I am not a fan of the prose here; much as I hate to say it. There is a reason we do not speak so formally anymore. By using such dense language, Poe masks his meaning. It fails to create nuance or subtly; rather, this type of prose simply creates confusion. I wasn't able to read Lord of the Rings for similar reasons. On top of that, the narrator here is very dry. His speaking voice is monotonous, and the lack of significant inflection does little to help the listener parse the meaning of the story. In fact, it all blurs together and creates a very dissociative listening experience. It does not help that this voice actor struggles to pronounce many of the French and Latin words appropriately.