A/N this is not, I reapeat NOT a fic! This is an ESSAY! An ESSAY! Yes, one
of those boring things that you are assigned to write in class! Well,
anyways, it's going to be a series of essays, various thought-provoking
things, that I wrote in fits of boredom. The one below, and the next one
started out as what was to be addendums to my fics "Will You Go On" and
"The Many Faces Of Riff." Well, it's spawned off into two separate essays.
They're's going to be more and more and more, so as you stay up later and
later and later, you have something else to put you to sleep!
**
Riff Raff and Edgar Allen Poe share quite a few similarities. Some people have argued that the character of Riff was directly based on Poe. Others argue that it's just coincidence. Personally, I think it's both.
Riff does seem to mimic Poe on more than one occasion. Starting off with the topic of romance. They both "keep it in the family." Poe married his cousin, Virginia, whom he thought of as a sister, and Riff is in love with his sister Magenta.
They also are both geniuses, in their own rights. After all, it was Riff himself who created Rocky, not Frank. This is shown in the stage production where Riff has the line "My-Your creation" And Poe, Poe is remembered by his great contributions to literature.
They also were both completely insane. Riff shows this more than Poe (check out what's to be a later chap. Of the Crim files for my essay on that) but they were both psychopathic. Poe showed this mostly through his works, while Riff went right out and proved to everyone that he was insane, when he goes and kills Frank, Rocky and Columbia. He shows it again, if you decide to count Revenge of The Old Queen, with how he killed Magenta.
There are also quite a few Riff-ish qualities in Richard O'Brien's portrayal of Vladimire Hellsibus in Elvira's Haunted Hills. Which could lead some people to believe that Richard has a liking to Poe, thus making it entirely possible for Riff to be based on Poe. If anything, I say that since Rocky Horror was spoofing the science fiction and horror films of the 50's, that it's entirely possible that the similarities were put in there as a reference to Vincent Price and his works. So, as of yet, the "Richard O'Brien fascination with Poe and based Riff on Poe intentionally" theory has yet to be proven.
So is Riff a descendant of Poe? Was it done intentionally? I say slightly. Poe was the father of Science Fiction, and without him, there would be no Rocky Horror, so I say that some of the qualities exhibited in both were a shout out to Poe. But, I say that Riff and Poe being alike is just a coincidence that made for an interesting story.
**
Riff Raff and Edgar Allen Poe share quite a few similarities. Some people have argued that the character of Riff was directly based on Poe. Others argue that it's just coincidence. Personally, I think it's both.
Riff does seem to mimic Poe on more than one occasion. Starting off with the topic of romance. They both "keep it in the family." Poe married his cousin, Virginia, whom he thought of as a sister, and Riff is in love with his sister Magenta.
They also are both geniuses, in their own rights. After all, it was Riff himself who created Rocky, not Frank. This is shown in the stage production where Riff has the line "My-Your creation" And Poe, Poe is remembered by his great contributions to literature.
They also were both completely insane. Riff shows this more than Poe (check out what's to be a later chap. Of the Crim files for my essay on that) but they were both psychopathic. Poe showed this mostly through his works, while Riff went right out and proved to everyone that he was insane, when he goes and kills Frank, Rocky and Columbia. He shows it again, if you decide to count Revenge of The Old Queen, with how he killed Magenta.
There are also quite a few Riff-ish qualities in Richard O'Brien's portrayal of Vladimire Hellsibus in Elvira's Haunted Hills. Which could lead some people to believe that Richard has a liking to Poe, thus making it entirely possible for Riff to be based on Poe. If anything, I say that since Rocky Horror was spoofing the science fiction and horror films of the 50's, that it's entirely possible that the similarities were put in there as a reference to Vincent Price and his works. So, as of yet, the "Richard O'Brien fascination with Poe and based Riff on Poe intentionally" theory has yet to be proven.
So is Riff a descendant of Poe? Was it done intentionally? I say slightly. Poe was the father of Science Fiction, and without him, there would be no Rocky Horror, so I say that some of the qualities exhibited in both were a shout out to Poe. But, I say that Riff and Poe being alike is just a coincidence that made for an interesting story.