red Death Comments closed
To Understand COVID-19, Read Camus
Camus’s “The Plague” provides insights into our own coronavirus.
What to Do When Quarantined
In “Decameron,” Boccaccio describes young lords and ladies retiring to a villa and telling stories to escape the Black Plague. It’s an idea for those who are driven into their homes by the coronavirus.
Hand Washing and the Coronavirus
The coronavirus is leading to a focus on hand washing, which brings Lady Macbeth to mind.
King on How Pandemics Spread
The coronavirus pandemic brings to mind Stephen King’s “The Stand.” There, the government starts the virus. In our own world, Trump has disassembled the agencies designed to stop pandemics.
