The Dark Writings of Edgar Allan Poe

1689 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Edgar Allan Poe literary analysis

Edgar Allan Poe is regarded as one of the most famous writers of all time. He is known for his sinister and horrific tales and his seemingly pessimistic view on life. This overwhelming theme is rarely questioned by other writers and fans alike because of his personal tragedies; it is only fitting that a man as disturbed as Poe would write such troubled stories. It is common knowledge to most that Poe had a heartrending life; he lost his biological mother, adoptive mother, and wife all before he went to college. Poe used the tragic premature endings of his family members as inspiration to write his trademark literature, lengthy eloquent works revolving around fatality. It is atypical for one of his stories to not mention death in one way or another. In each of his stories, Poe talks about death in a different way. In two of his most famous works, “The Tell-Tale Heat” and “The Pit and Pendulum”, both of the main characters act differently towards death. By adding variety to his characters’ reactions, Poe shows the reader that while death is universal, the way each person deals with it is unique. However, the repetitive theme of death makes Poe appear as a single-minded writer to many of his readers, only able to focus on the negative aspects of life. However, if one looks more closely at “The Tell-Tale Heart” and “the Pit and Pendulum” one sees otherwise; while both clearly express the impending nature of death through different symbols and imagery, both subtly show that even when life is filled with darkness, there is always light, showing that while Poe was a dark and troubled man, he was always hopeful something positive was going to occur.

People have completely different opinions about Poe’s writing style, their opinions ran...

... middle of paper ...

...d” the lantern in such a way that “that a single thin ray fell upon the vulture eye” (Poe, 303). On the eighth night, the ray of light and the eye “meet”. The narrator uses the light as protection from the eye; the use of the lantern as a shield from death, suggests how even in the darkest of situations one can always find light. In “The Pit and the Pendulum,” the author maintains an unruffled mood throughout, showing he has a positive outlook. At the end, the narrator is rescued from the prison by General Lasalle and escapes his execution. This happy ending is infrequent for Poe, but shows that miracles in life are feasible, and not atypical.

Works Cited

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3692/is_199511/ai_n8721653/

http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/poestories/section7.rhtml

http://www.shmoop.com/tell-tale-heart/symbolism-imagery.html

Edgar Allan Poe

Show More
Related

  • Comparison Between “The Cask of Amontillado” and “The Tell-Tale Heart”

    2130 Words  | 5 Pages

    Edgar Allan Poe is known for some of the most horrifying stories ever written through out time. He worked with the natural world, animals, and weather to create chilling literature. Two most notable thrillers are “The Cask of Amontillado” and “The Tell-Tale Heart”. Poe was infatuated with death, disfigurement, and dark characteristics of the world. He could mix characters, setting, theme,and mood in a way that readers are automatically drawn into reading. Both of these short stories have the same major aspects in common.

    Read More

  • Edgar Allan Poes The Premature Burial

    434 Words  | 1 Pages

    The writing style of Edgar Allan Poe shows the writer to be of a dark nature. In this story, he focuses on his fascination of being buried alive. He quotes, “To be buried alive is, beyond question, the most terrific of these [ghastly] extremes which has ever fallen to the lot of mere mortality.” page 58 paragraph 3. The dark nature is reflected in this quote, showing the supernatural side of Poe which is reflected in his writing and is also a characteristic of Romanticism. Poe uses much detail, as shown in this passage, “The face assumed the usual pinched and sunken outline. The lips were of the usual marble pallor. The eyes were lusterless. There was no warmth. Pulsation had ceased. For three days the body was preserved unburied, during which it had acquired a stony rigidity.” page 59 paragraph 2. The descriptive nature of this writing paints a vivid picture that intrigues the reader to use their imagination and visualize the scene presented in the text. This use of imagery ties with aspects of Romanticism because of the nature of the descriptions Poe uses. Describing the physical features of one who seems dead is a horrifying perspective as not many people thing about the aspects of death.

    Read More

  • The Life And Death Of Edgar Allan Poe

    1437 Words  | 3 Pages

    Edgar Allan Poe was born in Boston, Massachusetts, the son of actress Elizabeth Arnold Hopkins Poe and actor David Poe, Jr. His father abandoned the family in 1810, and his mother died of tuberculosis when he was only two, so Poe was taken into the home of John Allan, a successful tobacco merchant in Richmond, Virginia. Although his middle name is often misspelled as "Allen," it is actually "Allan" after this family. After attending the Misses Duborg boarding school in London and Manor School in Stoke Newington, London, England, Poe moved back to Richmond, Virginia, with the Allans in 1820. Poe registered at the University of Virginia in 1826, but only stayed there for one year. He was estranged from his foster father at some point in this period over gambling debts Poe had acquired while trying to get more spending money, and so Poe enlisted in the United States Army as a private using the name Edgar A. Perry on May 26, 1827. That same year, he released his first book, Tamarlane and Other Poems. After serving for two years and attaining the rank of Sergeant-major, Poe was discharged. In 1829, Poe's foster mother Frances Allan died and he published his second book, Al Aaraf. As per his foster mother's deathwish, Poe reconciled with his foster father, who coordinated an appointment for him to the United States Military Academy at West Point. His time at West Point was ill-fated, however, as Poe supposedly deliberately disobeyed orders and was dismissed. After that, his foster father repudiated him until his death in March 27, 1834.

    Read More

  • The Life and Writings of Edgar Allen Poe

    866 Words  | 2 Pages

    "After reading all that has been written, and after thinking all that can be thought, on the topics of God and the soul, the man who has a right to say that he thinks at all, will find himself face to face with the conclusion that, on these topics, the most profound thought is that which can be the least easily distinguished from the most superficial sentiment" (Poe). This quote shows how Edgar Allan Poe’s perspective was very different compared to other writers during that time. Poe was an American short story writer, poet, critic, and editor who was famous for his cultivation in mystery and macabre. His success in his works may or may not have been because of his emotional and mental problems. Edgar Allan Poe was a writer whose works represent his own unique style, how his emotional instability affected him, and what happened in his life.

    Read More

  • Edgar Allan Poe and his Literature

    752 Words  | 2 Pages

    “All we ever see or seem is but a dream within a dream.” This was a quote by Edgar Allan Poe that was included in his poem A Dream Within A Dream. This quote basically means that life is nothing but a dream, a long one perhaps, but it is one that you only awaken from when you died, or about to die. I really like this poem because sometimes I often wonder, what if life was really just a dream, and death is when you awaken and cross into another world; one that is more perfect and jovial than the one that existed in “life.”? Edgar Allan Poe was an American writer in the Poe often wrote about death and fear, for these two things seem to be the main focus points of Poe literary works. Edgar Allan Poe’s writing are often serious, talking about dark things, and they usually seem to reflect his childhood,his love life, and his view of what life basically is.

    Read More

  • The Life and Works of Edgar Allan Poe

    1475 Words  | 3 Pages

    Throughout the life of Edgar Allan Poe, he suffered many unfortunate events and endured several difficult situations. Some speculate that it was these experiences that helped to formulate the famous writing style of Edgar Allan Poe. His dark tales such as "The Masque of the Red Death" and "The Tell-Tale Heart" are horrific, and his poems such as "Alone" and "The Raven" show evidence that his life experiences influenced their dreariness. Poe's story plots and his own life are undeniably related and this relationship is intricately defined in many of his works.

    Read More

  • Edgar Allan Poe Essay

    2017 Words  | 5 Pages

    The Tell Tale Heart, the Raven, Murders in the Rue Morgue. You might have known Edgar Allan Poe as the famous author, poet, editor, and critic. He was a man of mystery, a man of suspense. His works often reflected his troubles and losses in life. Taking a more gothic style of writing, he was a strange and peculiar man. But, did you know he took part in enlisting in the military, or that his death is unknown? Reading this essay, you will find out that there were many more things to Edgar Allan Poe that you might not have suspected. And the horrific events that occurred in his life, he turned into masterpieces, which we read to this day.

    Read More

  • The Life of Edgar Allan Poe

    859 Words  | 2 Pages

    The life of Edgar Allan Poe, was stuffed with tragedies that all affected his art. From the very start of his writing career, he adored writing poems for the ladies in his life. When he reached adulthood and came to the realization of how harsh life could be, his writing grew to be darker and more disturbing, possibly as a result of his intense experimenting with opium and alcohol. His stories continue to be some of the most frightening stories ever composed, because of this, some have considered this to be the reason behind these themes. Many historians and literature enthusiasts have presumed his volatile love life as the source while others have credited it to his substance abuse. The influence of his one-of-a-kind writing is more than likely a combination of both theories; but the main factor is the death of many of his loved ones and the abuse which he endured. This, not surprisingly, darkened his perspective considerably.

    Read More

  • The Life and Poetry of Edgar Allen Poe

    750 Words  | 2 Pages

    Edgar Allan Poe was not your typical poet. He had a very depressing life, and that has influenced the majority of his works. He was in the military, had his wife die prematurely, and had the constant struggles of life crashing down on him. Edgar Allan Poe was a great writer who used mystery and lost love as popular themes to intrigue many readers to pose questions regarding death and romance. His parents supported him, allowing him to be educated, but that would eventually lead to failure.

