...Edgar Allen Poe’s notorious drug and alcohol abuse combined with his dysfunctional and unsupportive family played a significant role in the development of Poe’s unique writing styles and topics. Edgar Allen Poe was born January 19, 1809, in Boston, Massachusetts. His mother, Elizabeth Arnold Poe was a British actress. His father, David Poe Jr. was an actor from Baltimore. Edgar Allen Poe had two other siblings, a brother named William and a sister named Rosalie. Poe did not have a close relationship with his parents; they were a part of his life for a short amount of time. His father abandoned his wife and children, a few years later Elizabeth contracted tuberculosis. (“Edgar Allan Poe.” Poetry Foundation.) She was the first of Poe’s many...
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...History April 22, 2011 Edgar Allan Poe To most people, Edgar Allan Poe was a troubled soul that had many psychological issues. Some people think that his works mimicked his own mental torment and torture; others thought that he was an American writer romantically doomed to failure by events and emotions too great for him to handle. His writings reflect each theory, and his style was very unique and unusual for the time period in which they were written. The artistic liberties and risks that Poe took in his works sparked the beginning of what we call the Romanticism Period. The hardships and tragedies which Edgar Allan Poe faced throughout his life played a big part in influencing his writing, how his writing influenced the period, and how it affected his mental stability (Life 240). Poe was born on January 19, 1809, in Boston, Massachusetts, to David and Elizabeth Poe. He had two siblings, a younger sister named Rosalie and an older brother named Henry. When Poe was just one, his father abandoned his wife and children. At two his mother died of tuberculosis and the children were split up into different homes (Tragedies 240). Poe was taken in by John Allan and his childless wife Frances, giving him his middle name. Having experienced many tragedies at an early age, he, starting at the age of six, developed a great fear of death and this influenced how and what he would later write (Jordan np). The Allan couple lived in Richmond, Virginia, and Poe was moved to their home...
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...Poe’s Grim and Dreary Style Many writers express how they feel by the way they write and how they see the world around them. Edgar Allan Poe is no exception to the rule. During the early years of Edgar Allan Poe, his father abandoned him, his mother, and two siblings (Marshall 42). At a young age, he witness his own mother cough up blood and die slowly due to tuberculosis (Marshall 42). He was later adopted in 1811 by a couple who did not even want him (Marshall 42). Some would say his talent was molded from the tragic events throughout his life, which lead him to write. Poe was an American poet and writer whose work still lingers in many individuals’ imaginations. He was very somber in many of his poems and when writing. Throughout his life,...
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...In the poem “The Raven” by Edgar Allan Poe, the speaker details one night during a period of sadness and madness in which a raven flies into his room and talks to him. The speaker uses diction, symbolism, and allusion to present the loneliness, hopelessness, and darkness that he experiences throughout the night and how it takes a toll on his mind. The diction in “The Raven” helps to set the mood of the poem, which is gloomy and dark. The poem starts off with, “Once upon a midnight dreary.” This phrase automatically tells the reader that the rest of the poem is going to be scary and dark, and the word “dreary” represents hopelessness. The speaker also says in the second stanza his experience took place “in the bleak December.” “Bleak” is another...
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...PREFACE This major project examines the indispensable desiderata of Transcendentalism in comparison to the Dark Romantics background and how these technicalities prepare this work of art as an influential synthesis of human imagination incorporated with mystic facts. Transcendentalism and Dark Romanticism were two literary movements that occurred in America during roughly the same time period (1840—1860). Although the two had surface similarities, such as their reverence for Nature, their founding beliefs were quite different, enough to make one seem almost the antithesis of each other. Moreover one’s genesis is ventured out from other; i.e. Dark Romanticism from the roots of Transcendentalism or precisely the lacunae are best determined for raising up the term called Dark Romanticism. Contents S. No. Page no. Chapter 1.........................................................................................................4-14 Chapter 2.........................................................................................................15-23. Chapter 3..........................................................................................................24-27 Resolution.........................................................................................................28-29 Work Cited................................................................
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...Edgar Allan Poe’s life represented his stories and poems. Poe faced several different tragedies and each tragedy affected his style of writing. Poe wrote many poems and stories. For example, he wrote, “The Masque of the Red Death,” “The Fall of the House of Usher,” “The Cask of Amontillado,” and the poem, “For Annie.” All of these were written by Poe, and each one represents death, and desolation. When Poe was two years old, his mother, Elizabeth Poe passed away. He was then adopted by a wealthy family, but Poe never received any money. He lived a poor life until he married his cousin Virginia. Then, Virginia died and Poe “collapsed from stress.” All of the deaths of his loved ones’ affected his writings, causing him to write with sorrow...
