edgar allan poe writing style essay

Literary Writing Style of Edgar Allan Poe

Like all other writers, Poe, too, created his own unique style . Holistically, his style marks with Gothic elements, having strange and bizarre characters and unique buildings punctuated with mysterious happenings. In terms of word choice, sentence , literary devices , and rhetorical patterns , Poe has features not all writers can follow. Some of the unique features of his writing style are as follows.

Edgar Allan Poe’s Word Choice

In terms of diction or word choice, Poe displays mastery in using appropriate words at appropriate places. His context always matches his horror diction. Most of his narrators, too, demonstrate their haughtiness and pride in bizarre skills and consequential events. For example, his narrator in “The Tell-Tale Heart” shows it as follows. This passage shows Poe’s skill in using simple, plain, and direct diction to support his narrator’s cockiness and how he plays with words by presenting his contradictory nature through contradictory statements supplemented with appropriate words.

“It is impossible to say how first the idea entered my brain; but once conceived, it haunted me day and night . Object there was none. Passion there was none. I loved the old man. He had never wronged me. He had never given me insult. For his gold I had no desire. I think it was his eye! yes, it was this! He had the eye of a vulture—a pale blue eye, with a film over it. Whenever it fell upon me, my blood ran cold; and so by degrees—very gradually—I made up my mind to take the life of the old man, and thus rid myself of the eye forever.”

Edgar Allan Poe’s Sentence structure and Syntax

Edgar Allen Poe’s sentences are neither too short nor too long. They support his purpose of creating suspense and surprise at the expense of the contradictions that his sentences and syntax create. Sometimes, he resorts to very short or incomplete sentences and occasionally comes to using long and complicated sentences. The passage given below from his story “The Cask of Amontillado” demonstrates it. This passage shows his short, long, and broken sentences, showing the conversation between the narrator and his friend, Fortunato.

“ My friend , no. It is not the engagement, but the severe cold with which I perceive you are afflicted. The vaults are insufferably damp. They are encrusted with nitre.” “Let us go, nevertheless. The cold is merely nothing. Amontillado! You have been imposed upon. And as for Luchresi, he cannot distinguish Sherry from Amontillado.

Edgar Allan Poe’s Figurative Language

In terms of using figurative language , Poe surpasses his contemporaries and even other writers. He has used first-person narrator in his horror tales with impunity. His images are also terrible, while similes , metaphors , and tone , too, support his writing style. This stanza from his poem “ A Dream within a Dream ” shows his skill in using figurative language. Just note the use of connotation , denotation , metaphor , and tone mark his style of mystery and horror.

Take this kiss upon the brow! And, in parting from you now , Thus much let me avow— You are not wrong, who deem That my days have been a dream ; Yet if hope has flown away In a night, or in a day, In a vision, or in none, Is it therefore the less gone? All that we see or seem Is but a dream within a dream.

Edgar Allan Poe’s Rhythm and Component Sounds

As Poe is the master of using horror and terror in his stories, his rhythm also marks this display of dark emotions. Whether it is a senseless murder, a loss of love, despair, or extreme loneliness, his rhythm matches the words as well as syntax. He sparingly uses onomatopoeia and sound devices to create an atmosphere that suits his thematic strands. This stanza from his poem “ The Raven ” shows it amply. These verses show how he uses end rhyme , internal rhyme , consonance , assonance , and dialogue to create an atmosphere of suspense and surprise for his readers. This makes up his rhythm through these sound devices.

Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary, Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore, While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping, As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door. “‘Tis some visiter,” I muttered, “tapping at my chamber door— Only this, and nothing more.

Edgar Allan Poe’s Rhetorical Patterns

Poe uses almost every other rhetorical device to make his writing style forceful. These patterns include comparison and contrast , repetition , anaphoras , and above all, rhetorical questions . This passage from his story “The Tell-Tale Heart” shows the use of repetition, pauses, and rhetorical questions that make the argument of his narrator forceful.

“True!—nervous—very, very dreadfully nervous I had been and am; but why will you say that I am mad? The disease had sharpened my senses—not destroyed—not dulled them. Above all was the sense of hearing acute. I heard all things in the heaven and in the earth. I heard many things in hell. How, then, am I mad? Hearken! and observe how healthily—how calmly I can tell you the whole story.”

Edgar Allen Poe’s Themes

Most of the stories and poems are true to the style of Edgar Allen Poe. Not only through diction but also through style and themes, they demonstrate his objective of making his readers surprised and terrified. For example, “The Tell-Tale Heart” and “Black Cat” show the theme of horror and death, while the poem “The Raven” demonstrates his theme of horror and terror. Most of his stories and poems show his themes of lost loves, dark emotions, regret, and unexpected deaths.

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Edgar Allan Poe

Edger Allan Poe was an American poet, writer, literary critic, and editor. Poe is famous for his short-short stories, particularly his mysterious and ghastly stories, and poetry. In the United States and American Literature, he is one of the essential members of Romanticism.

He is one of the early earliest writers who started writing short stories. Edger Allan Poe is regarded as the initiator of the genre of detective fiction. He also contributed with his writing in the newly developing science fiction genre. He is the first American writer whose sole source of earning was writing. Due to this, he suffers a financial crisis in both life and career.

The life and works of Edger Allan Poe have greatly influenced the literary world. He specialized in the fields of cryptography and cosmology. Poe and his works both appear all the way through the popular culture in music, literature, television, and films. It was his distinguishing works in the genre of mystery that the annual award known as Edgar Award is given by Mystery Writers of America.

A Short Biography of Edgar Allan Poe

Edger Allan Poe was born on 19 th January 1809 to Elizabeth Poe and David Poe. Elizabeth was an English born actress, whereas David Poe was an actor and belonged to Baltimore. In1811, his mother died in Virginia. He was then taken to the home of a rich merchant, John Allan. The wife was the merchant who had not any child.

From 1815 to 1820, he was taken to England and Scotland. Over there, he received a classical education that continued even in Richmond. In 1826, he attended the University of Virginia for eleven months. He was involved in gambling in university, and after intense losses, his guardians did not permit him to continue and took him back to Richmond. In Richmond, he met Elmira Royster and engaged.

In 1827, he went to Boston and published a pamphlet of Tamerlane, Byronic poem, and Other Poems. Forced by poverty, he joined the army under the name of Edger A. Perry. However, his foster mother died which causes him to leave the army eventually, and his foster father gets him an appointment to the U.S. Military Academy.

Before leaving for the academy, Poe published a new volume containing Tamerlane, Al Aaraaf, and Minor Poems in Baltimore in 1829. Being absent for a week from a drill and classes, he was expelled from the academy. He went to New York City and bought volumes of poems, including masterpieces. The volumes contain the poems of P.B. Shelley, John Keats, and S.T. Coleridge. These poets influenced his writing greatly.

When he went back to Baltimore, he started writing his short stories. He published “MS. Found in a Bottle” in 1833 that won $50 from the weekly magazine of Baltimore. In 1835, he started working as an editor for Southern Literary Messenger in Richmond. He made his reputation as a critical reviewer. He married his cousin Virginia Clemm who was only 13 years old at that time.

Because of his drinking, Poe was temporarily expelled from his job. He then went to New York City. He became a drinking addict, in order to stand in a group of people and talk well, he needs to drink slightly. Even though he would not intake intoxication, he would only appear in the public when he had taken some. From this, people started assuming that Poe was a drug addict. However, according to the mental tests, he had cut in his brain.

In 1838, he published The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym, long narrative prose. In this work, he combined facts with the wildest fantasies. This work is considered to be inspired by Herman Melville’s Moby Dick. In 1839, he moved to Philadelphia and started working as a co-editor at Burton’s Gentleman’s Magazine. He signed a contract for a monthly article. This contact made him write “The Fall of the House of Usher” and “William Wilson.” These are the stories that have supernatural horror.

In 1839, the tales of Poe the Grotesque and Arabesque also appeared . In June 1840, he resigned from his job at the magazine. In 1841, he returned and edited Lady’s and Gentleman’s Magazine by his successor Graham. In this magazine, he published his first detective story, “The Murders in the Rue Morgue.”

His short story “The Golden Bud” won a $100 prize in 1843 from the Philadelphia Dollar Newspaper. This award gave him immense publicity. He returned to New York in 1844 and wrote the short story “The Balloon Hoax” for the magazine Sun. He started working as the sub-editor of the New York Mirror and worked under N.P. Willis. Willis became his lifelong friend.

He published his most celebrated poem “The Raven” on 28th January 1845, which made him nationwide famous. He changed his jobs several times in the following years and published different volumes of his poems and short stories.

In January 1847, his wife, Virginia Clemn, died. He went to Providence, Rhode Island, in 1848 to marry his beloved and poet Sarah Helen Whitman. Their commitment was brief. Poe had a very close but friendly relationship with both Sarah Anna Lewis and Annie Richmond. They both helped him financially. Poe presented a poetic tribute to both.

He published a lecture, “Eureka,” in 1848. It is a transcendental illustration of the universe. Some critics claim it to a masterpiece, whereas for some it is complete nonsense. In 1849, Poe went to the South and engaged to Elmira Royster. They spent a summer together happily, and Poe suffered only one or two lapses. Another great source of his happiness was his friendship with a young poet Susan Archer Talley. She was his childhood friend.

In September 1849, he left Richmond and went to Baltimore. He had a feeling of death. He died on 7 th October 1849, for an unknown reason. It is assumed that he either died of drinking or from a heart attack. He was buried in Baltimore in Westminster Presbyterian Churchyard.

Edgar Allan Poe’s Writing style

The genre for which Edger Allan Poe is best known for is the Gothic genre . His works adhere to the conventions of the genre. Therefore, it appeals to the public state. His gothic fiction deals with the recurring themes of death. It also includes the physical signs of death, concerns of early burial; effects of decomposition; mourning, and the reanimation of death.

