Edgar Allen Poe's Utilization of His Own Criteria

Edgar Allen Poe's Utilization of His Own Criteria When writing a short story or poem Edgar Allen Poe utilizes his own criteria. Most writers try to keep the tedious details that they have in the writing process from the public, but Poe is not afraid to reveal the criteria that he follows. There are six points in his criteria that are evident in his works. One of Poe's criteria is that the plot needs to be kept in the forefront of the mind when writing. Poe follows these criteria very well. He starts the story by introducing his characters then rises slowly to the climax then has a fall at the end. "The Fall of the House of Usher" is good example for this. At the beginning of the story, Poe introduces the man and his purpose and also Roderick and Madeline Usher. He then slowly rises to the climax, when Madeline comes out of the coffin and tries to kill her brother, then displays the fall, the house falling and the end of the Usher descendents. Clearly, Poe keeps the plot in the forefront of his mind when writing. Another criteria that Poe follows is that a piece should be short enough to read in one sitting. Poe definitely follows these criteria. "The Fall of the House of Usher," "The Masque of Red Death," and "The Raven" are all excellent examples of this criteria. Another criteria that Poe follows is he uses a certain amount of complexity and suggestiveness. Poe uses this in his poem "The Raven." Throughout the poem, the man keeps imagining that he hears someone at the door, thinking that it is his lost Lenore. "But the fact is I was napping, and so gently you came rapping, and so faintly you came tapping, tapping at my chamber door… And the only word there spoken was the whispered word, 'Lenore?'" (Raven 310). This provokes the reader to think of what pain the man is going through from losing a loved one and helps the human relate to the poem if they have been through that same situation. Poe believes that when you are trying to consider effect you must consider tone or incident. Tone is a very important part of the piece when the effect is being created.