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Hop-Frog
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"Hop-Frog" (originally "Hop-Frog; Or, the Eight Chained Ourang-Outangs") is a short story by American writer Edgar Allan Poe, first published in 1849. The title character, a person with dwarfism taken from his homeland, becomes the jester of a king particularly fond of practical jokes. Taking revenge on the king and his cabinet for the king's striking of his friend and fellow dwarf Trippetta, he dresses the king and his cabinet as orangutans for a masquerade. In front of the king's guests, Hop-Frog murders them all by setting their costumes on fire before escaping with Trippetta.

Book · Open Library

Author
Edgar Allan Poe
First published
1957
Editions
30
Subjects
Fiction, general, Young adult fiction, classics, Revenge, Fiction

via Open Library

Key facts

Short story.name
Hop-Frog
Short story.title_orig
Hop-Frog; Or, the Eight Chained Ourang-Outangs
Short story.image
Flag of Our Union 1849 Hop-Frog.png
Short story.author
Edgar Allan Poe
Short story.country
United States
Short story.language
English
Short story.genre
HorrorShort story
Short story.published_in
The Flag of Our Union
Short story.publisher
Frederick Gleason
Short story.media_type
Print
Short story.pub_date
March 17, 1849

via Wikipedia infobox

~10 min read

Encyclopedic overview

6 sections
Contents
  • Plot summary
  • Publication history
  • Analysis
  • Adaptations
  • References
  • External links

"Hop-Frog" (originally "Hop-Frog; Or, the Eight Chained Ourang-Outangs") is a short story by American writer Edgar Allan Poe, first published in 1849. The title character, a person with dwarfism taken from his homeland, becomes the jester of a king particularly fond of practical jokes. Taking revenge on the king and his cabinet for the king's striking of his friend and fellow dwarf Trippetta, he dresses the king and his cabinet as orangutans for a masquerade. In front of the king's guests, Hop-Frog murders them all by setting their costumes on fire before escaping with Trippetta.

Critical analysis has suggested that Poe wrote the story as a form of literary revenge against a woman named Elizabeth F. Ellet and her circle.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Hop-Frog” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

Gallery (3)