Preview

Understanding Edgar Allan Poe

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1201 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Understanding Edgar Allan Poe
Understanding Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe was an American author and poet whose forte was writing mystery and horror stories. Many know of Edgar Allan Poe as the “Father of the Detective Story,” which nickname he earned for his mysterious detective fiction tales such as “The Murders in the Rue Morgue().” Before switching genres from dark romanticism to detective tales, Edgar Allan Poe published “Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque,” which was a tale of fear and horror. Edgar Allan Poe’s style varied throughout his lifetime. Some of his achievements include being considered the creator of the modern horror tale, science fiction, and the detective story(). Understanding Edgar Allan Poe’s unusual and difficult life is significant to understanding his puzzling writing style in which in all ways was very mysterious. Edgar Allan Poe was born in Boston, Massachusetts on January 19, 1809. In 1827, when Poe was 18 years old, he decided to join the Army. The same year Edgar Allan Poe joined the Army he came out with his first book called “Tamerlane and Other Poems,” which was not very popular at the time. One of the poems in this Tale is called “Tamerlane,” which was a poem that followed a 14th century warlord named Temur Lenk also known as Tamerlane(). When reading the poem “Tamerlane” Poe seems to reflect a side of Tamerlane that he to his soldiers is not known for. In this poem Tamerlane portrays a character of passion and love, when realistically he was a warrior who led his troops into many victorious battles. For example, Poe wrote “I have not always been as now/ the fever'd diadem on my brow.” This is one example of how Temur Lenk shows that he is not acting as he usually does due to his love for his woman. In the story, Tamerlane falls in love with a peasant, in which he pays no attention to, in exchange for his empire. While at the end of the poem he has an epiphany and realizes his love should have taken priority over his power. In comparison, Edgar

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Edgar Allan Poe; one of the most famous gothic writer known to America. His work consists of dark mysteries which mostly revolve around death. Many say that the reason of Poe's gothic writing style would be because of his past. It is well known that Poe’s work would reflect himself in one way or another. As a matter of fact, according to a short story written in 1839 titled, “An overview of the ‘Tell Tale Heart,’” John Chua mentions that “Critics who have studied Poe sometimes suggest that his characters resemble him both physically and temperamentally”. This helped his work to be transparent and gave the readers a chance to know what was actually happening inside of Poe’s dark mind. The readers get to see how the events in his life bleeds…

    • 1019 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Imagine you have a bird’s eye view of two trains, both going at full speed toward a bridge that is out; you know that they are going to crash, but you can’t help but watch. In A Cask of Amontillado and The Tell-Tale Heart, Edgar Allan Poe shows us the journeys of two people - on two totally different trains - both leaving the sane world and headed toward an intense crash and burn of insanity. A master of horror, Poe places us in the stories with vivid imagery that involves all our senses, making both Gothic horror stories intense, graphic, and dark. The wickedness of the crimes are told with such arabesque, we feel the fear of the victims, the darkness of their deaths and the coldness of the killers. With his brilliant use of first person unreliable…

    • 163 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Edgar Allan Poe is known for his horror stories in 19 th century. Readers at that time were impressed by his scary writings. Edgar uses figurative language to create a morbid atmosphere throughout the story. His most famous story “The Cask of Amontillado” makes readers feel a macabre atmosphere because of the ironies he uses.…

    • 269 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Edgar Allen Poe is a great american poet. He had a very hard life, but he never gave up on his dream of writing and publishing some of his works. Although he never really seen how great his poetry was, but to today it read by millions and study by al most every student in their…

    • 989 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Before you read this paper, keep in mind that the name “Poe” brings to mind the images of murderers and madmen, premature burials, and mysterious women who return from the dead.…

    • 805 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Before starting this journey on Edgar Allan Poe's universe, there is nothing better than to dig deep into the events and things that caused Edgar to be one the greatest dreamers and visionaries of the world. One could spend months or even years discussing and trying to decode Poe's mind, but in the end, his words on paper talk louder and clearer than any study or papers written by Professors of renowned institutions, of course, their studies over Edgar's work are well appreciated, but no one will ever truly understand him. Such different emotions, such pain, such suffering which somehow, mixed together created the perfect recipe for marvelous tragedies. Just as Poe wrote in his poem "The Raven" : "Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there, wondering, fearing , doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before." He dreamed things that his contemporaries could not, in their wildest dreams, imagine. Imagination, a delightful extravaganza that Poe…

    • 1127 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Edgar had been interested in writing most of his life he published his first poem book, Tamerlane and Other Poems, at the age of 18. During this time he began studying at West Point, he was kicked out after only a year for failure to complete his duties during his time at the military academy he cut ties…