His works are considered to belong to the genre of dark Romanticism. This genre started as a reaction to transcendentalism, which is highly disliked, Poe. He called the followers of the movement of transcendentalism as “ Frog-Pondian .” He also ridiculed their writings by calling it “metaphor – run mad” elapsing into “mysticism for mysticism’s sake” or “obscurity for obscurity’s sake.” In reality, Poe does not like transcendentalism but the sophists and pretenders among the transcendentalists.

Apart from horror fiction, Edger Allan Poe also wrote hoaxes, humour tales, and satires . To add comic effect in his works, he used absurd indulgence and irony . He uses the comic effect to free the readers from the conventionality of culture. The first-ever story that Poe published was “Metzengerstein.” This story is also his first horror story; however, it was initially intended as comedy ridiculing the popular genre.

He also reestablishes the genre of science fiction through his writing that responds to the newly emerging technologies. For example, the story “The Balloon-Hoax” is about the hot air balloon that emerged in his time.

Edger Allan Poe’s works are based on themes that were according to the tastes of the mass-market. To satisfy the taste of the masses, he also included the elements of pseudo-sciences like physiognomy and phrenology in his works.

Literary theory

The critical literary theories presented by Poe in his criticism are reflected in his writings. One of the best critical essays he wrote is “The Poetic Principle.” Though Poe believed that the meaning of the literary work should not be on the surface, it must be deep and undercurrent, he does not like allegory and didacticism.

For him, the works which have their meaning on the surface do not belong to art. Moreover, qualitative work must be brief and focused on one exact effect. Lastly, he also held that the writers should sensibly analyze every idea and sentiment. Poe’s essay “The Philosophy of Composition” deals with the method of writing in his masterpiece poem “The Raven.” In the essay, Poe claims that he had strictly adhered to this method.

Along with the satanic and occult , the works of Edger Allan Poe is concerned with Romanticism . His works are also inspired by his intense dreams. He shaped his dreams with his distinctive imagery and use of language. His works have unique imaginations, elaborated techniques, objectivity, and spontaneity . He was appreciated even in his life for his clear and comprehensive criticism as an evaluator of the literature of his time, his poetic idealism and melodic gift, and his dramatic storytelling art. With his distinguished writing style; he secured an imminent position among the well-known men of letters.

Edger Allan Poe had a dual personality . This personality is also reflected in his works. The views and judgments prevailing in his time about him appear to the extent of coexistence totally different from two persons in him. He was devoted and gentle to the people he loved, whereas he was self-centered and irritable to the people he does not like.

The best fictional works of Poe are concerned with sadness and terror. However, his poetry is quite pleasant, as is his company. He admired the works of Alexander Pope and William Shakespeare. His writings have his sense of humor .

Poe was a visionary and an idealist. He desires for both the ideal of imagination and the ideal of heart. Most of his poetry is inspired by his sensitivity to the sweetness and beauty of women. For example, his poem “To One in Paradise,” “To Helen,” “Annabel Lee,” and “Eulalie” is all about women. The poems “Ligeia” and” Eleonora” are his hymns in full-tone prose to love and beauty. In the poem “Israfel,” he is taken to the world of dreams from reality through his imagination. The distinguishing characteristic of his late-year works was his “ Pythian mood .”

He dodges the readers from the world’s common experiences with unnerving thoughts, fears, and impulses . Such familiar mode is present in his poetry, such as “Lenore,” “The Valley on Unrest,” “The Raven,” “Ulalume,” and “For Annie” and also in his famous short stories. He portrayed the astonishing effect of death in his tale by using a dark mood, fear, and impulses.

His works that deal with the theme of death are “The Masque of the Red Death,” The Fall of House of Usher,” “The Fact in the Case of M. Valdemar,” “The Oval Portrait,” “The Premature Burial,” and “Shadow.”

He also has themes of crime and wickedness in the stories “The Black cat,” “Berenice,” “The Imp of Perverse,” “William Morris,” “The Tell-Tale Heart,” and “The Cask of Amontillado.”

The stories, “Ligeia,” “Metzengerstein,” and “Morella” deal with the themes of survival after desolation . Lastly, he also has the theme of fatality in the short stories “The man of Crowd and The Assignation.

In the short story “The Pit and the Pendulum,” he does not allow his character to become a victim of mysterious forces, he uses the suffering of forthcoming death to make his stories nerve-racking. Moreover, he also employs grotesque elements in his works that deal with the aftermath of death: corpses and decay.

Moreover, Poe also includes the minute details in his works. For instance, when in the long narratives and the description that introduces the tale or setting of the story, observe little details. He is closely associated with his power of reasoning.

Poe was proud of his logic, and he handled his logic very carefully to impress the public with his stories. He was highly praised for his problem disentanglement, thought-reading, and cryptography that he credited to characters C. Auguste Dupin and William Legard. It was these characters that made him write detective stories and science fiction.

The duality in his personality is also reflected in his art. He wrote weird and angelic poetry. His poetry has the utmost rhythm and appealing words. Similarly, his prose has suggestiveness and extravagant beauty with the superficial recklessness of persuasive motivation. However, he also wrote about the dark psychology or the plans of inexorable plots in dry and hardstyle. The duality of his mind, temper, and art are blended into a unity of structure, tone, and movement in his masterpieces. These masterpieces are the most effective and overwhelmed with various elements.

Poe also focuses on the precision of meter, structure, and language . As a critic, he formulated his own principles for the short story. He searched for the ancient unities in the plot : the unity of action, plot, and magnitude. He added mood and effects to these units. However, he was not very harsh in his principles. Though he praised brief and focused works, he also admired long works, morals, and allegories provided that they are not presented crudely. He also praised the originality in the work that was totally different from his; he was a surprisingly generous critic of minor writers.

Works Of Edgar Allan Poe

A Dream Within a Dream

Short Stories

The Tell Tale Heart
The Masque of the Red Death
The Fall of the House of Usher

Edgar Allan Poe'S Writing Style

Horrific. Suspenseful. Mysterious. These are all characteristics of Edgar Allen Poe’s writing. Poe made many stories that all related to his life in some way. They are all eerie and attention grabbing. Three style elements that Poe uses in his writing are mood, foreshadowing, and symbolism. These are things that make Poe a unique writer.

One way that Poe’s writing unique is the fact that the moods of his stories are dark and mysterious. For example, in one of his stories “The Raven,” he writes, “That I scarce was sure I heard you – here I opened wide the door; Darkness there and nothing more.” When the narrator opens the door, he realizes that nothing is there. He is standing, looking into darkness, which makes the story more suspenseful, affecting the mood. Another example is in his story “The Masque of the Red Death,” he writes, ‘And thus too, it happened, perhaps, that before the last echoes of the last chime had utterly sunk into silence, there were many individuals in the crowd who had found leisure to become aware of the presence of a masked figure who had arrested the attention of no single individual before.” The ebony clock has a meaning to this story and it affects the mood because when it strikes midnight, there is a “person” that appears. Poe describes how the person looks, and it seems as if he or she is dressed up as the disease they are trying to get away from. Also, in Poe’s story “The Cask of Amontillado,” he writes,” At length I would be avenged; this was a point definitely settled – but the very definitiveness with which it was resolved precluded the idea of risk.” This is stating that Montresor, one of the main characters is planning to kill another main character, Fortunato. This creates suspense, which makes the reader connect and want to read more, and the suspense creates the mood. Altogether, in all Poe’s stories, the mood is created through suspense and suspenseful actions.

The foreshadowing that Poe uses makes his writing unique too, which creates tension and makes the reader more interested. In his story “The Masque of the Red Death,” he writes, “The resolved to leave means neither of ingress or egress.” This quote means that there is no way to enter or exit the disease, which is the red death, some just gets it and dies quickly. So, since this is stated, the reader can infer that everyone is going to die which makes the reader want to read more. Also, in the same passage he writes, “Its pendulum swung to and fro with a dull, heavy, monotonous clang: and when the minute-hand made the circuit of the face, and the hour was to be stricken…” In this passage, the ebony clock symbolizes the time that the people have left to live. Knowing that, every time the clock strikes, there is a shorter time left to live and it foreshadows the death of everyone. In “The Cask of Amontillado,” he writes, “Enough. He said; the cough’s a mere nothing; it will not kill me. I shall not die of a cough. True — true. I replied.” Montresor is planning on getting revenge on Fortunato, so he agrees with what Fortunato said. So, it foreshadows that there is going to be a different way of how Fortunato dies. All the foreshadowing in Poe’s writing makes a connection with the reader and makes them want to read more because they can assume what is going to happen from the start.

The symbolism that Poe uses makes his writing unique and allows the reader to connect to their personal lives. In “The Raven” Poe writes, “But the raven, sitting lonely on the placid bust spoke only that one word, as if his soul in that one word he did outpour.” The raven symbolizes the narrator’s memory of Lenore, which was a loved one that he or she lost in the past. This allows the reader to connect with an event that had happened to them, and they can get a clearer picture of the story. In the same passage, he also writes “While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping, as of some are gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.” The raven symbolizes Lenore, someone who he loved, but had passed. Knowing that, it allows the reader to understand the concept of what is happening and makes the story more interesting to them because they can relate. In “The Cask of Amontillado,” it states, “He had on a tight-fitting parti-striped dress and his head was surmounted by the conical cap and bells.” In this story, Fortunato was dressed up from the carnival he was attending, and it symbolizes that he is a fool. This is because he was dressed up like a fool and he was a fool because he fell for a trap into death, which lets the reader understand because they can visualize what is happening. Therefore, symbolism allows the reader to connect in past or current even happening in their own lives.

Poe is an amazing author. He uses the style elements of mood, foreshadowing, and symbolism, which makes his writing unique. All these style elements allow the reader to understand the concept of what is happening. It allows them to visualize and get a better mental picture. These story elements used in Poe’s writing, allowed him to become a successful and unique writer.

