1. Edgar Allan Poe

2. His Family and Tragic Life
Born in Boston
The son of traveling actors
Tragic and unhappy life
This is an understatement…

3. Tragic and Unhappy Life
Mother died, father deserted him at the age of two
adopted by Mr. and Mrs. John Allan
constant disagreements with his step-father

4. Studied briefly at the University of Virginia
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Studied briefly at the University of Virginia
Drinking and gambling difficulties kept him from continuing at UVA
He still rocked his grades though!

5. Caused a final separation between Poe and his step-father
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Received an appointment to West Point, but he provoked his own dismissal
Caused a final separation between Poe and his step-father

6. In 1836 married his 14 year old cousin, Virginia
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In 1836 married his 14 year old cousin, Virginia
You read that right: his cousin…
She was daughter of Maria Clemm, Poe’s aunt
Last 12 years of life worked as a journalist, editor, and creative writer

7. Lived in poverty stricken conditions
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Lived in poverty stricken conditions
In 1846 wife died after a long battle with tuberculosis. She was 24.
This saddened him deeply; he truly loved her greatly

8. Died in Baltimore after he was found in a drunken stupor
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Died in Baltimore after he was found in a drunken stupor
R.I.P.--October 7, 1849
Died a poor man
Despite his achievements, he was never seen as truly great during his own time--reminds you of…?

9. Known for: Tales of mystery and terror stories
Poe’s Work
Known for:
Tales of mystery and terror stories
Introducing the modern detective story

10. Poe’s philosophy of composition
Select one effect to achieve
Length – should be read in one sitting
Impression – contemplating beauty
Tone – sadness/melancholy
Subject – death of a beautiful woman
Also – “ratiocination” – detective stories based on logical solution of crime

11. Poems: Short Stories The Tell-Tale Heart The Raven
Just a Few Titles ( he is credited with creating the modern short story…)
Short Stories
The Tell-Tale Heart
The Cask of Amontillado
The Black Cat,
The Pit and The Pendulum
Poems:
The Raven
Annabel Lee
To Helen
Lenore

12. Addiction
Sometimes strange “special effects” have been linked to his addiction to opium
An addiction not uncommon in the 1800’s, because of frequent use of laudanum, an opium based medicine, to treat headaches and stomach pains

13. Pointless blank space because….
Reasons…

14. Timeline of Poe’s Work Wife kicked it around here… 1839
Poe published Tales of Grotesque and Arabesque including “The Fall of the House of Usher”
1845
Poe published “The Raven”
1827
Poe published Tamerlane and Other Poems
1836
Poe married Virginia Clemm
1809
Poe was born on January 19th
1831
Expelled from West Point
Publishes Poems
1847
Poe dies in Baltimore on October 7th
1841
Poe wrote “The Murders of Rue Morgue”
Wife kicked it around here…

15. Reference to a famous historical or literary figure or event
Allusion
Reference to a famous historical or literary figure or event
Best sources are literature, history, Greek myth, and the Bible
Serves to explain or clarify or enhance whatever subject

16. Something that is itself and yet also represents something else
Symbol
Something that is itself and yet also represents something else
Universal symbols embody universally recognizable meanings
Invested symbols are given symbolic meaning by the way an author uses them in a literary work

17. Gothic Elements
supernatural horrors and an atmosphere of unknown terror pervades the action
High emotion, sentimentalism, but also pronounced anger, surprise, and especially terror
use of words indicating fear, mystery, etc.: apparition, devil, ghost, haunted, terror, fright, fainting

18. Edgar Allan Poe His stories have: Settings that featuring
Dark, medieval castles
Decaying ancient estates
Characters that are
Male—insane
Female—beautiful and dead (or dying)
Plots that include
Murder
Live burials
Physical and mental torture
Retribution from beyond the grave
For Poe, it was only in these extreme situations that people revealed their true nature.

19. The Gothic dimension of Poe’s fictional world offered him a way to explore the human mind in these extreme situations and so arrive at an essential truth

20. Before we look at what Romanticism IS, we have to think about what it IS NOT!
Despite the name of the literary period, Romanticism does not deal with sappy love stories.
THIS IS NOT THE KIND OF LITERATURE THAT WE ARE GOING TO STUDY!

21. So what IS Romanticism?
Romanticism is the name for the literary period that followed the Age of Reason (The Revolutionary Period) in America.
Due to the fact that the country was now established, writers moved their focus away from political matters and revolutionary governmental ideas, and began to focus on other aspects of life (emotions, possibilities, imagination etc…)

22. Dark Romanticism or American Gothic
Edgar Allen Poe with Hawthorne and Melville known as anti-Transcendentalists or Dark Romantics
Had much in common with Transcendentalists
Explored conflicts between good and evil, psychological effects of guilt and sin, and madness
Known as anti- T because of their pessimism
Like the T’s, they valued intuition over logic and reason

23. Gothic vs. Romanticism
Romanticism developed as a reaction against the rationalism of the Age of Reason.
The romantics freed the imagination from the hold of reason, so they could follow their imagination wherever it might lead.
For some Romantics, when they looked at the individual, they saw hope (think “A Psalm of Life”).
For some Romantic writers, the imagination led to the threshold of the unknown—the shadowy region where the fantastic, the demonic and the insane reside.
When the Gothic's saw the individual, they saw the potential of evil.
Gothic writers were peering into the darkness at the supernatural.
Romantic writers celebrated the beauties of nature.