Chapter 7 Edgar Allan Poe

1. Chapter 7 Edgar Allan Poe I. literary Position II. Life (1809 – 1849, a short and tragic life) III. Comments on Poe IV. Works V. Poems VI. Short Story

2. II. Life (1809 – 1849, a short and tragic life) • His childhood was a miserable one. He lost both of his parents when he was very young and then he was adopted by a wealthy merchant, John Allan. Poe’s relation with the Allans was unhappy. • He entered University of Virginia and then West Point but did not finish. • He worked as editor and writer most of his life and he was always poor. • At 27 he married his thirteen-year-old cousin, whose death in 1847 left him inconsolable. • He died, in mysterious circumstances, in 1849.

3. I. literary Position • 1. father of modern short story • 2. father of detective story • 3. father of psychoanalytic criticism

4. III. Comments on Poe • most controversial and most misunderstood literary figure in the history of American literature • enjoyed respect and welcome in Europe • the majority of critics have recognized him as a great writer of fiction, a poet of the first rank, and a critic of acumen and insight

5. IV. Works • Tales of the Grotesque and the Arabesque 《奇异怪诞故事集》 • MS. Found in a Bottle 《瓶子里发现的手稿》 • The Murders in the Rue Morgue 《毛格街杀人案》 • The Fall of the House of Usher 《厄舍古屋的倒塌》 • The Masque of the Red Death 《红色死亡的化妆舞会》 • The Cask of Amontillado 《一桶酒的故事》 • The Raven 《乌鸦》 • Israfel 《伊斯拉菲尔》 • Annabel Lee 《安娜贝尔•李》 • To Helen 《致海伦》 • The Poetic Principle 《诗歌原理》 • The Philosophy of Composition 《创作哲学》

6. 1. Theory Poems should be short, concise and readable at one sitting. The aim of poem writing is beauty; the most beautiful thing described by a poem is the death of a beautiful woman; the desirable tone of a poem is melancholy. He opposed didactic poems. He stressed the form of poem, especially the beautiful and neat rhyme. 2. Famous Poems: The Raven, Annabel Lee, To Helen V. Poems

7. VI. Short Story • 1. Theory • The short story must be such length as to be read at one sitting (brevity), so as to ensure the totality of impression. • The very first sentence ought to help to bring out the “single effect” of the story. • No word should be used which does not contribute to the “pre-established” design of the work (compression). • A tale should reveal some logical with “the fullest satisfaction,” and should end with the last sentence, leaving a sense of finality with the reader.

8. VI. Short Story • 2. Features • Gothic elements • deep analysis of human psychology • precursor of detective stories and science stories • style: ordinary, traditional • language: mannerism • 3. Sample: The Fall of the House of Usher