--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: That the play is the tragedy, “Man,” And…" description: "\"That the play is the tragedy, “Man,” And its hero, the Conqueror Worm.\" — Edgar Allan Poe" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bfa/edgar-allan-poe-315_conqueror_that-the-play-is-the-tragedy-man-and-its_979527.jpg" --- # That the play is the tragedy, “Man,” And its hero, the… ![“That the play is the tragedy, “Man,” And its hero, the Conqueror Worm.” quote by Edgar Allan Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bfa/edgar-allan-poe-315_conqueror_that-the-play-is-the-tragedy-man-and-its_979527.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bfa/edgar-allan-poe-315_conqueror_that-the-play-is-the-tragedy-man-and-its_979527.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bfa/edgar-allan-poe-315_conqueror_that-the-play-is-the-tragedy-man-and-its_979527.jpg) > “That the play is the tragedy, “Man,” And its hero, the Conqueror Worm.” [Edgar Allan Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allan-poe/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The play symbolizes life’s tragedy, with humanity as the doomed hero confronting inevitable decay. **In simple terms:** Life is a tragic play with inevitable decline. Key Takeaway Accept mortality and act with purpose. Themes mortality tragedy human condition Mood somber reflective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - theatre - personal reflection - creative writing Key Concepts existentialism literary symbolism Questions to Reflect On - What does the “Conqueror Worm” represent for you? - How does recognizing tragedy influence your actions? A Different Perspective The metaphor may oversimplify complex human experiences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Conqueror](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conqueror/) [Conqueror Worm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conqueror-worm-1935175/) [Hero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hero/) [Man Hero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man-hero-627798/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Play](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/play/) [Play Tragedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/play-tragedy-1935174/) [Tragedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tragedy/) [Tragedy Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tragedy-man-254785/) [Worms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worms/) ## Related quotes > [Out- out are the lights- out all! And, over each quivering form, The curtain, a funeral pall, Comes down with the rush of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/out-out-are-the-lights-out-all-and-over-each-quivering-form-the/) [Edgar Allan Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allan-poe/) > [While the angels, all pallid and wan, Uprising, unveiling, affirm That the play is the tragedy, "Man", And its hero the Conqueror Worm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-mae-brown/while-the-angels-all-pallid-and-wan-uprising-unveiling-affirm-that/) [Rita Mae Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-mae-brown/) > [“But see, amid the mimic rout A crawling shape intrude! A blood-red thing that writhes from out The scenic solitude! It writhes!- it writhes!-…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/but-see-amid-the-mimic-rout-a-crawling-shape-intrude-a-blood-red/) [Edgar Allan Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allan-poe/) > [“The Conqueror Worm Lo! 'tis a gala night Within the lonesome latter years! An angel throng, bewinged, bedight In veils, and drowned in tears,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/the-conqueror-worm-lo-tis-a-gala-night-within-the-lonesome-latter/) [Edgar Allan Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allan-poe/) > [Men play at tragedy because they do not believe in the reality of the tragedy which is actually being staged in the civilised world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-ortega-y-gasset/men-play-at-tragedy-because-they-do-not-believe-in-the-reality-of-the/) [Jose Ortega y Gasset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-ortega-y-gasset/) > [Speakers' nerves affect them in various ways. Some tremble, some become frenzied. I lose all confidence, and suffer from a leaden oppression that makes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robertson-davies/speakers-nerves-affect-them-in-various-ways-some-tremble-some-become/) [Robertson Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robertson-davies/) > [There are two bodies - the rudimental and the complete; corresponding with the two conditions of the worm and the butterfly. What we call…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/there-are-two-bodies-the-rudimental-and-the-complete-corresponding/) [Edgar Allan Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allan-poe/) > [“he mentioned that The Tragedy of Man by Madách had “influenced my whole life.” The moral he recalled from it was that no matter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-lanouette/he-mentioned-that-the-tragedy-of-man-by-mad-ch-had-influenced-my/) [William Lanouette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-lanouette/) > [The comedy of man survives the tragedy of man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-comedy-of-man-survives-the-tragedy-of-man/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The remoteness of nature reveals the tragedy of man's isolation and his weakness in the face of vast, impersonal forces.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-lynen/the-remoteness-of-nature-reveals-the-tragedy-of-man-s-isolation-and/) [John F. Lynen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-lynen/) > [The tragedy of the man not set up for tragedy ? that is every man?s tragedy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/the-tragedy-of-the-man-not-set-up-for-tragedy-that-is-every-man-s/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [“The tragedy in a man’s life is what dies inside of him while he lives.