1. The Master of the Gothic Tale
Edgar Allan Poe
The Master of the Gothic Tale

2. Edgar Allan Poe
Morbidly sensitive, moody personality; writing focused on the dark, nightmare side of imagination
Suffered from sadness and depression
Endured many tragedies in his short lifetime.
Renowned for his writing as part of the romantic literary movement.
(Romanticism arose as reaction against the rationalism of the Age of Reason.)
He and his cohorts wrote Dark Romanticism.
During his lifetime, he was best known as a literary critic. He made very little money from his writing and lived in poverty for much of his adult life.

3. Poe’s Life. . . A perfect beginning to horror
Quits army; John gets Poe into West Point
Marries 13 year old cousin, Virginia Clemm; Poe was 27
Mom dies; John & Frances Allan take in Poe
Poe’s wife dies of TB in Fordham, NY
Born to David & Eliza Poe
John Allan dies; leaves Poe nothing
Quits school; starts writing w/ no success; joins U.S. Army
Writing career begins, but makes no money
Poe dies an alcoholic, gambler, and is penniless

4. Mystery of Poe’s Death. . . http://ed.ted.com/featured/kpxLn1Hp
Poe was found lying unconscious in a street in Baltimore, Md., in 1849.
He was supposedly dressed in someone else’s clothing.
He was taken to a hospital where he died 2 days later of what some doctors believe was tuberculosis. He is buried in Baltimore.
Based on his behavior in the days leading up to his death, modern physicians speculate that he died of rabies.

5. Founder of the Short Story
Poe objected to the extended time it takes one to read a novel, so he shortened his stories to take 1-2 hours to read.
Poe insisted that a story or poem should not contain details that do not directly influence the pre-established purpose of the story. In other words, EVERY element of the story is chosen on purpose with a specific effect in mind. Sound familiar?
In a critique of a Nathaniel Hawthorne story, Poe said, “In a brief tale, the author is enabled to carry out the fullness of his intention, be it what it may. During the hour of perusal, the soul of the reader is at the writer’s control. There are no external or extrinsic influences – resulting from weariness or interruption.”

6. Father of Gothic Tale/Horror
Gothic writers focus on the darkness of the human mind, and no one was better at this than Poe. He is the father of Gothic in the United States.
American Gothic spawned from 18th century English fiction such as Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Bram Stoker’s Dracula.
In contemporary literature, Anne Rice’s vampire Lestat from The Vampire Chronicles was born from Gothic literature, and author Stephen King models his style after Poe.

7. Characteristics of Poe’s Gothic Literature
Imagery in Gothic tales – cathedrals with irregular towers and high stained glass windows; dark medieval castles; decaying ancient estates; spiked fences; pointed arches; and Gargoyles, the “mascot” of Gothic
Weird and horrifying plot elements
Poe’s female characters were beautiful but unfortunately dead or dying. Male narrators were insane.
Motifs included murder, live burials, physical and mental torture, supernatural retribution.

9. Founder of a New Genre
Poe changed the romantic movement to suit himself and founded a new genre, the detective story.
Inspectors solved crimes based on logic.
Name some detective stories you know today that follow this pattern.

10. reincarnation, revenge, death, and perversion
Classic Poe
Literary Elements:
Atmosphere: What elements enhance events and circumstances? This is SO much more than setting.
Personification: attribution of a personal nature or human characteristics to something nonhuman
Unreliable narrator: the narrator with compromised credibility; first-person-driven narratives that give the audience the opportunity to make their own interpretations of a story.
Important Themes in Poe’s Work
reincarnation, revenge, death, and perversion

11. Some of Poe’s Works: “Murder of the Rue Morgue” “The Black Cat”
“The Cask of Amontillado”
“The Tell-Tale Heart”
“The Fall of the House of Usher”
“The Masque of Red Death”
“The Raven” (poem)

12. Poe in TV and Film
In 2012, the film The Raven was released (starring John Cusack). The film is a fictional account of a madman committing horrific murders inspired by Edgar Allan Poe's works. The fictional Poe works with a detective to stop the madman.
There are at least 51 films which “re-tell” Poe’s stories. There are hundreds of TV shows and films that are based on Poe’s works.

13. Poe’s Influence
Contemporary film makers/authors who attempt to emulate Poe:
Alfred Hitchcock (Psycho, The Birds)
Stephen King (Carrie, The Shining)
Wes Craven (Scream, Dracula)
Anne Rice (the Vampire Chronicles)

14. The End