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...In the gothic short story "The Masque of the Red Death," Edgar Allan Poe writes about how Prince Prospero’s fear and obsession leads him to an inevitable, psychological death. Through the setting, characters, and symbolism, Poe reveals the message that phobias can cause people to lose their sanity. The setting in "The Masque of the Red Death" symbolizes Prince Prospero's mind and his isolation from the terror that haunt him. The story demonstrates this by taking place in a palace that exists detached from the chaos outside. Everyone in the fortress remains oddly cheerful even though an unruly disease kills people outside the castle walls. In actuality, the villa symbolizes the Prince's mind and his mental solitude from the...
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...The Inevitability of the Red Death Edgar Allen Poe's “The Masque of the Red Death” is an extravagant allegory of the futility of trying to escape death. In the story, a prince named Prospero tries to avoid the Red Death through isolation and seclusion. He hides behind the impenetrable walls of his castle and turns his back on the rest of the world. But no walls can stop death because it is unavoidable and inevitable. Through the use of character, setting, point of view, and symbol, Poe reveals the theme that no one, regardless of status, wealth or power can stay the passing of time and the inevitable conclusion of life itself, death. Like many of Poe’s works, the number of characters in “Masque of the Red Death” is limited; however they all work to reveal the theme. Only three characters, Prince Prospero, the Thousand Friends and the Masked Figure are mentioned. The central figure of the story is Prince Prospero. The author describes him as “happy and dauntless and sagacious” (Poe, 386). His name is used to infer royalty, wealth and happiness, and suggests that the prince is untroubled by the plague and is confident of his survival and the survival of his one thousand friends. Prospero has been described by scholars as a “feelingless ruling prince” (Wheat, 51). This is due to his apparent lack of concern for the people of his land: “The external world could take care of itself” (Poe, 386). Prospero is a flat character as he remains confident in his survival up to...
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..."The Raven" is a beautifully written, yet dark narrative poem by the American writer Edgar Allan Poe. First published on January 29, 1845, it marks Poe’s opening the door into recognition. It tells of a talking raven's mysterious visit to a grieving lover, outlining the man's slow fall into madness. "The Raven" was first accredited to Poe in print in the New York Evening Mirror. Its publication made Poe widely popular in his lifetime, yet brought him no financial attainment. Soon reprinted, mocked, and illustrated—opinion is divided as to the poem's standing, but it nonetheless it remains one of the most famous poems ever written. The poem itself contains mystery, laid out by his style. His style, alludes mystery by the use of ambiguity. Not only is the theme itself extremely ambiguous, but this ambiguity is brought on by his use of diction—the words he chooses are ambiguous, and this hinders the straightforwardness of the theme, creating it to also be ambiguous. Some of the ambiguous vocabulary he uses are the words soul, angels, chamber, nevermore, and raven. The soul is defined as the spiritual part of a human being, regarded as immortal. The soul has multiple meanings, differing by cultures and perceptions. The soul can be denoted as the God within—the principle of life, feeling, thought, and action in humans. It can be symbolized as survival or eternity, as the soul is believed to survive death and be subject to happiness or misery in a life to come. Furthermore, the soul...
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...vault for two weeks. Turns out that Madeline wasn’t dead, so she got out of the vault and went into the house upstairs at Roderick’s bedroom. Madeline walked up the stairs to Roderick’s room which the narrator was there also comforting Roderick . Roderick saw Madeline and died of a shock after seeing his beloved sister and collapsed down the ground with his sister in his arms. The narrator then rushed outside of the house as fast as he could and when he got out, the house collapsed onto Roderick and Madeline. Roderick and Madeline Usher seal themselves inside their mansion, cutting themselves off from friends, ideas, or have any progressive ideas. They have become sick of their souls, of lack of contact with the outside world which is Isolation. Evil is in the House of Usher for its generation of Roderick and Madeline family, which steps in of the residents of the family. “But evil things, in robes of sorrow,/ Assailed the monarch’s high estate” (R.Thompson 150). The palace where Roderick and Madeline are living represents the family tradition. Roderick and Madeline suffer from mental illness characterized as anxiety, depression, and more symptoms. It is really strange how Madeline came upstairs and went inside Roderick’s room which then Roderick dies, which gives him a big shock that his sister is alive. Then comes the part when the Narrator runs out of the house being scared of them, which for him doesn’t explain himself that how is Madeline alive. The mansion collapse and Roderick...
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...Comparative Literature Paper Lillian Beller World Literature October 14, 2012 University of Phoenix Comparative Literature Paper Selfishness and revenge are woven through “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allan Poe and “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner like a fine silk thread, supporting the theme of death in each. In the short story, “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner, the cause of death is never obviously revealed but lightly hinted upon Emily as the cause. “The Cask of Amontillado,” a short story by Edgar Allan Poe, the cause of death is revealed but no one knew the cause of Fortunato’s disappearance. These stories contain many differences as well as similarities ranging from imagery, symbolism, theme, and tone. The recognizable commonality of the two is the theme of death. Each of these stories portrays death, or murder, as a result of vengeance, revenge and betrayal. “The Cask of Amontillado” deals with the death of Fortunato and “A Rose for Emily” deals with the death of Homer and Emily. William Faulkner never admits that Emily is the cause of Homer’s death but gives the audience clues that suggest Emily was indeed responsible. Emily’s death seemed to be of natural causes (Faulkner, 1931, p 531). Edgar Allan Poe, in “The Cask of Amontillado” tells the audience of Montresor’s plot of revenge and murder of Fortunato. Betrayal and revenge are obvious throughout both stories. In “A Rose for Emily,” Emily first betrayed Homer after he...
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...coincide with the setting. In some stories, it might be unchallenging, but there are some writers that do make it challenging. For instance, Edgar Allen Poe’s works, describe vivid details. His themes provide emotions and scenery – which gives a better understand or feel. The emotions that Poe shows in the story are generally a dark type of feeling – making the theme to be related to that type of feeling and emotion. In Poe’s work of “The Raven” he describes setting types that benefit in understanding the theme, which is life after a death or grief, loss, madness, and even love. In the beginning of “The Raven” Poe states, “a midnight dreary, while I pondered weak and weary … and a curious volume of forgotten love” (Bayum 637). When he uses the words midnight and dreary those show an emotion of dark as well as eerie. Since, dreary means bleak and lifeless they relate to depression. With the words, weak and weary – they both mean lifeless as well as extreme exhaustion. Feeling tired and the lack of doing anything are the signs of depression too. Grieving shows many kinds of emotions, while during the time of grieving the feeling that will be felt is sadness – that follows in pursuit of...
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...Rebecca Stewart Jennifer Wheetley Cook English Comp II, Thematic Analysis 12 July 2014 Religion & Murder in 19th Century American Fiction The recurring theme in “The Black Cat” by Edgar Allan Poe and “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner is religion. “The Black Cat” is about a man who is at a crossroads between the religion he knows and the new scientific theories of the day. “A Rose for Emily” is about a woman caught between her Episcopalian beliefs and the Baptist beliefs of the community she lives in. Both stories use isolation and murder to illustrate the main character’s struggle with religion. However, while Faulkner’s Emily is dealing with outside isolation of her beliefs, Poe’s narrative is an internal struggle with religion versus scientific theory. According to Laura J. Getty, author of "Faulkner's A rose for Emily," “A Rose for Emily” immediately addresses the recurring theme of religion by referencing the carved rose on the confessional booth Emily visits. The Episcopalian Emily visits a confessional while her Baptist neighbors do not (Getty 232). Faulkner further refers to religion by explaining “When we saw her again her hair was cut short, making her look like a girl, with a vague resemblance to the angels in colored church windows—sort of tragic and serene” (par 29). Emily’s struggle with the townspeople’s Baptist beliefs and her Episcopalian background maintain the religious theme. The ladies of the town coerce the Baptist minister to intervene...
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...Ligeia by Edgar Allan Poe Setting * Abbey is placed in a wildest an unsocial region (abbey is a medieval term) * Big building, gloomy and dreary, almost savaged aspect. Huge windows in the building. Lofty rooms – high ceilings. Describes a window in a gothic way – tinted, ghastly lustre on the objects within the room. * Foreign elements: Eastern culture, arabesque, Egypt, * Draped in fabric and tapestries, gold and jetty black * The room is shaped as a pentagon in a high turret in each corner is a sarcophagus (a coffin) * Heavy materials: ebony, oak, granite * High turret gothic binaries. Semantic scheme to describe the room: * Heavy, dark, dramatic, large, draped, The rooms symbolic meaning: * Narrators psyche * Death and isolation * Cathedral tomb. The bridal chamber is decked as a tomb. * Satanic five star room - pentagonal The relationship to Rowena * They don’t love – they tolerate each other * Despises her and loaths her because he misses Ligeia * Describes her looks in comparison to Ligeia: * Fair haired girl with blue eyes – the opposite of Ligeia who is a dark and gothic beauty * He likes her disaffection – he feels like a demon more than a man Analysis with focus on exams 1. Introduction of the disposition 2. Introduction of the text 3. Gothic traits: a. The gothic setting – the symbolic meaning of the room b. The gothic binary of Ligeia and Rowena ...
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...Bad Meets Evil In the gothic literature short stories “Prey”, “The Devil and Tom Walker”, “The Black Cat”, and “A Rose for Emily” composed by Richard Matheson, Washington Irving, Edgar Allan Poe, and William Faulkner exercise their knowledge of gothic themes of entrapment and ambiguity to create a persuasive sense of exasperation and apprehension for the reader. Authors such as Richard Matheson, Washington Irving, and William Faulkner predominantly use the gothic theme entrapment in their writing. In fact, in “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner the central character Emily “no longer went out at all” (Faulkner 1066). This caused her to become extremely lonely in the later years of her life. This is due to the loss of her husband Colonel Sartoris. Faulkner states “A deputation waited upon her, knocked at the door through which no visitor had passed since she ceased giving china-painting lessons eight or ten years earlier.” (Faulkner 1068) in light of demonstrating the entrapment she created for herself as a means of dealing with her husband's death by...
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