January 19 1809 October 7 1849 Edgar Allan

January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849 Edgar Allan Poe

Poetic Principle �Reasons to study poetry: 1. To learn creativity 2. To make yourself more well-rounded 3. To better understand yourself through understanding others. 4. Aesthetics (beauty) 5. History

Life �Born Edgar Poe in Boston, Mass. �Orphaned young; mother died shortly after father abandoned family �Taken in by John and Frances Allan of Richmond, VA, but never formally adopted �Attended University of VA for one semester �Enlisted in the army, failed as a cadet at West Point, parted ways with the Allans

� 1827 – a collection of poems published, Tamerlane and Other Poems �Switched focus to prose, literary criticism � 1835 – married Virgina Clemm, his 13 -year-old cousin �January 1845 – published “The Raven” � 1847 – Virginia died from Tuberculosis �Was planning to produce own journal, The Penn, but died before production �Cause of death is unknown; speculations: alcoholism, brain congestion, cholera, drugs, rabies, suicide, tuberculosis, and heart disease

�Poe says poetry is the “rhythmical creation of beauty. ” Beauty is the province of the poem. It is an immortal instinct that we have to reach for beauty. �Poe always lived in search of something within reach.

�Four techniques to obtain music and beauty: 1. Onomatopoeia 2. Alliteration 3. Strong rhythms and uncoventional metrical patterns 4. Repetition – dramatic effect, emphasis; helps create atmosphere

�Themes 1. an air of resignation to despair 2. romantic love – women are idealized �Famous works “The Raven” “Annabel Lee” “Lenore” “To Helen” “A Dream Within a Dream”

The Creator of the Modern Short Story �Main body of work: 1832 -1849 �Disdained longer forms 1. physical and emotional health not good 2. financial condition – had to make money and short stories the best way

�Short story rules 1. must be short enough to read in one sitting 2. must create one single effect 3. must not contain one word not adding to effect

�Three types 1. humorous ▪ Satire ▪ Exaggeration ▪ Bordering on ridiculous ▪ Purple Prose: take a simple situation and pile on one absurdity after another

2. Detective ▪ Poe is the “father of the detective story” ▪ Elements ▪ Based on analysis and deduction ▪ Solution found in a step-by-step analysis of the crime ▪ Reader’s interest centered on how crime is committed ▪ Monsieur Auguste Dupin is Poe’s little French detective in those short stories. He is the literary father of Sherlock Holmes

3. Horror ▪ Mainly achieved through mood and atmosphere. Primary to plot ▪ Accumulations of horrors piled one after another, rushing to a climax ▪ Reader held in suspense until the last possible second Poe was obsessed with being entombed alive and also with being forgotten

�Famous works The Fall of the House of Usher The Tell-Tale Heart The Purloined Letter The Cask of Amontillado The Pit and the Pendulum

The Fall of the House of Usher �Poe was editor of Burton’s Gentleman’s Magazine in Philadelphia when “Usher” was published on September 18, 1839. �Five months earlier: “The Haunted Palace” published in the Baltimore Museum. “By ‘The Haunted Palace’ I mean to imply a mind haunted by phantoms – a disordered brain. A gifted mind becomes haunted by evil things and memories. ” Poe feared going insane and had many bad things to haunt his life

�Main characters: Madeline and Roderick Usher, the Narrator, the House �Conflict: Man v. himself (fear) Man v. the elements �Point of View: 1 st person (narrator)

�Setting: House of Usher actual location never given Gloomy setting increases Usher’s depression, but also is an extension of his emotional state �Theme: Vulnerability of the Human Mind �Climax: revelation: put her in the tomb alive �Falling action: Narrator flees �Resolution: House and family dies

�Romantic Elements Fascinations with antique Mysterious Exotic Supernatural Focus on Self

�Gothic Elements House – bleak and remote Thunderstorm Tarn (lake) and misty vapors Strangeness of people in the house… physical and psychological torment Supernatural element often present �ZIGZAG – story of division and fragmentation: house and inhabitants