Edgar Allan Poe(1809-1849)

Be sure to take notes,

or I just may haunt

you!

A segment of his obituary…

“Edgar Allan Poe is dead. He died in Baltimore the day before yesterday. This announcement will startle many, but few will be grieved by it. The poet was known, personally or by reputation, in all this country; he had readers in England, and in several of the states of Continental Europe; but he had few or no friends; and the regrets for his death will be suggested principally by the consideration that in him literary art has lost one of its most brilliant but erratic stars.”

-The New York Tribune, Oct. 9,

1849

What does this obituary reveal about how Poe was viewed by many of his contemporaries?!

A Brief Overview of his Life…

Born in Boston to two poor, struggling actors. Both mother and father died while Poe was a baby.

Taken in by wealthy couple, John and Francis Allan, who gave him access to a good education

Attended University of Virginia. During freshman year accumulated high gambling debts and developed a severe drinking problem. Still achieved all A’s. Due to his poor habits, Poe’s parents pulled him from college and Poe moved to Boston.

Poe attempted to publish a collection of poems at his own expense. This was a failure. He joined the army at age 18.

A Brief Overview of his Life… Left the military and moved to New York and then Baltimore in

pursuit of a career writing.

At age 26 Poe won $50 in a poetry contest. He also fell in love and married (his 13 year-old cousin, Virginia!)

Poe held many editor and critic positions for magazines and newspapers; however, his drinking got him fired from them all.

Poe’s writing career peaked in 1845 with the publication of many of his most famous poems and stories.

Virginia’s death in 1847 sent Poe onto a drunken binge. He did go on to get engaged to an old sweetheart, but shortly after, he “disappeared;” he was last seen in a tavern. Some say he

died in a gutter, and his body was not claimed for days.

Oh those haunted eyes…

Boo.

Poe’s genius was barely recognized by the Literary Establishment in his lifetime…

Emerson called him “the Jingle Man”

Others said enthusiasm for Poe’s writing was “the mark of a decidedly primitive stage of reflection.”

Poet T.S. Eliot said Poe’s intellect was that of a “highly gifted young person before puberty.”

However, today Poe is recognized as a writer who had a huge influence on the American consciousness, especially in his use of the supernatural, strong rhythm, and striking images.

Poe’s Contributions and Style

New establishment of symbolic poetry

Brought to life the short story as we now know it

Established psychological analysis and symbolism

His writing appeals simultaneously to reason and emotion

Concentrated on unity of tone in his poems and stories

Had the most scrupulous use of words (precise vocabulary)

Poe: a Romantic Writer…

Romanticism… Imaginative and Personal

Emphasized intuition and inner perceptions

Focus on beauty and mystery of nature

External world of nature is often a reflection of the internal state of the narrator / other characters

Psychological literature

Literary Terms to Review:

Characterization is the method used by a writer to develop a character. The method includes (1) showing the character's appearance, (2) displaying the character's actions, (3) revealing the character's thoughts, (4) letting the character speak, and (5) getting the reactions of others.

Imagery is language that evokes one or all of the five senses: seeing, hearing, tasting, smelling, touching to create a picture in the reader’s mind.

Mood is the feeling the text evokes in the reader.

Let’s look at Poe’s establishment of mood and precise choice of words (diction):

During the whole of a dull, dark, and soundless day in the autumn of the year, when the clouds hung oppressively low in the heavens, I had been passing alone, on horseback, through a singularly dreary tract of country; and at length found myself, as the shades of the evening drew on, within view of the melancholy House of Usher.

This is the first sentence of the story “Fall of the House of Usher”

Heavy, sensory adjectives such as dull, dark, and

soundless along with “d” alliteration establish mood.

Isolation is emphasized through diction: “alone”, “singularly”

The whole sentence leads up to the phrase “the melancholy House of Usher.” It is clear that not only is the house is fully entwined with the depressing and heavy natural world surrounding it, but the house also is personified: the house gives the viewer a sense of melancholy and the house itself is melancholy

Even nature, through the clouds, is oppressively pushing down on the narrator.

The phrase “shades of evening” again emphasizes the weight of the sky pulling down with nightfall.

Autumn implies decay and impending death

Henry Fuseli’s “Silence”

What Romantic qualities does this painting have?

Think about shape, light, color, contrast, theme

Henry Fuseli’s “The Nightmare”

What about this one?