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Last Update: August 19, 2022 Navigation: Main Menu Poe's Works Poe's Poems Poe's Tales Poe's Misc. Editorial Policies Searching

The Essays, Sketches and Lectures of Edgar Allan Poe

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Sections: The Collections and Books The Essays, etc. Related Material Bibliography

The Collections and Books:

Editions Authorized by Poe:

Poe published only one of his lectures during his life. This was “The Universe,” published as Eureka , the “Prose Poem” by which he hoped most ernestly to be remembered. Other items were first collected in the posthumous collection edited by Rufus Wilmot Griswold, incorporating some additional manuscript changes and other material. These collections are listed chronologically.

Eureka: A Prose Poem (1848 — EUREKA — there are several copies with annotations by Poe)
The Works of the Late Edgar Allan Poe , edited by Rufus Wilmot Griswold (1850, volume II: Poems and Miscellanies ; and 1856, volume IV: Pym, &c . — WORKS )

Later Collected Editions:

After Griswold's death in 1857, there were several alternate attempts to collect Poe's works, including a number of the essays and Eureka . The most important of these were collections edited by John H. Ingram, also in four volumes (initially published in 1874-1875), the ten-volume set edited by Edmund C. Stedman and George E. Woodberry (initially published in 1894-1895), and the seventeen-volume set edited by James A. Harrison (published in 1902). (Although at least one of these editions bears the title of The Complete Works of Edgar Allan Poe , none of them are, in fact, actually complete. In some instances, they also contain works that have since been identified as not being by Poe.)

The Works of Edgar Allan Poe , edited by John H. Ingram (Edinburgh: Adam and Charles Black, 1874-1875 — The essays are collected in volume 3)
The Works of Edgar Allan Poe , edited by Edmund C. Stedman and George E. Woodberry (Chicago: Stone and Kimball, 1894-1895 — The essays are collected in volume 7 and Eureka will be found in volume 9)
The Complete Works of Edgar Allan Poe , edited by James A. Harrison (New York: T. Y. Crowell, 1902 — The essays are collected in volume 14 and Eureka will be found in volume 16)

Modern Scholarly Editions:

The most widely recognized scholarly edition of Poe's tales and sketches, also including some of the essays, are the volumes edited by Thomas Ollive Mabbott, (published in 1978, nearly a decade after Mabbott's death), completed by his widow, Maureen Cobb Mabbott (and several assistants), with a few additional essays appearing in the volumes in the edition as continued by Burton R. Pollin. All of these volumes are thoroughly annotated, with introductory material, notes and variants. Two volumes originally prepared for this series, edited by Stuart and Susan Levine, were published separately by the University of Illinois Press.

The Collected Works of Edgar Allan Poe , edited by Thomas Ollive Mabbott (Cambridge: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1978 — Volume 2: Tales and Sketches, 1831-1842 and Volume 3: Tales and Sketches, 1843-1849 )
The Collected Writings of Edgar Allan Poe , edited by Burton R. Pollin (New York: Gordian Press, 1986 and 1997 — Volume 3: Writings in the Broadway Journal, Text , Volume 4: Writings in the Broadway Journal, Annotations , and Volume 35 Writings in the Southern Literary Messenger, Text and Annotations
Eureka and Edgar Allan Poe: Critical Theory , edited by Stuart and Susan F. Levine (Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 2004 and 2009)

The Essays, Sketches and Lectures:

These items are arranged alphabetically by name. Within each name, entries are listed chronologically. Some of these items were not published under any specific title and most are, therefore, given here under a title deemed appropriately descriptive. The authorship of some items is a topic long researched and debated. Most of the items included here were signed, but for some, the attribution to Poe is necessarily the result of conjecture. A few prominent items that have been rejected are also listed, including a number of poems that were erroneously ascribed to Poe by T. O. Mabbott.

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A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

“ American Novel-Writing ”
“ American Poetry ”
“ American Poetry ” (a lecture)
“ Anastatic Printing ”
“ Byron and Miss Chaworth ”
“ The Capitol at Washington ” (rejected)
“ A Chapter in the History of Vivum-Ovo ” (rejected)
“ Cryptography ” (alternate title for “Secret Writing”)
“ The Elk ” (later title of “Morning on the Wissahiccon”)
“ English Notes for Extensive Circulation ” (rejected)
“ Eureka ”
“ Exordium [to Critical Notices] ”
“ A Few Words on Etiquette ” (rejected)
“ Harpers Ferry ” (rejected)
“ House Furniture ” (alternate title for “The Philosophy of Furniture”)
“ Instinct Versus Reason — A Black Cat ”
“ Letter to B—— ”
“ Maelzel's Chess-Player ”
“ Magazine Writing — Peter Snook ” (alternate title of a review of “Peter Snook,” by James Dalton
“ Morning on the Wissahiccon ” (original title of “The Elk”)
“ Notes Upon English Verse ” (original title for “The Rationale of Verse”)
“ An Opinion on Dreams ” (rejected)
“ Our Magazine Literature ” (Possibly by Poe, but disputed)
“ Old English Poetry ” (Actually a later title assigned to Poe's review of Book of Gems by Samuel Carter Hall)
“ Palaestine ”
“ The Pay for American Authors ”
The Philosophy of Animal Magnetism (rejected)
“ The Philosophy of Composition ”
“ The Philosophy of Furniture ”
“ The Poetic Principle ”
“ Poets and Poetry of America ” (a lecture, also called “American Poetry”)
“ The Rationale of Verse ”
“ Secret Writing ”
“ Some Secrets of the Magazine Prison-House ”
“ Some Account of Stonehenge ”
“ Street-Paving ”

Related Material:

A chronological index (in preparation)
“ The Canon of Poe's Essays, Sketches & Lectures

Bibliography:

Brigham, Clarence S., Edgar Allan Poe's Contributions to Alexander's Weekly Messenger , Proceedings of the American Antiquarian Society , April 1943. (Also reprinted separately.)
Edsall, Thomas, ed., The Poe Catalogue , Baltimore: The 19th Century Shop, 1992. (This catalogue includes a few reprints of material which are not noted elsewhere.)
Harrison, James A[lbert]., ed, The Complete Works of Edgar Allan Poe , 17 vols, New York: T. Crowell, 1902.
Heartman, Charles F. and James R. Canny, A Bilbiography of First Printings of the Writings of Edgar Allan Poe , Hattiesburg, MS: The Book Farm, 1943. (The best overall bibliography of Poe, although it does contain errors and is somewhat outdated.)
Levine, Stuart and Susan F., eds., Eureka , Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 2004 (Poe's text, edited and with an introduction, notes and textual variants)
Levine, Stuart and Susan F., eds., Edgar Allan Poe: Critical Theory , Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 2009 (Poe's texts, edited and with introductory material, notes and textual variants)
Mabbott, Thomas Ollive, ed., The Collected Works of Edgar Allan Poe ; (Vols 2-3 Tales and Sketches ), Cambridge, Mass.: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1978. (Second printing 1979)
Pollin, Burton R., ed., The Collected Writings of Edgar Allan Poe ; Vols. III & IV - The Broadway Journal: Non-Fictional Prose , New York: Gordian Press, 1986; Vol. V - The Southern Literary Messenger: Non-Fictional Prose , New York: Gordian Press, 1997.
Thompson, G. Richard, ed. , Essays and Reviews , New York: The Library of America, 1984. (A good basic collection.)
Vines, Lois D., ed., Poe Abroad: Influence, Reputation, Affinities , Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, 1999. (An extremely useful compendium of articles by various authors, divided by country or region.)
Woodberry, George E[dward]. and Stedman, Edmund Clarence, The Works of Edgar Allan Poe , 10 vols, Chicago, 1894-1895. (Reprinted in 1903 and 1914.)

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Analysis of Edgar Allan Poe’s Stories

By NASRULLAH MAMBROL on October 19, 2019 • ( 1 )

During his life, Edgar Allan Poe (1809 – 1849) was a figure of controversy and so became reasonably well known in literary circles. Two of his works were recognized with prizes: Manuscript Found in a Bottle and The Gold-Bug . The Raven , his most famous poem, created a sensation when it was published and became something of a best-seller. After his death, Poe’s reputation grew steadily—though in the United States opinion remained divided—until by the middle of the twentieth century he had clear status as an author of worldwide importance. Poe’s achievements may be measured in terms of what he has contributed to literature and of how his work influenced later culture.

Poe was accomplished in fiction, poetry, and criticism, setting standards in all three that distinguish him from most of his American contemporaries. In fiction, he is credited with inventing the conventions of the classical detective story, beginning the modern genre of science fiction, and turning the conventions of gothic fiction to the uses of high art in stories such as The Fall of the House of Usher . He was also an accomplished humorist and satirist. In poetry, he produced a body of work that is respected throughout the world and a few poems that have endured as classics, notably The Raven, as well as several poems that, in part because of their sheer verbal beauty, have persistently appealed to the popular imagination, such as The Bells and Annabel Lee . In criticism, Poe is among the first to advocate and demonstrate methods of textual criticism that came into their own in the twentieth century, notably in his essay The Philosophy of Composition , in which he analyzed with remarkable objectivity the process by which The Raven was built in order to produce a specified effect in its readers.

Poe’s influence on later culture was pervasive. Nearly every important American writer after Poe shows signs of his influence, especially when working in the gothic mode or with grotesque humor. The French, Italians, and writers in Spanish and Portuguese in the Americas acknowledge and demonstrate their debts to Poe in technique and vision. Only to begin to explore Poe’s influence on twentieth century music and film would be a major undertaking. In terms of his world reputation, Poe stands with William Faulkner and perhaps T. S. Eliot as one of the most influential authors of the United States.

The variety of Edgar Allan Poe’s short fiction cannot be conveyed fully in a short introduction. Though he is best known for his classics of gothic horror such as The Fall of the House of Usher and his portraits of madmen and grotesques such as The Tell-Tale Heart and The Cask of Amontillado , he is also the author of detective stories, The Purloined Letter ; science fiction, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym ; parodies, The Premature Burial ; satires, The Man That Was Used Up ; social and political fiction, The System of Dr. Tarr and Prof. Fether ; and a variety of kinds of humor, Diddling Considered as One of the Exact Sciences and Hop-Frog .

Three stories that illustrate some of this variety while offering insight into Poe’s characteristic themes are A Descent into the Maelström , The Purloined Letter, and The Fall of the House of Usher. Among Poe’s central themes is an emphasis on the mysteries of the self, of others, of nature, and of the universe. His stories usually function in part to undercut the kinds of easy optimism and certainty that were characteristic of popular thought in his time.

A Descent into the Maelström

A Descent into the Maelström, which first appeared in Graham’s Magazine in May, 1841, and was collected in Tales , opens with a declaration of mystery: “The ways of God in Nature, as in Providence, are not as our ways; nor are the models that we frame any way commensurate to the vastness, profundity, and unsearchableness of His works, which have a depth in them greater than the well of Democritus.” In using this epigraph, slightly altered from the seventeenth century English essayist Joseph Glanvill, Poe announces several motifs for the story that follows. One of these is the mystery of how God acts and, therefore, may be revealed in nature. Another is inadequacy of humanly devised models for explaining nature or God’s presence in nature. Yet another is the idea of the multiple senses of depth, not merely the physical depth of a well or a maelstrom, but also the metaphorical depths of a mystery, of God, of nature, of God’s manifestation in nature.

The story is relatively simple in its outline, though interestingly complicated by its frame. In the frame, the narrator visits a remote region of Norway to look upon the famous maelstrom, an actual phenomenon described in contemporary reference books that were Poe’s sources. There, he encounters an apparently retired fisherman, who guides him to a view of the whirlpool and who then tells the story of how he survived being caught in it. In the main body of the story, the guide explains how a sudden hurricane and a stopped watch caused him and his two brothers to be caught by the maelstrom as they attempted to return from a routine, if risky, fishing trip. He explains what the experience was like and how he managed to survive even though his boat and his brothers were lost. Poe carefully arranges the frame and the fisherman’s narration to emphasize his themes.

The frame narrator is a somewhat comic character. The guide leads him to what he calls a little cliff and calmly leans over its edge to point out the sights, but the narrator is terrified by the cliff itself: “In truth so deeply was I excited by the perilous position of my companion, that I fell at full length upon the ground, clung to the shrubs around me, and dared not even glance upward at the sky—while I struggled in vain to divest myself of the idea that the very foundations of the mountain were in danger from the fury of the winds.” On one level this is high comedy. The narrator professes to be worried about his companion’s safety but cannot help revealing that he is personally terrified, and his resulting posture contrasts humorously with the equanimity of his guide. On another level, however, Poe is also suggesting at least two serious ideas. The narrator’s description of the cliff, with its sheer drop of sixteen hundred feet, should remind most readers that in a strong wind, they would feel and behave much the same as the narrator. This realization makes the next idea even more significant: The pose the narrator has adopted is pointedly a pose of worship drawn from the Old Testament of the Bible. The narrator abases himself full-length, not daring to look up while clinging to the earth. He behaves as if he is in the presence of God, and this is before the tide turns and the maelstrom forms. The tame scene evokes in the narrator the awe of a mortal in a god’s presence; when he sees the maelstrom, he feels he is looking into the heart of awesome, divine mystery.

When the maelstrom forms, when the earth really trembles and the sea boils and the heavens shout and the guide asks him what he sees and hears, he replies, “this can be nothing else than the great whirlpool of the Maelström.” The narrator continues to see it as a more than natural phenomenon. Unable to accept the naturalistic account of it offered by the Encyclopædia Britannica , he is drawn instead by the power that it exerts over his imagination to see it as a manifestation of occult powers, an eruption of supernatural power into the natural world. This view forms the context within which the guide tells his tale.

An important feature of the guide’s story is the contrast between his sense of chaotic threat and his repeated perceptions that suggest an ordered purpose within this chaos. It almost seems at times as if the episode were designed to teach the fisherman a lesson that he would then pass on through the narrator to the reader, though conveying a simple moral seems not to be the fisherman’s purpose. For the fisherman, it was good fortune, assisted perhaps by a kind Providence, that allowed him to find a means of escape once his fishing boat had been sucked into the gigantic whirlpool and had begun its gradual descent toward the rushing foam at the bottom of the funnel of water. The main sign of design in these events is that just as the boat is blown into the whirlpool by the sudden and violent hurricane, a circle opens in the black clouds, revealing a bright moon that illuminates the scene of terror. This event makes the weather into a symmetrical picture: An inverted funnel of clouds ascending to an opening where the moon appears, over a funnel of whirling seawater descending into an obscured opening where a rainbow appears, “like that narrow and tottering bridge which Musselmen say is the only pathway between Time and Eternity.” This view of a tremendous overarching cosmic order composing a scene of mortal chaos produces other kinds of order that help to save the fisherman.

Bewitched by the beauty that he sees in this scene, the fisherman, like the narrator on the cliff-top, gains control of himself, loses his fear, and begins to look around, merely for the sake of enjoying it: “I began to reflect how magnificent a thing it was to die in such a manner . . . in view of so wonderful a manifestation of God’s power.” Studying the beauty, he regains his self-possession, and in possession of his faculties, no longer terrified, he begins to understand how the whirlpool works, and he learns that different shapes and sizes of objects descend its sides at different rates. Attaching himself to a cylindrical barrel, he slows his descent enough that instead of going to the bottom and so across the mystical bridge he envisions there, he is borne up until the maelstrom stops and he finds himself again in comparatively calm water.

For the fisherman, his narrow escape is a tale of wonder, luck, and divine mercy. For the reader, however, carefully prepared by the narrator and supported by elements in the fisherman’s story upon which he does not comment, the story also illustrates the inscrutability of the God that may be visible in nature. This is not a God who operates nature solely for human benefit, though he has given humanity reason, aesthetic sense, and the power of faith that can allow people to survive in, and even enjoy, the terrors of nature. The fisherman’s brother, who survives the onslaught of the storm to experience the maelstrom with him, is never able to move by means of faith or the appreciation of beauty beyond his terror; this makes his despair at impending death insuperable, so he cannot discover a way of escape or even attempt the one offered by the fisherman.

Though not necessarily unique in this respect, the United States has throughout its history been a nation where large groups of people tended to assume that they had discovered the one truth that explained the universe and history and where it seemed easy to believe that a benevolent God had designed a manifest destiny for the nation and, perhaps, for humankind as a whole if led by American thought. Poe was among those who distrusted such thinking deeply. A Descent into the Maelström is one of many Poe stories in which part of the effect is to undercut such assumptions in his readers by emphasizing the mysteries of nature and the inadequacy of human ideas to encompass them, much less encompass the divinity of which nature might be a manifestation.

The Purloined Letter

Although A Descent into the Maelström emphasizes the inadequacy of human intelligence to comprehend God’s purposes in the universe, it also emphasizes the crucial importance of people using what intelligence they have to find truth and beauty in nature and experience. T he Purloined Letter, one of Poe’s best detective stories, places a greater emphasis on the nature and importance of intelligence, while still pointing at mysteries of human character. This story first appeared in two magazine versions in 1844: a shorter version in Chamber’s Edinburgh Journal and what has become the final version in The Gift . It was then collected in Tales.

The narrator and his friend C. Auguste Dupin are smoking and meditating in Dupin’s darkened library, when they are interrupted by the comical Monsieur G—, the prefect of the Paris police. The prefect tries to pretend that he is merely paying a friendly call, but he cannot help making it clear that he has come to Dupin with a troubling problem. He eventually explains that the MinisterD—has managed, in the presence of an important lady, presumably the queen, to steal from her a compromising letter with which he might damage her severely by showing it to her husband. He has since been using the threat of revealing the letter to coerce the queen’s cooperation in influencing policy. As the prefect repeats, to Dupin’s delight, getting the letter back without publicity ought to be simple for an expert policeman. One merely finds where it is hidden and takes it back. The letter must be within easy reach of the minister to be useful, and so by minute searching of his home and by having a pretended thief waylay him, the letter should surely be found. All these things have been done with great care, and the letter has not been found. The prefect is stumped. Dupin’s advice is to search again. A few weeks later, the prefect returns, still without success. Dupin then manipulates the prefect into declaring what he would pay to regain the letter, instructs him to write Dupin a check for that amount, and gives him the letter. The prefect is so astonished and gratified that he runs from the house, not even bothering to ask how Dupin has managed this feat.

The second half of the story consists of Dupin’s explanation to the narrator, with a joke or two at the prefect’s expense, of how he found and obtained the letter. As in Dupin’s other cases, notably the famous The Murders in the Rue Morgue , the solution involves a rigorous and seemingly miraculous application of rationality to the problem. Although in these stories Poe was establishing conventions for detection and stories about it that would flower richly in Arthur Conan Doyle’s tales of Sherlock Holmes, the principles upon which Dupin works are slightly but significantly different from Holmes’s principles.

One key difference is the importance of poetic imagination to the process. Most of Dupin’s explanation of his procedure has to do with how one goes about estimating the character and ability of one’s opponent, for understanding what the criminal may do is ultimately more important to a solution than successful deduction. It requires a kind of poet to penetrate the criminal’s mind; a “mere” mathematician can make competent deductions from given ideas, as the prefect has done. It takes a combination of poet and mathematician—in short, Dupin—to solve such a crime dependably. The prefect has greatly underestimated the minister because he is known to be a poet and the prefect believes poets are fools. Dupin says that the police often fail because they assume that the criminal’s intelligence mirrors their own, and therefore over- or underestimate the criminal’s ability. Having established that the minister is a very cunning opponent who will successfully imagine the police response to his theft, Dupin is able to deduce quite precisely how the minister will hide the letter, by placing it very conspicuously, so as not to appear hidden at all, and by disguising it. Dupin’s deduction proves exactly right, and by some careful plotting, he is able to locate and regain it.

The two main portions of the story, presenting the problem and the solution, illustrate the nature and powers of human reason. The end of the story emphasizes mystery by raising questions about morality. Although reason is a powerful instrument for solving problems and bringing about actions in the world, and solving problems is a satisfying kind of activity that makes Dupin feel proud and virtuous, his detecting occurs in a morally ambiguous world. The end of the story calls attention repeatedly to the relationship between Dupin and the Minister D—, a final quotation from a play even hinting that they could be brothers, though there is no other evidence that this is the case. Dupin claims intimate acquaintance and frequent association with the minister; indeed, these are the foundation of his inferences about the man’s character and ability. They disagree, however, politically. The nature of this disagreement is not explained, but the story takes place in nineteenth century Paris, and Dupin’s actions seem to support the royal family against a rebellious politician. Dupin, in leaving a disguised substitute for the regained letter, has arranged for the minister’s fall from power and may even have endangered his life.

By providing this kind of information at the end, Poe raises moral and political questions, encouraging the reader to wonder whether Dupin’s brilliant detection serves values of which the reader might approve. To those questions, the story offers no answers. In this way, Dupin’s demonstration of a magnificent human intellect is placed in the context of moral mystery, quite unlike the tales of Sherlock Holmes and related classical detectives. On a moral level, who are Dupin and the minister, and what are the meanings of their actions with regard to the well-being of French citizens? Although Poe invented what became major conventions in detective fiction— the rational detective, his less able associate, the somewhat ridiculous police force, the solution scene—his detective stories show greater moral complexity than those of his best-known followers.

The Fall of the House of Usher

The Fall of the House of Usher has everything a Poe story is supposed to have according to the popular view of him: a gothic house, a terrified narrator, live burial, madness, and horrific catastrophe. One of his most popular and most discussed stories, this one has been variously interpreted by critics, provoking controversy about how to read it that remains unsettled. This story was first published in 1839, and it appeared in both of Poe’s fiction collections.

The narrator journeys to the home of his boyhood chum, Roderick Usher, a man of artistic talent and generous reputation. Usher has been seriously ill and wishes the cheerful companionship of his old friend. The narrator arrives at the grimly oppressive house in its equally grim and oppressive setting, determined to be cheerful and helpful, but finds himself overmatched. The house and its environs radiate gloom, and though Usher alternates between a kind of creative mania and the blackest depression, he tends also on the whole to radiate gloom. Usher confides that he is upset in part because his twin sister, Madeline, is mortally ill. It develops, however, that the main reason Usher is depressed is that he has become in some way hypersensitive, and this sensitivity has revealed to him that his house is a living organism that is driving him toward madness. The narrator does not want to believe this, but the longer he stays in the house with Usher, the more powerfully Usher’s point of view dominates him. Madeline dies and, to discourage grave robbers, Usher and the narrator temporarily place her in a coffin in a vault beneath the house. Once Madeline is dead, Usher’s alternation of mood ceases, and he remains always deeply gloomy.

Analysis of Edgar Allan Poe’s The Fall of the House of Usher

On his last evening at Usher, the narrator witnesses several events that seem to confirm Usher’s view that the house is driving him mad. Furthermore, these confirmations seem to suggest that the house is just one in a nest of Chinese boxes, in a series of closed, walled-in enclosures that make up the physical and spiritual universe. This oft-repeated image is represented most vividly in one of Usher’s paintings, what appears to be a burial vault unnaturally lit from within. This image conveys the idea of the flame of human consciousness imprisoned, as if buried alive in an imprisoning universe. The terrifying conviction of this view is one of the causes of Usher’s growing madness. On the last evening, a storm seems to enclose the house as if it were inside a box of wind and cloud, on which the house itself casts an unnatural light. The narrator tries to comfort both himself and Usher by reading a story, but the sound effects described in the story are echoed in reality in the house. Usher, as his reason crumbles, interprets these sounds as Madeline, not really dead, breaking through various walls behind which she has been placed—her coffin and the vault—until finally, Usher claims, she is standing outside the door of the room where they are reading. The door opens, perhaps supernaturally, and there she stands. The narrator watches the twins fall against each other and collapse; he rushes outside only to see the house itself collapse into its reflection in the pool that stands before it, this last event taking place under the unnatural light of a blood-red moon.

Such a summary helps to reveal one of the main sources of conflicting interpretation. How could such events really occur? Is not this a case of an unreliable narrator, driven toward a horrific vision by some internal conflicts that might be inferred from the content of the vision? This viewpoint has tended to dominate critical discussion of the story, provoking continuous opposition from more traditionally minded readers who argue that The Fall of the House of Usher is a supernatural tale involving occult forces of some kind. Both modes of interpretation have their problems, and so neither has been able to establish itself as superior to the other.

One of the main difficulties encountered by both sides is accounting for the way that the narrator tells his story. He seems involved in the same sort of problem that the community of literary critics experiences. He is represented as telling the story of this experience some time after the events took place. He insists that there are no supernatural elements in his story, that everything that happened at the House of Usher can be accounted for in a naturalistic way. In this respect, he is like the narrator of A Descent into the Maelström. He “knows” that the natural world operates according to regular “natural” laws, but when he actually sees the whirlpool, his imagination responds involuntarily with the conviction that this is something supernatural. Likewise, the narrator of The Fall of the House of Usher is convinced that the world can be understood in terms of natural law and, therefore, that what has happened to him at Usher either could not have happened or must have a natural explanation. Like the narrator of The Black Cat, another of Poe’s most famous stories, this narrator hopes that by telling the story, perhaps again, he will arrive at an acceptable explanation or that his listener will confirm his view of the events.

Perhaps The Fall of the House of Usher is a kind of trap, set to enmesh readers in the same sort of difficulty in which the narrator finds himself. If this is the case, then the story functions in a way consistent with Poe’s theme of the inadequacy of models constructed by human intelligence to map the great mysteries of life and the universe. The narrator says he has had an experience that he cannot explain and that points toward an inscrutable universe, one that might be conceived as designed to drive humans mad if they find themselves compelled to comprehend it. Likewise, in reading the story, the reader has an experience that finally cannot be explained, that seems designed to drive readers mad if they insist upon achieving a final view of its wholeness. The story itself may provide an experience that demonstrates the ultimate inadequacy of human reason to understand the mysteries of creation.

Although Poe wrote a variety of stories, he is best remembered for his tales of terror and madness. His popular literary reputation is probably a distorted view of Poe, both as person and as artist. Although he was tragically addicted to alcohol and while he did experience considerable difficulty in a milieu that was not particularly supportive, he was nevertheless an accomplished artist whose work, especially when viewed as a whole, is by no means the mere outpouring of a half-mad, anguished soul. To look closely at any of his best work is to see ample evidence of a writer in full artistic control of his materials, calculating his effects with a keen eye. Furthermore, to examine the range and quantity of his writing, to attend to the quantity of his humor— of which there are interesting examples even in The Fall of the House of Usher —to notice the beauty of his poetry, to study the learned intelligence of his best criticism—in short, to see Poe whole—must lead to the recognition that his accomplishments far exceed the narrow view implied by his popular reputation.

Principal short fiction • Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque, 1840; The Prose Romances of Edgar Allan Poe, 1843; Tales, 1845; The Short Fiction of Edgar Allan Poe, 1976 (Stuart Levine and Susan Levine, editors).

Other Major Works Play: Politian, pb. 1835-1836. Novels: The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym, 1838. Miscellaneous: The Complete Works of Edgar Allan Poe, 1902 (17 volumes); Collected Works of Edgar Allan Poe, 1969, 1978 (3 volumes). Nonfiction: The Letters of Edgar Allan Poe, 1948; Literary Criticism of Edgar Allan Poe, 1965; Essays and Reviews, 1984. Poetry: Tamerlane, and Other Poems, 1827; Al Aaraaf, Tamerlane, and Minor Poems, 1829; Poems, 1831; The Raven, and Other Poems, 1845; Eureka: A Prose Poem, 1848; Poe: Complete Poems, 1959; Poems, 1969 (volume 1 of Collected Works).

Bibliography Brown, Arthur A. “Literature and the Impossibility of Death: Poe’s ‘Berenice.’” Nineteenth- Century Literature 50 (March, 1996): 448-463. Burluck, Michael L. Grim Phantasms: Fear in Poe’s Short Fiction. New York: Garland, 1993. Carlson, Eric, ed. Critical Essays on Edgar Allan Poe. Boston: G. K. Hall, 1987. Crisman, William. “Poe’s Dupin as Professional, the Dupin Stories as Serial Text.” Studies in American Fiction 23 (Autumn, 1995): 215-229. Frank, Lawrence. “‘The Murders in the Rue Morgue’: Edgar Allan Poe’s Evolutionary Reverie.” Nineteenth-Century Literature 50 (September, 1995): 168-188. Kennedy, J. Gerald. A Historical Guide to Edgar Allan Poe. New York: Oxford University Press, 2001. May, Charles E. Edgar Allan Poe: A Study of the Short Fiction. Boston: Twayne, 1991. ____________, ed. Masterplots II: Short Story Series, Revised Edition. 8 vols. Pasadena, Calif.: Salem Press, 2004. Peeples, Scott. Edgar Allan Poe Revisited. New York: Twayne, 1998. Sova, Dawn B. Edgar Allen Poe, A to Z: The Essential Reference to His Life and Work. New York: Facts On File, 2001. Thoms, Peter. Detection and Its Designs: Narrative and Power in Nineteenth-Century Detective Fiction. Athens: Ohio University Press, 1998. Whalen, Terence. Edgar Allan Poe and the Masses: The Political Economy of Literature in Antebellum America. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1999.

