Brief Analysis of The Works of Edgar Allan Poe - 1271 Words

Readers get an education when it comes to the role that the first-person narrator takes on some of Edgar Allan Poe’s short stories. In â€Å"The Tell-Tale Heart† (1843) the unnamed narrator is not trying to convince the reader that he is not guilty, just that he is not crazy. He was justified in killing the old man with the â€Å"vulture-like eye† and hiding the body under the floorboards of his home. He may be trying to save his own skin, but that is not the point. The crime is not in question; it is the narrator’s sanity. How can one trust the storyteller, if you only get one part of the story? This is what makes the journey as a reader more interesting. How do you discern the truth? This is what it is like going through Poe’s work. Most of†¦show more content†¦It is not until the end of the story when a servant shrieks in terror as he sees Egaeus and points at his master’s clothing â€Å"muddy and clotted with gore† and â€Å"indented with human nails.† There were some objects by the wall—a spade and a box inside â€Å"some instruments of dental surgery, intermingled with thirty-two small, white, and ivory-looking substances that were scattered to and fro about the floor.† Berenice was alive and Egaeus obsession made a bad thing even worse. He is in denial as to what he did that he identified Berenice’s teeth as â€Å"ivory-looking substances.† He turns something ugly into a beautiful thing as he describes what he sees. Egaeus does not want to believe that he did what he did. Just on that element alone, his story needs to be questioned. However in fiction things do not tend to be so straightforward and there are other elements that need to be taken into consideration. Things may not be as it seems. Among Poe’s short stories there are two that hint about the supernatural or the unexplained, but it is all left to the reader as to make his or her own interpretation of the story. Morella—A Tale of Obsession â€Å"Morella† involves a married couple who dabble in witchcraft and the Dark Arts. The husband is the storyteller. Morella, who is about to die while giving birth to their daughter, tells her unloved husband that she is never going to leave him. He may show love to his child, but she it may be shortlived. The daughter,Show MoreRelatedThe Tortured Poet : Edgar Allan Poe1312 Words   |  6 PagesThe Tortured Poet: Edgar Allan Poe â€Å"Beauty is the sole legitimate province of the poem† Poe, Edgar Allan. The Philosophy of Composition. 1846. The name Poe often brings to mind tales of horror and mystery, but this Poe was also a writer of sophisticated poems, capable of extreme poetic beauty within a dark genre of writing. Poe never lived the happiest of lives, but his writing is extraordinary, both for its execution, and for the sheer elegance of the words which he found to write upon the pageRead MoreEdgar Allan Poe s Writing Style1303 Words   |  6 Pagesprovince of the poem† Poe, Edgar Allan. The Philosophy of Composition. 1846. The name Poe often brings to mind tales of horror and mystery, but this Poe was also a writer of sophisticated poems, capable of extreme poetic beauty within a dark genre of writing. Poe never lived the happiest of lives, but his writing is extraordinary, both for its execution, and for the sheer elegance of the words which he found to write upon the page. Death is amo ng one of the recurring themes which Poe explored. Dark andRead MoreAnalysis Of Edgar Allan Poe s Life1954 Words   |  8 PagesThroughout the many works that Edgar Allan Poe has written in his lifetime, whether the work is a poem, novel, analysis, or critique, Poe has incorporated many reoccurring themes that define him as a writer. A theme that has brought much criticism upon Poe is his Classicist aspect of writing. Poe was very clear and detailed when he wrote in prose. This way of writing proved him to be somewhat of a rebel and veered off the beaten path when it comes to form. In Poe’s time the Gothic style was notRead MoreAnalysing the Black Cat Using Labovs Narrative Structure5713 Words   |  23 Pagesthe elements of Labov’s Narrative Structure 2. discuss the way Edgar Allen Poe structured his short story to form the elements of tragedy, mystery and terror as presented in the short story In completing the task, I will use Labov’s Narrative Theory to conduct narrative analysis of the short story, The Black Cat written by Edgar Allan Poe. The structure of this essay begins with the introduction to narrative and narrative analysis. The second part develops in the literature review where I willRead MoreEdgar Allan Poe : A Literary Catalyst2302 Words   |  10 PagesEdgar Allan Poe: A Literary Catalyst Edgar Allan Poe created a new age of poem and prose though his articulate calculation of production and fantastic usage of poetic effect. His way of creating a work was to mathematically draw the poem from the atmosphere or effect backwards, running this idea throughout the piece. Many people consider Edgar Allan Poe as one of America’s greatest authors, but still question that without Poe, the unveiling of the human propensity represented in poetryRead More An Analysis of Edgar Allan Poes Psychological Thriller Essay3707 Words   |  15 PagesAn Analysis of Edgar Allan Poes Psychological Thriller Outline I. Prelude II. Brief introduction to Adgar Allan Poe 1. 1. Allan Poes Life 2. 2. Allan Poes Works and Literary Achievement III. Adgar Allan Poe -- A Post-Gothic Writer 1. 1. Gothic Introduction 2. 2. Analysis of Two Horror 1) 1) The Fall of the House of Usher a) a) Setting b) b) Characters c) c) Point of View 2) 2) The Masque of the Red Death a) a) Setting b) b) Characters Read MoreEdgar Allan Poe s The Tell Tale Heart Essay1597 Words   |  7 PagesPoe’s Method to Madness [Hook] With his short stories and poems, Edgar Allan Poe has captivated the imagination and interest of readers all around the world. His creative talents led to the beginning of different literary genres, earning him the nickname Father of the Detective Story among other distinctions (Poe s Literary Contributions). It may be concluded he wrote such dark stories and poems because of the adverse situations he faced in life. Much of his life was surrounded by sadness, deathRead MoreRomanticism in American Literature2283 Words   |  10 PagesGetting to Know Thoreau Poe Within this paper will be an explanation of the ideals of Romantic writers in Early American Literature. We will also look at some aspects of Romanticism that were uniquely understood by the writers and artists in the United States. There will be a brief discussion of â€Å"bright† and â€Å"dark† Romantic writing and it is there that we will look at the lives, and one poem each, of Henry David Thoreau, a â€Å"bright† romantic writer and Edgar Allan Poe, a â€Å"dark† romantic writerRead MoreThe Raven And Ulalume By Edgar Allan Poe3442 Words   |  14 Pagesand Repetition Discussed in Edgar Allan Poe’s The Raven and Ulalume Were I called on to define the term ‘Art,’ Poe once wrote, I should call it ‘the reproduction of what the Senses perceive in Nature through the veil of the Soul.’ The intense grief that is felt after losing a loved one can often result in despair and irrationality, but in some of Poe’s poetry it has resulted in the severe mental collapse of the narrator. In The Raven and Ulalume by Edgar Allan Poe, the adverse effects followingRead MorePoetry In Poes The Raven By Edgar Allan Poe937 Words   |  4 PagesEvery time we hear the word poetry we immediately think of romance and beauty. However, having read the poem â€Å"The Raven† by Edgar Allan Poe, we have concluded that even dark and gloomy poetry has its own meaning. While going through its stanzas, the magnificent style and rhythm of Poe’s writing made me feel like I also was in the room with the narrator. The poem itself is an incredible experience, filled with deep meanings and symbol s that if you’re not aware of them you can totally misunderstand