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-schweitzer/the-tragedy-in-a-man-s-life-is-what-dies-inside-of-him-while-he-lives/) [Albert Schweitzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-schweitzer/) > [“The courage of life is often a less dramatic spectacle than the courage of a final moment; but it is no less a magnificent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/the-courage-of-life-is-often-a-less-dramatic-spectacle-than-the/) [John F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/) > [“Here is someone not set up for life's working out poorly, let alone for the impossible.But who is set up for the impossible that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/here-is-someone-not-set-up-for-life-s-working-out-poorly-let-alone/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [“The old intergenerational give-and-take of the country-that-used-to-be, when everyone knew his role and took the rules dead seriously, the acculturating back-and-forth that all of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/the-old-intergenerational-give-and-take-of-the-country-that-used-to/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) ## More by Edgar Allan Poe > [“From childhood’s hour I have not been As others were—I have not seen As others saw—I could not bring My passions from a common…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/from-childhood-s-hour-i-have-not-been-as-others-were-i-have-not-seen/) [Edgar Allan Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allan-poe/) > [There is no passion in nature so demoniacally impatient, as that of him who, shuddering upon the edge of a precipice, thus meditates a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/there-is-no-passion-in-nature-so-demoniacally-impatient-as-that-of/) [Edgar Allan Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allan-poe/) > [To vilify a great man is the readiest way in which a little man can himself attain greatness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/to-vilify-a-great-man-is-the-readiest-way-in-which-a-little-man-can/) [Edgar Allan Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allan-poe/) > [“A skillful literary artist has constructed a tale. If wise, he has not fashioned his thoughts to accommodate his incidents; but having conceived, with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/a-skillful-literary-artist-has-constructed-a-tale-if-wise-he-has-not/) [Edgar Allan Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allan-poe/) > [“For eyes we have no models in the remotely antique.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/for-eyes-we-have-no-models-in-the-remotely-antique/) [Edgar Allan Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allan-poe/) > [“During the whole of a dull, dark, and soundless day in the autumn of the year, when the clouds hung oppressively low in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/during-the-whole-of-a-dull-dark-and-soundless-day-in-the-autumn-of/) [Edgar Allan Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allan-poe/) > [Those who dream by day are cognizant of many things that escape those who dream only at night.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/those-who-dream-by-day-are-cognizant-of-many-things-that-escape-those/) [Edgar Allan Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allan-poe/) > [“I have said that the sole effect of my somewhat childish experiment—that of looking down within the tarn—had been to deepen the first singular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/i-have-said-that-the-sole-effect-of-my-somewhat-childish-experiment/) [Edgar Allan Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allan-poe/) > [And all my days are trances, And all my nightly dreams Are where thy dark eye glances, And where thy footstep gleams-- In what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/and-all-my-days-are-trances-and-all-my-nightly-dreams-are-where-thy/) [Edgar Allan Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allan-poe/) > [“Other friends have flown before — On the morrow he will leave me, as my hopes have flown before.” Quoth the raven, “Nevermore.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/other-friends-have-flown-before-on-the-morrow-he-will-leave-me-as-my/) [Edgar Allan Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allan-poe/) > [“To the right and left, as far as the eye could reach, there lay outstretched, like ramparts of the world, lines of horridly black…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/to-the-right-and-left-as-far-as-the-eye-could-reach-there-lay/) [Edgar Allan Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allan-poe/) > [Men die nightly in their beds, wringing the hands of ghostly confessors ... on account of the hideousness of mysteries which will not suffer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/men-die-nightly-in-their-beds-wringing-the-hands-of-ghostly/) [Edgar Allan Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allan-poe/) > [And the Raven, never flitting, Still is sitting, still is sitting On the pallid bust of Pallas Just above my chamber door; And his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/and-the-raven-never-flitting-still-is-sitting-still-is-sitting-on-the/) [Edgar Allan Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allan-poe/) > [I was forced to fall back upon the unsatisfactory conclusion, that while, beyond doubt, there are combinations of very simple natural objects which have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/i-was-forced-to-fall-back-upon-the-unsatisfactory-conclusion-that/) [Edgar Allan Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allan-poe/) > [“For the moon never beams without bringing me dreams Of the beautiful Annabel Lee; And the stars never rise but i feel the bright…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/for-the-moon-never-beams-without-bringing-me-dreams-of-the-beautiful/) [Edgar Allan Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allan-poe/) [Explore all 615 Edgar Allan Poe quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allan-poe/) ## More Conqueror quotes > [Perhaps no order of mammals presents us with so extraordinary a series of gradations as this \[step by step, from humans to apes to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/perhaps-no-order-of-mammals-presents-us-with-so-extraordinary-a/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) > [How you see yourself is IMPORTANT... We would do well to see ourselves as God sees us More than a conqueror !!