Edgar Allan Poe: Literary Devices and Their Meaning Essay

Edgar Allan Poe’s works have thoroughly impacted American literature and European story writing approaches as well. Namely, Poe is one of the fathers of the short story genre, after Maupassant. However, the exquisite language, meaningful composition, and ambiguous images differentiate his works from Maupassant’s stories. The purpose of his style, ornate and yet concise, of the grotesque characters, the growing tension in the narrative is “the greatest possible effect on his readers” (Levine et al. 601). In his essays and novels, Poe attempted to issue various philosophical questions and mental phenomena (Levine et al. 607). The most important of the motifs featured by the author is the fate of ill-minded people, vicious, profligate, and arrogant. As such, his “William Wilson. A Tale” is a story about a wicked narrator’ twin man who seems to display consciousness. “The Masque of the Red Death” represents an elite group participating in excessive revels during a plague. Both works are unique in their representation of perverse human inclinations and consequences of virtueless actions; word choices and composition support the ambience of souls’ decay and the author’s judgment.

First of all, “William Wilson. A Tale” is replete with lexis that reveals the self-condemnation of a narrator. The reciter of the story comments on his past full of misfortunes and wrongdoings, describing it as “unspeakable misery” and “unpardonable crime” (Poe, “William Wilson. A Tale” 642). Although the narrator recounts his actions as errorful, he is insincere in his reproaches to himself, since right after the words about the mishaps, he blames society for his own depravity. Precisely, he calls himself “the slave of circumstances beyond human control” (Poe, “William Wilson. A Tale” 642). The change to the madness of the storyteller leads to the unpredictable result: he killed the man who had copied his lifestyle and had given guidance on how to prevent a shameful deed. The rich internal world of the character, his refined language with metaphors like “oasis of fatality amid a wilderness of error,” contrast with the poor qualities he exhibits towards other people and his soul health (Poe, “William Wilson. A Tale” 642). Thus, the author uses literary devices and language effects to create a double-natured personality that would enable multilayered work.

As compared with the mentioned work, “The Masque of the Red Death” differs in its frequently used words, which has significance. The initial tone of the story is pompous, majestic, and delighted. The feast organized by Prince Prospero is called “magnificent,” “a voluptuous scene,” a colorful “masquerade” (Poe, “The Masque of the Red Death” 662). Ample details are given for the description of the architectural exquisiteness of the castle, which was designed according to Prince’s “conceptions glowed with barbaric lustre” (Poe, “The Masque of the Red Death” 662). The picturesque festival is interrupted only by the looming image of the Red Death, a plague, “the figure in question had out-Heroded Herod” (Poe, “The Masque of the Red Death” 665). A simile features how pestilence reaches the reveling throng: “he had come like a thief in the night” (Poe, “The Masque of the Red Death” 666). With grotesque description, Poe shows the highly contrasting picture of excessive carnival and dramatic consequence that awaits the arrogant people and arrives unexpectedly. Therefore, the writer used the ingenious, pretentious style for a more meaningful composition with opposing beginning and end in this short story.

The role of the narrator in both stories is different but of equal significance to the didactic purpose of the works. In “William Wilson. A Tale, ” the author provides the reader with a more personal narrative type with a first-person account of the events. Such a style allows introducing the chain of thoughts of the main character, a synoptic view on the occurring matters. This perspective is intentionally distorted since it presents the slow decay of the hero into delusion, in consequence of which he kills himself. William Wilson, the narrator, seems an intelligent person; the allusions to world history testify of his great well-educatedness: he mentions Elah-Gabalus in his reflections (Poe, “William Wilson. A Tale” 642). At first, a reader may value the narrator’s mind and sympathize with him in his issue with the copycat. However, the character’s deeds are virtually vicious in contrast to his rational worldview and beauteous language. Thereby, Poe strikes his readers with ambiguous William and his speech only to disillusion them by his wickedness.

On the other hand, the detached manner of narration in “The Masque of the Red Death” is considerably effective but has a different purpose. The author seems to be not present in the text, utterly unrelated to the events and people of his description. The readers are given only graphic details of the revel and not the motivation of its participants on why they have left their country in such an irresponsible fashion. Hence, the text is accessible to interpretation, although it is almost apparent what a sense hides behind the scenery. The festival is an escapist phantasmagory, demonstrating the inability of its individuals to receive blame for their immorality and slothfulness in the time of crisis. The Red Death presents an anxious burden of consequences that finally punish those trying to escape them. Consequently, it could be said that Poe appeals to the same method of the unclear judgment of the sinners with the aid of contrast between colorful spectacle and corrupt behavior of the characters.

The doom that has always awaited the wrongdoers is best shown in the passage displaying the appearance of the Red Death. Poe writes in his “The Masque of the Red Death”:

And now was acknowledged the presence of the Red Death. He had come like a thief in the night. And one by one dropped the revellers in the blood-bedewed halls of their revel, and died each in the despairing posture of his fall. And the life of the ebony clock went out with that of the last of the gay. And the flames of the tripods expired. And Darkness and Decay and the Red Death held illimitable dominion over all (666).

The very structure of the passage is attempted to act like religious texts since it is similar to biblical formulations with constant repetitions of “and.” The language is highly imaginative; various epithets are used. Herefore, the literary beauty and strength are combined with philosophical meaning and didactic intent.

In conclusion, Edgar Allan Poe depicts the individuals with deceased minds that try to ignore reality with outcomes of their wrongdoings. Either the intellectual outcast delves into his evil mind and loses himself, or deranged revelers who lock themselves in the castle, all are not the victims of fate but the violent miscreants. The author heats his stories with numerous metaphors, similes, and allusions to the mass culture phenomena of his time. Hence, the works of Poe are essential not only because of their literary beauty but for the immense depository of sense contained within them.

Works Cited

Levine, Robert S., et al., editors. “Edgar Allan Poe.” The Norton Anthology of American Literature , 9th ed., RedShelf ed., vol. 1B, New York, NY, W. W. Norton & Company, 2017, pp. 604–08.

Poe, Edgar A. “The Masque of the Red Death.” The Norton Anthology of American Literature , edited by Robert S. Levine et al., 9th ed., RedShelf ed., vol. 1B, New York, NY, W. W. Norton & Company, 2017, pp. 662–66.

—. “William Wilson. A Tale.” The Norton Anthology of American Literature , edited by Robert S. Levine et al., 9th ed., RedShelf ed., vol. 1B, New York, NY, W. W. Norton & Company, 2017, pp. 642–55.

Chicago (A-D)
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The Enigmatic World of Edgar Allan Poe: Exploring his Impact on 19th Century Literature

Welcome to my blog, 19th Century ! In this article, we delve into the captivating world of Edgar Allan Poe, a literary genius whose haunting tales and dark poetry dominated the 19th century . Join us as we explore his life, works, and enduring legacy in the realm of literature.

Table of Contents

Edgar Allan Poe: A Literary Pioneer of the 19th Century

Edgar Allan Poe was a literary pioneer of the 19th century. His works, filled with dark and macabre themes , revolutionized the genres of horror and detective fiction . Poe’s haunting tales, such as “The Fall of the House of Usher” and “The Tell-Tale Heart,” captivated readers and shaped the development of American literature. His innovative storytelling techniques , including the use of first-person narration and a focus on psychological suspense, continue to inspire writers to this day. Despite facing financial struggles and personal tragedies, Poe’s literary legacy remains indelible, making him an influential figure in the history of 19th-century literature.

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Edgar Allan Poe was an American writer and poet who lived during the 19th century . He is considered one of the most important figures in American literature and is best known for his dark and macabre stories and poems. Poe’s work had a significant impact on the development of the horror genre and the modern detective story . His famous works include “The Raven,” “The Fall of the House of Usher,” and “The Tell-Tale Heart.” Poe’s writings often explored themes of death, the supernatural, and human psychology . He was also known for his unique and innovative writing style, characterized by vivid imagery, poetic language, and a focus on creating a haunting atmosphere. Poe’s contributions to literature continue to be celebrated and studied today , and he remains a respected and influential figure in American literary history.

What was Edgar Allan Poe’s impact on literature?

Edgar Allan Poe had a significant impact on literature during the 19th century. His unique writing style and themes set him apart from other writers of his time. He is widely regarded as a master of Gothic literature and is known for his dark, macabre, and often mysterious tales.

Poe’s works were groundbreaking and influential in several ways. Firstly, he played a crucial role in developing the modern short story genre. His stories, such as “The Tell-Tale Heart” and “The Fall of the House of Usher,” featured concise and tightly structured narratives that became a model for future writers.

Poe also made significant contributions to detective fiction. His character C. Auguste Dupin, featured in stories like “The Murders in the Rue Morgue,” established the archetype of the brilliant detective, inspiring later iconic characters like Sherlock Holmes.

Moreover, Poe’s exploration of the human mind and psychological themes greatly influenced the development of psychological realism in literature. His characters often grappled with madness, guilt, and obsession, delving into the darkest recesses of the human psyche.

In addition to his fictional works, Poe’s critical essays and reviews had a profound impact on literary theory and criticism. He was one of the first writers to emphasize the importance of unity of effect in a work of literature and advocated for artistic integrity and careful craftsmanship.

Overall, Edgar Allan Poe’s innovative writing style, thematic choices, and contributions to different literary genres established him as a prominent figure in 19th-century literature. His influence can still be seen in modern literature, film, and popular culture today.

In what historical context was Edgar Allan Poe situated?

Edgar Allan Poe was situated in the historical context of the 19th century . He is widely regarded as one of America’s greatest literary figures and a prominent writer of the Romantic movement. Born in 1809, Poe lived during a time of significant social, political, and cultural changes.

During the 19th century, industrialization and urbanization were rapidly transforming American society. This shift from agrarian to industrial led to economic growth but also brought about various social issues, including poverty, inequality, and urban decay. The growing divide between the rich and poor fueled a sense of discontent and alienation among many individuals, which was reflected in Poe’s works.

As an author, Poe explored themes such as death, madness, guilt, and the supernatural. His dark and mysterious stories, poems, and essays captured the anxieties and uncertainties of his time. Poe’s tales often depicted characters who were haunted by their own inner demons or faced with the horrors of the unknown. His writings showcased the psychological turmoil that was prevalent in a society grappling with rapid change.

Furthermore, Poe’s works were influenced by the rise of Gothic literature and the increasing fascination with the macabre during the 19th century. He drew inspiration from European Gothic traditions while incorporating uniquely American elements into his storytelling. Poe’s writing style, characterized by vivid imagery, suspense, and a focus on the subconscious, resonated with readers and established him as a key figure in American literature.

In addition to his literary contributions, Poe played a role in shaping the development of detective fiction through his iconic character, C. Auguste Dupin. His detective stories laid the groundwork for future writers in the genre, and his analytical approach to solving mysteries became a defining characteristic of detective fiction.

Overall, Edgar Allan Poe existed in a time of tremendous change and upheaval. His unique literary voice, centered around themes of darkness and despair, left a lasting impact on American literature in the 19th century and beyond.

In which century did Edgar Allan Poe write?

Edgar Allan Poe wrote primarily in the 19th century .

Frequently Asked Questions

How did edgar allan poe’s writings reflect the dark and melancholic themes prevalent in 19th-century literature.

Edgar Allan Poe , a renowned American writer of the 19th century, was known for his distinctive writing style that often explored dark and melancholic themes. His writings reflected the prevalent literary atmosphere of the time, which was characterized by a fascination with the macabre, the supernatural, and the exploration of human psyche.

Poe’s works were deeply rooted in the Romantic movement, which emphasized intense emotions and the individual experience. He employed gothic elements such as mystery, suspense, and terror to convey a sense of unease and psychological turmoil. Through his use of vivid imagery, symbolism, and intricate wordplay, Poe created an unsettling atmosphere that resonated with readers of his time.

Additionally, Poe’s writings often delved into themes of death, madness, and the irrational aspects of the human mind. His characters were frequently tormented, haunted by guilt or obsession, and driven to the brink of insanity. This exploration of the darker aspects of human nature reflected the 19th-century fascination with the mysteries of the human condition and the limitations of reason.

Furthermore, Poe’s works incorporated elements of detective fiction, which was a genre that gained popularity during the 19th century. His famous protagonist, C. Auguste Dupin, paved the way for future detective characters in literature. Through his stories, Poe explored the complexities of human psychology and the power of deductive reasoning, reflecting the intellectual climate of the time.

Edgar Allan Poe’s writings were emblematic of the dark and melancholic themes prevalent in 19th-century literature. Through his unique style and exploration of the human psyche, he captured the fascination with the macabre and the mysteries of the human condition that defined the literary landscape of the time.

What impact did Edgar Allan Poe have on the development of the American Gothic tradition in the 19th century?

Edgar Allan Poe had a significant impact on the development of the American Gothic tradition in the 19th century. As one of the most prominent writers of his time, Poe’s works were instrumental in shaping the genre and establishing its conventions.

Poe’s exploration of dark themes and his innovative narrative techniques played a pivotal role in defining the American Gothic tradition. His stories often revolved around themes of madness, death, and the supernatural, creating an eerie and unsettling atmosphere. Through his use of vivid imagery and descriptive language, Poe captivated readers and evoked a sense of terror and suspense.

Poe’s influence extended beyond his own works, as he inspired and influenced many other writers who followed in his footsteps. His unique style and subject matter paved the way for future American Gothic writers such as H.P. Lovecraft and Ambrose Bierce. The psychological depth and introspection present in Poe’s works also had a lasting impact on the development of the genre.

Poe’s most famous works, such as “The Fall of the House of Usher,” “The Tell-Tale Heart,” and “The Raven,” are considered classics of American Gothic literature. These stories exemplify the elements that would come to define the genre, including the exploration of dark and taboo subjects, the use of unreliable narrators, and the creation of a haunting and eerie atmosphere.

Edgar Allan Poe’s contributions to the American Gothic tradition cannot be overstated. His exploration of dark themes, innovative narrative techniques, and lasting influence on subsequent writers have solidified his place as a key figure in the development of the genre during the 19th century.

How did Edgar Allan Poe’s personal struggles and experiences influence his writing style and themes during the 19th century?

Edgar Allan Poe’s personal struggles and experiences deeply influenced his writing style and themes during the 19th century. Poe’s turbulent life, marked by poverty, loss, and addiction, is reflected in his dark and macabre writing. His works often explore themes of death, madness, and the human psyche, showcasing a deep fascination with the darker aspects of human existence.

Poe’s childhood experiences also had a significant impact on his writing style. He was orphaned at a young age and raised by foster parents who were not particularly supportive. This sense of abandonment and longing for love and belonging permeates many of his works. For example, in “The Fall of the House of Usher,” the theme of isolation and the decay of familial bonds is prominent.

Poe’s struggles with alcoholism and addiction are evident in his exploration of psychological instability and self-destructive behavior in his stories. Characters in his works often battle with inner demons and engage in acts of self-destruction, mirroring Poe’s own struggles. The descent into madness and the inability to escape one’s own vices are recurring themes in his writing.

Furthermore, Poe’s financial hardships influenced his writing style by necessitating the creation of shorter, more marketable works. Many of his stories and poems were published in literary magazines, where brevity was important. This influenced his concise and tightly written prose, characterized by his precise choice of words and deliberate pacing.

Overall, Edgar Allan Poe’s personal struggles and experiences had a profound impact on his writing style and themes during the 19th century. His troubled life shaped his dark and introspective exploration of the human condition, resulting in works that continue to captivate readers with their haunting beauty and psychological depth.

Edgar Allan Poe stands as an iconic figure in 19th century literature . His contributions to the genres of horror, mystery, and detective fiction continue to captivate and inspire readers today. Through his dark and macabre tales, Poe exemplified the prevailing literary trends of the Romantic era, delving into the depths of human psychology and exploring themes of death, madness, and the supernatural.

Poe’s unique writing style, characterized by his precise language, vivid imagery, and use of symbolism, revolutionized the way stories were told during his time. His mastery of suspense and his ability to create an eerie atmosphere have left a lasting influence on subsequent generations of writers.

Moreover, Poe’s literary criticism and essays revealed his deep understanding and appreciation for the craft of writing. His theories on poetry and storytelling still hold relevance today, making him not only a talented writer but also a significant literary critic.

Despite facing personal hardships and struggling with poverty throughout his life, Poe’s works continue to resonate with audiences worldwide. The dark themes and haunting narratives in his writing reflect the anxieties and uncertainties of 19th century society.

In retrospect, Edgar Allan Poe’s impact on literature during the 19th century cannot be underestimated. His stories and poems have become timeless classics, celebrated for their psychological depth and unsettling beauty. Poe’s legacy endures as a testament to the power of the written word and his ability to evoke strong emotions through his art. As we continue to explore and appreciate the works of this literary genius, we are reminded of the profound influence he had on shaping the course of 19th century literature.

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Edgar Allan Poe - Free Essay Samples And Topic Ideas

Edgar Allan Poe was a 19th-century American writer known for his macabre and horror-themed tales. Essays on Poe might delve into his literary style, the themes of death and the macabre, or his influence on the gothic genre. Analyzing his iconic works like “The Tell-Tale Heart,” “The Raven,” or “Annabel Lee,” and exploring his troubled personal life can provide an in-depth understanding of his creative genius and the lasting impact of his work on literature and popular culture. We have collected a large number of free essay examples about Edgar Allan Poe you can find in Papersowl database. You can use our samples for inspiration to write your own essay, research paper, or just to explore a new topic for yourself.

Edgar Allan Poe Themes and Styles

Edgar Allan Poe was born on January 19th, 1809, in Boston, Massachusetts, the child of two actors. He was then adopted by the Allan family after his father abandoned him and his mother passed away. Living in Virginia, he attended the University of Virginia for only one year, due to lack of money, and was recruited into the army by his father. His time in the army was short-lived, and he soon returned home. Soon after he married his thirteen-year-old […]

Themes of Freedom and Confinement in “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allan Poe

Humans have always struggled against freedom. However, they choose not to identify that history has proved again that too much freedom encourage anarchy. Freedom is the right to act, speak or think without hindrance. This theme of freedom is displayed in Poe’s The Cask of Amontillado. For one person to be free, another must die. Fortunato and Montresor are symbols of how human nature display differently in different people in varying combinations of psychological and physical freedom. “It was about dusk, […]

Rhetorical Analysis: the Raven

In January 1845, “The Raven” by Edgar Allen Poe was born, it was deemed one of Poe’s greatest poems. The purpose of “The Raven” was set around a man grieving for the love of Lenore. A raven land in the chamber of a mans home through the window. When asking the raven questions, the answers that he receives are only “Nevermore”. That being the only word the raven can speak it reminds him of his loss of Lenore. Edgar Allen […]

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‘The Cask of Amontillado’ and ‘The Tell-tale Heart’ by Edgar Allan Poe

Punishment is not for revenge, but to lessen crime and reform the criminal. By these words, Elizabeth Fly means the fact of imposing punishment is a significant manifestation of his punitive influence. Appointment of punishment in some cases the pain has a significant effect on the convicted than its execution, for example, a fine. It is the appointment of a punishment that gives the convict certain moral suffering, shame and shame that is an integral part of the practice of […]

