Statue of William the Conqueror Statue of William the Conqueror The statue of William the Conqueror is located in his birthplace, Falaise, Calvados, about 30 kilometres (19 miles) southeast of Caen, France. It depicts William the Conqueror, the Duke of Normandy and later King of England, on a horse, and is surrounded by statues of his six predecessors. It is the work of the French sculptor Louis Rochet. The monument is a bronze statue on a granite pedestal. Surrounding the pedestal are six other statues representing the first six dukes of Normandy: Rollo, William I, Richard I, Richard II, Richard III, and Robert I. There
The Conqueror Worm formless shapes looming behind the scenes. The mimes chase a "Phantom" which they can never capture, running around in circles. Finally, a monstrous "crawling shape" emerges, and eats the mimes. The final curtain comes down, "a funeral pall," signaling an end to the "tragedy, 'Man'" whose only hero is "The Conqueror Worm". "The Conqueror Worm" was first published as a stand-alone poem in the January 1843 issue of "Graham's Magazine". Shortly after, it was included among several other poems by Poe in the February 25 issue of the "Saturday Museum" in a feature called "The Poets & Poetry of Philadelphia: