Edgar Allan Poe 1809-1849 American Romanticism

Biographical Background Born in Boston to parents who were actors His father abandoned the family when Edgar was only one and his mother died about a year later Poe’s uncle, John Allan, took Poe in but never really approved of him Poe quit the University of Virginia after only one semester and traveled to Boston at 18 to attempt to earn a living; instead, he enlisted in the Army It should be emphasized how unstable Poe’s home life was. This, perhaps, can help to explain much of his erratic behavior in life.

Biographical Background While in the service, he published his first book which was a collection of poetry After being discharged, he published a second book of poetry and then attended West Point in 1830, but soon wanted to leave, so he got himself court-martialed Poe traveled to New York City in 1831 and released a third book of poems He then moved to Baltimore where his first cousin Virginia Clemm (and other family) lived and attempted to make a living writing (publishing in newspapers, etc.) Poe married his cousin in secret and had another public wedding later when she was 16. Poe’s life was full of rejection; this should probably be factored in to his decision to marry his cousin. (His childhood sweetheart married another man while he was at UVA.) Even for the day, it would have been quite unusual and even illegal to marry a girl so young – they forged her birth certificate to get away with the initial wedding.

Biographical Background Poe married his cousin when she was 13 and he was 26 Poe’s drinking and erratic behavior made it difficult for him to maintain jobs publishing His wife’s death in 1847 caused him to drink even more Poe died in Baltimore in 1849 under mysterious circumstances – he was found delirious on the streets of Baltimore and died in the early morning at a local hospital Poe died at only 40, and while many people believed that he was rude and irrational, those closest to him saw him as kind and misunderstood. Poe’s grave in Baltimore

Poe’s Writing Considered by some to be America’s greatest writer, he built his reputation through the following: Poems Short Stories – Horror and Mystery Literary Criticisms In his writing, he was especially known for his use of surrealism and a concentration on the duality of man. Poe is considered an American Romantic and a Surrealist in terms of his writing Romanticism and Surrealism will be defined on later slides.

Romanticism & The Nature of His Works First, Poe was a “romantic” which means that he was more interested in communicating an idea as opposed to writing a realistic story Like Hawthorne (another Romantic), he looked at the darker side of humankind However, he went beyond: he saw humankind as truly monstrous Poe’s duality reflects his philosophy that all of us are two people – a social being and a monster/beast Again, he is considered the first surrealist writer In many ways, Romanticism is the polar opposite to Realism. Each emphasizes ideas differently – unrealistically or realistically.

Surrealism Surrealism: literary and artistic technique that attempts to express the workings of the subconscious through fantastic imagery and often illogical and juxtaposed subject matter Surrealist images. Salvador Dali is perhaps the most famous painter using this concept. However, Poe used it in his writing as dream imagery would be fashioned into the narrative.

Poe’s Philosophy and Style His poetry and works of fiction reflect this duality and surrealism: Romantic poems about beautiful women in idyllic situations and short stories that explore men’s minds and examines the “beast” Poe believed that the “social self” attempts to contain the beast, but the beast inevitably gets out Additionally, the beast does not like being “seen” Finally, we are plagued with guilt and conscience which always seeks to confess the beast’s actions In short, we are evil creatures “plagued” with a conscience These philosophical points can be readily applied to his works, such as “The Tell-Tale Heart” and “The Black Cat.”

His Style and Impact All stories of the occult and terror come from Poe (Stephen King and Alfred Hitchcock) He also originated the “detective mystery” Poe is the “father” of modern horror.

His Style and Impact Wrote essays about how to write; these influenced many writers who came after Said that one should write to achieve a single effect, and with the fewest words needed This has greatly influenced the economical nature of the short story and compression in writing His impact is felt to this day.