    Read More

  • Comparing Poe's The Raven And Tell-Tale Heart

    953 Words  | 2 Pages

    Grief is an emotion of abyssal sorrow that has plagued many unfortunate mortals, including the late Edgar Allan Poe. Poe was an 1800’s gothic writer who lived a short, sorrowful life. Themes and motifs across Poe’s writings repeat, and differentiate based upon of various calamities, such as the death of a loved one. While Poe’s stories “The Raven” and “Tell-Tale Heart” have similar dark settings, and cimmerian symbols, they contrast in the source of downfall, and the narrators’ reactions to obstacles; this exhibit Poe’s debilitated disposition after the death of his wife Virginia.

    Read More

  • Love, Loss and the Works of Edgar Allan Poe

    913 Words  | 2 Pages

    Edgar Allan Poe’s fascination with the ideal beautiful woman, love, and loss is a resounding theme that is amplified in the works of his that see direct influence from his wife, Virginia. Of all Poe’s works, three contain consistent parallels between his life and the events of the works. The poem “Ulalume” tells the tale of a man walking a path in October in his “…most immemorial year…” when the man, who has forgotten the importance of the path he walks, remembers that he walked this same path one year ago to lay his wife to rest (Poe, Ulalume 101). Poe’s poem “Annabel Lee”, published in 1849-just after his death, breathes life into Poe’s ideal beautiful woman and the unending bond created by true love (Poe, Annabel Lee). While the previous two poems draw parallels through allusion and symbolism, “Elanore” presents influences in a more straightforward manner. “Elanore” is the story of a man who lived in a valley with his cousin, whom he later fell in love with. A more direct connection could not be made in any of Poe’s writings especially considering that Virginia, Poe’s wife, was also his cousin. Edgar Allan Poe wrote many poems that share the theme of love and loss, all of which can be traced back to the direct influence of his wife and cousin-Virginia Clem Poe.

    Read More

  • The Raven And The Black Cat By Edgar Allan Poe

    1490 Words  | 3 Pages

    As time goes on, each and every human gets closer and closer to dying. For some it will come sooner than others, but there is no way to escape. Unfortunately for Edgar Allan Poe, death surrounded him for all of his life. “The Raven” and “The Black Cat” by Edgar Allan Poe exemplify aspects of death from his personal life, although the stories’s use of animals as symbols and stimulating plots differ, proving that the past is not to be forgotten.

    Read More

  • The Sleeper Literary Analysis Essay

    1056 Words  | 3 Pages

    Death can both be a painful and serious topic, but in the hands of the right poet it can be so natural and eloquently put together. This is the case in The Sleeper by Edgar Allan Poe, as tackles the topic of death in an uncanny way. This poem is important, because it may be about the poet’s feelings towards his mother’s death, as well as a person who is coming to terms with a loved ones passing. In the poem, Poe presents a speaker who uses various literary devices such as couplet, end-stopped line, alliteration, image, consonance, and apostrophe to dramatize coming to terms with the death of a loved one.

    Read More

  • Analysis of Edgar Allan Poe´s Literature

    897 Words  | 2 Pages

    Edgar Allan Poe has a unique writing style that uses several different elements of literary structure. He uses intrigue vocabulary, repetition, and imagery to better capture the reader’s attention and place them in the story. Edgar Allan Poe’s style is dark, and his is mysterious style of writing appeals to emotion and drama. What might be Poe’s greatest fictitious stories are gothic tend to have the same recurring theme of either death, lost love, or both. His choice of word draws the reader in to engage them to understand the author’s message more clearly. Authors who have a vague short lexicon tend to not engage the reader as much.

    Read More

  • Edgar Allan Poe's Obsession with Death

    690 Words  | 2 Pages

    Throughout Edgar Allan Poe’s life, death was a frequent visitor to those he loved around him. When Poe was only 3 years old, his loving mother died of Tuberculosis. Because Poe’s father left when he was an infant, he was now an orphan and went to live with the Allan’s. His stepmother was very affectionate towards Edgar and was a very prominent figure in his life. However, years later she also died from Tuberculosis, leaving Poe lonely and forlorn. Also, later on, when Poe was 26, he married his cousin 13-year-old Virginia, whom he adored. But, his happiness did not last long, and Virginia also died of Tuberculosis, otherwise known as the Red Death, a few years later. After Virginia’s death, Poe turned to alcohol and became isolated and reckless. Due to Edgar Allan Poe’s loss of those he cared for throughout his life, Poe’s obsession with death is evident in his works of “The Tell-Tale Heart”, “The Black Cat”, and “The Fall of the House of Usher”, in which in all three death is used to produce guilt.

    Read More

More about The Dark Writings of Edgar Allan Poe

Open Document