    • 480 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Poe's greatest influence comes from his murder mystery stories, where some claim he invented them. His impact is seen today in the literature of American fiction and science fiction, previously believed to be fake, with Poe's peers. Poe was so precise in his creations of literature that he wrote an essay, explaining the steps he took to achieve the level of excellence that he strived for in every piece that he writes. Poe's goal in writing the poem "The Raven" was to make it as short and commendably well written as possible, and in doing this, he predicted the tendency of symbolist and modern poetry. Poe was also famous for his embellishments in his tales of terror; self proclaimed arabesques rather than his grotesques, the funny and sarcastic oddities of Gothic literature like "The Pit and the Pendulum". Poe lives on through his writing, and will truly remain an eccentric icon of American…

    • 370 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Edgar Allan Poe is one of the most influential and well-known authors in American history. Poe’s short stories remain recognized throughout American literature for their gothic approach, tall tales, and his recognition style to solving mysteries. Throughout his lifetime, Edgar Allan Poe endured various tragic experiences such as losing his parents at the age of three years old and losing his foster-mother at the age of 20 years old. Even though his literary works and techniques were vastly unique, after his death, some critics argued that they were not quite unique at all; instead, they argued, Poe’s inspiration derived from his own life experiences. These stories, which seem to blur the lines between Poe’s real life and his storytelling are…

    • 908 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Edgar Allan Poe is considered to be the father of the short story by many. Over the course of his life, he wrote hundreds of short stories and poems. His writing style is unique and influenced by the tragedies that occurred over the course of his life. In fact, he is most well known for writing morbid stories and gruesome, dismal poems. Indeed his writing habits were heavily influenced by his life. His life was full of depression, angst, and woe. Many of the people he cared for fell victim to deadly plagues and diseases. To cope with this pain, Edgar Allan Poe sought comfort in the bottom of a bottle. In his times of depression he would drink heavily and become sick for days at a time. In between his fits of alcoholism and depression, he wrote. When he wrote, he wrote well. Edgar Allan Poe led a life full of tragedy and troubled times. Although he kept an air of dignity and pride around him, he often felt very lonely and depressed. This feeling of desperation greatly influenced his unique and often morbid writing style.…

    • 4954 Words
    • 20 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Although not originally well received, Edgar Allan Poe, became one of the most influential literary writers in American history. As a child, he wrote numerous poems, many which were later published. As a young adult he focused much of his attention on short fiction. He was credited with creating the detective story and known for his psychological and often violent thrillers. He is also known for his macabre themes and for having a fascination with death. Literary students should recognize these characteristics associated with Poe 's writings were shaped by many tragedies in his life, such as abandonment of his father, untimely death 's of his mother, brother, wife, and other loved one 's, and the problems he faced with his adoptive father.…

    • 2692 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Edgar Allan Poe has provided many different impacts to American Literature such as the genre of “detective fiction” (Edgar Allan Poe). He has also paved the way for the modern short story. In almost all important American writers, since his time, there are signs of influence from him.…

    • 1712 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Edgar Allan Poe is widely renowned for his “gothic” works. Poe has been known to write dark and gory details and to arouse the fear inside of a reader. In many of Poe’s novels and short stories he tells the tale of criminals. He shows the reader how a man of crime would think and his feelings when committing a crime. Poe shows his depiction of criminals through their similarities, their differences, and his sympathy towards the character.…

    • 174 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    At the age of eighteen Poe published his first book called the, “Tamerlane and Other Poems.” This tells me, that Edgar Allan Poe was interested in writing poetry and short stories. Edgar Allan Poe enlist in the United States Military at West Point, but after only eight months Poe was kicked out of the academy. Then in the late 1830’s Poe published, “Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque,” a collection of stories. After writing, “Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque,” Poe was now becoming the influential writer. Poe’s best work was “The Raven,” “The Philosophy of Composition,” “The Poetic Principle,” “The Rationale of Verse,” and “The Cask of Amontillado.” Edgar Allan died mysteriously, because doctor say he died from, “congestion of the brain,” right before he died he said, “Lord, help my poor soul.” In Poe’s obituary Rufus Griswold ruined Poe’s reputation as a writer, by saying Poe was a mentally deranged drunkard and…

    • 427 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Edgar Allan Poe’s influence on American literature was nothing short of great; not only was he the creator of the detective story and the horror thriller, but he also influenced many great writers, among those William Faulkner and Fyodor Dostoevsky. While Poe is best known for his horror thrillers, being the creator of that particular genre, he has also fashioned two other literary genres, like the detective and the science fiction genre. Throughout his life, Poe read, reviewed, and critiqued many books for various magazines and papers. Poe did not hesitate to attack what he deemed inferior. “Is purely too imbecile to merit an extended critique,” he once wrote of a novel. Because of his readiness to attack what he believed to be unworthy, Poe helped set high standards for American literature (Meltzer 64).…

    • 1191 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays

Related Topics