Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849)

1. Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849) Known for: • tales of mystery and terror • introducing the modern detective story

2. Poe’s Family and Tragic Life • Born in Boston,son of traveling actors • Mother died, deserted by Father at the age of two,adopted by Mr and Mrs John Allan • Constant disagreements with his step-father • Drinking and gambling difficulties kept him from college education after a brief study at University of Virginia

3. Poe’s Family and Tagic Life • Received an appointment to West Point, but provoked his own dismissal • Caused a final separation between Poe and his step-father • 1836 married his 13 year old cousin, whose early death may have inspired some of his writing. • Last 12 years of life worked as a journalist, editor and creative writer. • Led a poverty-stricken life, and died in a drunken stupor

4. Selected List of Poe’s Work • Tales • "The Black Cat" • "The Cask of Amontillado" • "The Fall of the House of Usher" • "Ligeia" • "The Masque of the Red Death" • "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" • "The Pit and the Pendulum" • "The Purloined Letter" • "The Tell-Tale Heart"

5. Selected List of Poe’s Work • Poetry • "Annabel Lee" • "The Bells" • "The City in the Sea" • "The Conqueror Worm" • "Eldorado" • "The Haunted Palace" • "Lenore" • "The Raven" • "Ulalume

6. Poe worked in a variety of genres • criticism——he gained a national reputation as a virulently sarcastic critic, a literary hatchet man.the bulk of his writing consists of his criticism, and his most abiding ambition was to become a powerful critic. • Poetry——he was an experimental poet • Psychological fiction——he wanted to produce the greatest possible horrific effects on the reader • Detective story——he created this form when he was 32,with al its major convention complete.

7. Literary Style and Themes Poe's best known fiction works are Gothic, a genre he followed to appease the public taste. His most recurring themes deal with questions of death, including its physical signs, the effects of decomposition, concerns of premature burial, the reanimation of the dead, and mourning. Beyond horror, Poe also wrote satires, humor tales, and hoaxes

8. Literary Style and Themes • 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

9. Literary Style and Themes • 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

10. Literary Style and Themes • The Poetic Principle He disliked didacticism and allegory,though he believed that meaning in literature should be an undercurrent just beneath the surface. He believed that quality work should be brief and focus on a specific single effect.To that end, he believed that the writer should carefully calculate every sentiment and idea.

11. The Cask of Amontillado • It is the narrator’s account of his ability to carry out a chilling plot of revenge against his offender. • Precision in time, place, and setting preclude the idea of risk and allow the narrator both the retribution he seeks and the impunity he demands. • It is set during the “supreme madness”of Carnival. In such a riotous atmosphere, it is easy to see how a crime could go unnoticed.