The Vampyre; a Tale

by John Polidori

[celinenyx]

John William Polidori's short story is usually seen as the first written fiction text concerning a vampire. Polidori's vampire is an aristocrat, moving through society with ease and taking advantage of unsuspecting socialites. Romanticism plays heavily in The Vampyre, and the main character's reveries when seeing his lover reminded me of the writing in Hyperion by Friedrich Hölderlin.

Polidori is less concerned with concrete descriptions than expressing feelings and impressions. As I read the story to learn more about vampire bodies as part of a research project, I was slightly stumped there. Though the villain's body is never described, I did find it very interesting to see how familiar the plot of The Vampyre feels - its style might be outdated, but the story itself and the fears it plays into are timeless.

The parts pertaining to Polidori's attempt to defend Byron, who was the subject of public criticism, I skimmed over. It did not interest me particularly how Polidori trailed him, and his gooey-eyed descriptions made the man seem like some sort of saint. Eh.