The Theories and Influence of Edgar Allan Poe through His Themes, Tone, and Style

Thomas Clifft

Composition and Modern English II, XTIS-09/T4

Professor Owens

April 07, 2009

Edgar Allan Poe

Edgar Allan Poe’s theories and influence modifies our way of thinking away from literary appropriateness to one of hunger, death, despair, and destruction through imagination, ingenuity, and intrigue.

In the story “The Masque of the Red Death”, he wrote about a plague that kills everyone.

“Blood was its Avatar and its seal – the madness and the horror of blood” (1.2) (Poemuseum).

The theme begins immediately in each tale as his unmatched ability for detail lures you deeper into the unforeseen events unfolding in your own imagination.

Many of Poe’s tales and poems still enchant us today because of the introduction of plays and horror movies taken from his works about torture, insanity, and death.

Each reader has no choice but to immerse into the stories and have mental images of the horrors taking place.

Poe’s poetry challenges us to think in an analytical way and forces us to learn new methods for understanding an underlying meaning.

The Raven

“Perched upon a bust of Pallas just above my chamber door-Perched, and sat, and nothing more” (3.1.5-6) (Island-of-Freedom).

Pallas Avid readers know this is the

Greek Goddess of Wisdom but for everyone else there is Thesaurus.

Edgar Allan Poe influences our own thought process.

His works make you learn new ideas, definitions, and ways of thinking.

His harsh life contributed to the tone and style of his themes.

Poe criticized other American writers and traditional styles of writing.

Controversy spiked the interest of the American reader.

Intrigue surrounds his death, the legacy lives on through his

works and those that attempt to recreate or decipher them.

A professor writes, “His enormous popularity and his continuing influence of literature depend less on legend or vision than on his stylistic and formal accomplishments as a writer of fiction and a great lyric poet” (Quinn).

Scholars study Poe’s literature and give credit for his great accomplishments.

Most people instantly recognize great tales like The Black Cat, The Tell-Tale Heart, The Pit and the Pendulum, and The Cask of Amontillado.

Edgar Allan Poe

Revenge, torture, cruelty, guilt, confessions, and morbid deaths all contribute to his legacy and influence on society today.

His influence is present in our everyday lives as today’s horror, science fiction, and detective stories.

The genius behind the lunatic, which made him famous.

His literary art will live forever in the hearts and minds of innocent people beleaguered by their inconceivable intrigue of gothic horror.

Works Cited• Cantalupo, Barbara. “Music and Poe’s “Poesy” Retrieved 4/26/2009 from

http://www2lv.psu.edu/PSA/2006MLA.html• Hamilton, Rosemary. “Poe Lightly” Retrieved 4/26/09 from

http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/1983/3/83.03.06.x.html• Island-of-Freedom. “The Raven” Retrieved on 4/19/2009 from • http://www.island-of-freedom.com/poe.htm• Kirjasto. Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849). Retrieved on 4/19/2009 from

http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/eapoe.htm• Poe Museum. “The Masque of the Red Death” Retrieved on 4/19/2009 from

http://www.poemuseum.org/selected_works/print_red_death.html• Quinn, Patrick. Edgar Allan Poe. “Poetry and Tales” Library of America.• Retrieved 4/26/2009 from http://www.loa.org/volume.jsp?RequestID=90• Reid, Stephen. “Responding to Literature” The Prentice Hall Guide for College Writers. • New Jersey: Pearson, 2008: 614• Tresch, John. “Extra! Extra! Poe invents science fiction!” The Cambridge Companion to Edgar

Allan Poe. Ed. Kevin J. Hayes. Cambridge University Press, 2002. Retrieved 7 May 2009 http://cco.cambridge.org/uid=/extract?id=cco10521793262_cco10521793262A009

• Wikipedia. “Edgar Allan Poe” Retrieved 4/6/2009 from http://en/wikipedia.org/wiki/Edgar_Allan_Poe