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marv-stark/how-you-see-yourself-is-important-we-would-do-well-to-see-ourselves/) [Marv Stark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marv-stark/) > [Oh while I live, to be the ruler of life, not a slave, to meet life as a powerful conqueror, and nothing exterior to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/oh-while-i-live-to-be-the-ruler-of-life-not-a-slave-to-meet-life-as-a/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [Much can they praise the trees so straight and high, The sailing pine,the cedar proud and tall, The vine-prop elm, the poplar never dry,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-spenser/much-can-they-praise-the-trees-so-straight-and-high-the-sailing-pine/) [Edmund Spenser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-spenser/) > [Faith is always at a disadvantage; it is a perpetually defeated thing which survives all conquerors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/faith-is-always-at-a-disadvantage-it-is-a-perpetually-defeated-thing/) [Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) > [The most foolish mistake we could possibly make would be to permit the conquered Eastern peoples to have arms. History teaches that all conquerors…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-hitler/the-most-foolish-mistake-we-could-possibly-make-would-be-to-permit/) [Adolf Hitler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-hitler/) > [Yet only the atrocities of the conquered are referred to as criminal acts; those of the conqueror are justified as necessary, heroic, and even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-fergus/yet-only-the-atrocities-of-the-conquered-are-referred-to-as-criminal/) [Jim Fergus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-fergus/) > [He came, not as a flash of light or as an unapproachable conqueror, but as one whose first cries were heard by a peasant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-lucado/he-came-not-as-a-flash-of-light-or-as-an-unapproachable-conqueror-but/) [Max Lucado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-lucado/) > [“Napoleon the greatest of the conquerors, is a sufficient proof that great men of action are criminals, and, therefore not geniuses. One can understand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otto-weininger/napoleon-the-greatest-of-the-conquerors-is-a-sufficient-proof-that/) [Otto Weininger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/otto-weininger/) > [If all the barbarian conquerors had been annihilated in the same hour, their total destruction would not have restored the empire of the West:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gibbon/if-all-the-barbarian-conquerors-had-been-annihilated-in-the-same-hour/) [Edward Gibbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gibbon/) > [“You see, that's the thing with conquerors, they cannot stop conquering, for then they would have to start ruling, and my guess is Jarasandh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gourav-mohanty/you-see-that-s-the-thing-with-conquerors-they-cannot-stop-conquering/) [Gourav Mohanty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gourav-mohanty/) > [As he walks away on his own two feet--the toddler's body-mind has reached its moment of perfection. The world is his and he the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-j-kaplan/as-he-walks-away-on-his-own-two-feet-the-toddler-s-body-mind-has/) [Louise J. Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-j-kaplan/) > [They were conquerors, and for that you want only brute force--nothing to boast of, when you have it, since your strength is just an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/they-were-conquerors-and-for-that-you-want-only-brute-force-nothing/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [The native American has been generally despised by his white conquerors for his poverty and simplicity. They forget, perhaps, that his religion forbade the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-alexander-eastman/the-native-american-has-been-generally-despised-by-his-white/) [Charles Alexander Eastman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-alexander-eastman/) > [This England never did, nor never shall, Lie at the proud foot of a conqueror, But when it first did help to wound itself.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/this-england-never-did-nor-never-shall-lie-at-the-proud-foot-of-a/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) [Browse all 269 Conqueror quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conqueror/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "That the play is the tragedy, “Man,” And its hero, the Conqueror Worm.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Edgar Allan Poe" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/that-the-play-is-the-tragedy-man-and-its-hero-the-conqueror-worm/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Conqueror" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/that-the-play-is-the-tragedy-man-and-its-hero-the-conqueror-worm/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bfa/edgar-allan-poe-315_conqueror_that-the-play-is-the-tragedy-man-and-its_979527.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bfa/edgar-allan-poe-315_conqueror_that-the-play-is-the-tragedy-man-and-its_979527.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bfa/edgar-allan-poe-315_conqueror_that-the-play-is-the-tragedy-man-and-its_979527.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“That the play is the tragedy, “Man,” And its hero, the Conqueror Worm.” — Edgar Allan Poe", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Edgar Allan Poe", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allan-poe/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "That the play is the tragedy,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/that-the-play-is-the-tragedy-man-and-its-hero-the-conqueror-worm/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/that-the-play-is-the-tragedy-man-and-its-hero-the-conqueror-worm/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```