“The Cask of Amontillado” Story by Edgar Allan Poe

In the story “The Cask of Amontillado” the Author Edgar Allen Poe uses “Montresor” who was once a nobleman, to represent the “monster” of the story as he acts of violence and revenge against his enemy “Fortunato” for the insults and suffering Fortunato has caused upon Montresor. “The Cask of Amontillado” is a mystery story, with an underlying question as for why did he do it? “The Cask of Amontillado” main goal was Montresor’s urge to get back Fortunato for […]

Gothic Elements in the Tell Tale Heart and other Novels

The gothic period came apparent from a style of writing with elements of death and horror. Edgar Allan Poe was one of the first writers to foster the genre of detective and horror. Poe’s writing had a crucial impingement on the Gothic Period. This can be perceived through the usage of punctuation, sentence structure, calculated word choice, tone, and usage of figurative language. Poe’s unique writing style can be seen throughout all of his poems, and a few poems that […]

Edgar Allan Poe the Mastermind

Poe shows few bits of irony in The Cask of Amontillado. Starting with the setting it’s set at a carnival that is already ironic. The carnival is a place of happiness and excitement, but what occurs in the story is anything but happy and exciting (462). Another thing that is very ironic is Fortunato’s name means fortunate and well after all he was not fortunate at all. Fortunato’s was wearing a jester outfit in the story, but he is not […]

Edgar Allan Poe “The Cask of Amontillado” Essay

Many critics have proposed subjective interpretations of the motive of Montresor murdering Fortunato in Edgar Allan Poe’s tale of horror, “The Cask of Amontillado.” Debates arise about Poe’s use literary formulation, symbolism, imagination, and philosophic ideals, along with his application of the terms he coined such as the “Heresy of the Didactic” and the “Tale of Ratiocination” in order to determine whether the motive is rooted within family pride and the characters egotistical personas, or symbolic of conflicts between old […]

Insanity in the Tell Tale Heart

An unstable narrator is tortured, and when he can no longer take it and has reached the breaking point, the man murders his master. This is the out-of-control conflict created in Edgar Allan Poe’s famous short story, “Tell-Tale Heart.” The short story is published in 1843 and gives a better understanding of what an insane person is capable of. Edgar Allan Poe focuses part of his literature on the genre of horror to force many to take it more seriously […]

Edgar Allan Poe – Fascination

"Edgar Allan Poe had a fascination with death due to the people in his life dying around him. Poe is known for writing gothic horror stories that involve elements of the supernatural and nature. He often writes disturbing poems and stories about life that is filled with chaos and sadness. His stories revolve around murder, suicide, and an overall morbid feel. These stories are animated with haunting imagery and dark portrayals of human nature. Many of Poe’s stories have an […]

Edgar Allan Poe in Romantic Literature

In english class this semester we read a few romantic literaries, One that I enjoyed very much was Eleonora by Edgar Allan Poe. He was considered one of the most important influenced american writers of his time. I thought the meaning behind his short story Eleonora, is that it's OK to break a vow of eternal love. This story is all about concern and is an emotional importance to the writer. The short story Eleonora is quite easy to comprehend. […]

Romantic and Gothic Elements in House of Usher

Edgar Allan Poe stands alone with an unparalleled style of writing and aesthetic taste he adds to his literary work. His literary theories and creative techniques are totally different from the mainstream literature work written during his times. Poe adopted Gothic technique in the composition of one of his most famous stories, “The Fall of The House of Usher.” Gothic genre involves the use of supernaturalism, mysterious occurrences, and strange characters and settings. In this tale, Poe presents a terrifying […]

Exploring the Tone in “Annabel Lee” by Edgar Allan Poe: the Harmony of Love and Desolation

Edgar Allan Poe has such a way with words that make his poems such an interesting read. “Annabel Lee” was the last complete poem composed by Poe, and like many of his poems, it explores the theme of death. Introduction to Poe’s Last Complete Poem There is a debate about whom the poem is talking about in Poe's life, and it is believed to be his wife, Virginia Eliza Clemm Poe. The poem is constructed of six stanzas, three with […]

Edgar Allan Poe, the Master of Gothic

Fear, superstition and the feeling of paranoia that attendants experienced on the camp meetings are also the characteristic effects of Gothic fiction. Although according to Allan Lloyd Smith, at first America did not seem to be a perfect place to write Gothic fiction because the country did not have castles and legends like the Europeans, “four indigenous features were to prove decisive in producing a powerful and long lasting American variant of Gothic: the frontier, the Puritan legacy, race, and […]

Edgar Allan Poe: Narration and Gothic Style in “The Tell-Tale Heart

The debate that Poe is fundamentally a bad or tasteless stylist appears to be rather superficial. It is ultimately based on the shaky and often unanalyzed assumption that Poe and his narrators are identical and that he must be held responsible for their actions; their characteristics and strong emotions are too often conceived as emanating from Poe himself. On the contrary, Poe's narrators possess a character and consciousness distinct from those of their creator. These protagonists speak their own thoughts […]

Edgar Allan Poe – the Cask of Amontillado

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Impact of Poe and Hawthorne

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What Inspired Edgar Allan Poe to Write: Exploring the Dark Muse

Edgar Allan Poe's Dark Life and Writing Style Edgar Allan Poe had a grim and gloomy life. It would surely show in his style of writing. From constant death and sickness surrounding Poe came an esteemed author of the 19th century. His writing lives on through many modern books and poems in the same style of gothic fiction. Edgar Allan Poe is one of the most successful and well-known authors of all time. He had many hardships while still alive, […]

Edgar Allan Poe Inspired by Others: Drawn by Influence, Shaping Literary Legacy

Introduction Statistics show that Edgar Allan Poe could very well be the best author/poet in history. His style and technique were so ahead of his time. He is known for his gothic or horror writing style, but Edgar also has some stories that teach a moral lesson. His writing career slowed down after the death of his wife, but he still managed to release decent content. The time period in which Edgar Allen Poe wrote influenced his writings. Edgar is […]

Imagery in the Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe

In the story “The Cask of Amontillado" by Edgar Allan Poe, the theme of revenge forms a great deal of the story. Montresor is the main character and narrator of the story. The story starts with the narration of his insult by Fortunato, his friend. “The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could, but when he ventured upon insult I vowed revenge “(Poe). However, we are not told of the actual offense which made Montresor plot […]

Tell Tale Heart: Analysis of Themes and Elements in Edgar Allan Poe’s Works

Introduction The three Edgar Allan Poe books have many similarities and differences to The Gift of the Magi and Raymond's Run. There are differences in setting, plot, point of view, and symbols. There are similarities in character, conflict, theme, and plot. Although the literature textbook short stories are sort of different, they have more in common than the Edgar Allen Poe books. Body Similarities in Plot and Character Development Raymond's run and the Edgar Allan Poe books have similar plots. […]

Life of Edgar Allen Poe

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An Analysis of Writing Styles of Edgar Allan Poe in the Tell-Tale Heart

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Virginia Eliza Clemm Poe: the Enigmatic Muse of Edgar Allan Poe

Edgar Allan Poe, a name synonymous with macabre tales, intricate poetry, and an air of mystery, is celebrated for his significant contributions to American literature. However, when delving into the life of this enigmatic writer, one cannot ignore the influence of a central figure: his wife, Virginia Eliza Clemm Poe. Virginia, often overshadowed by her husband's literary achievements, played a significant role in Poe's life, both as a muse and as a tether to his tumultuous existence. Born in 1822, […]

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Introduction Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven" stands as a timeless literary masterpiece, delving into the intricate depths of the human psyche and weaving a tapestry of themes such as grief, loss, and madness. First published in 1845, this iconic poem continues to cast a mesmerizing spell over readers with its dark and haunting narrative. In this essay, we will embark on a comprehensive exploration of "The Raven," seeking to unveil its profound themes and dissect its enduring significance within the […]

Is Montresor a Reliable Narrator In”The Cask of Amontillado”

Montresor is both the principal character and narrator im Edgar Allan Poe’s short story The Cask of Amontillado (1846). He relates how he has for too long borne quietly with the many injuries caused by Fortunato, but once having insulted him, Montresor felt unable to tolerate it any further and vowed to secretly plot retribution. Montresor reveals certain aspects of his personality: unreliability as narrator; the absence of sympathy; and confessing and bragging about his actions and desire for retribution. […]

Exploring the Depths of ‘Once Upon a Midnight Dreary’: a Study of Edgar Allan Poe’s Timeless Verse

"Once upon a midnight dreary," the opening line of Edgar Allan Poe's famous poem "The Raven," has echoed through the corridors of literary history, continuing to captivate readers and scholars alike. This line, haunting in its simplicity and rhythmic cadence, sets the stage for a narrative that masterfully blends themes of loss, longing, and the supernatural. Poe's evocative language and the poem's intricate structure invite a deeper exploration of its themes and stylistic elements, making "The Raven" a rich subject […]

Unraveling the Dark Whiskers of “The Black Cat”: Edgar Allan Poe’s Study of Guilt and Madness

In the pantheon of American literature, Edgar Allan Poe's "The Black Cat" occupies a chilling chamber of its own, drawing readers into a macabre world where the veil between sanity and madness is as thin as a cat's whisker. The short story, a first-person narrative, unwinds the yarn of a man who plummets into the depths of guilt and psychological torment. A tale spun with the dark threads of Gothic fiction, "The Black Cat" has clawed its way into the […]

Edgar Allan Poe and his Brief Sojourn at West Point

Edgar Allan Poe, a name synonymous with gothic horror and intricate poetry, is an icon in American literature. Yet, among the myriad facets of his tumultuous life, one of the lesser-known chapters is his brief tenure at the United States Military Academy at West Point. While this period might seem incongruous with the image of the brooding writer, it offers intriguing insights into Poe's character and his journey as an author. In 1830, a young Poe found himself walking the […]