Lecture 4 edgar allan poe

1809-1849

Edgar Allan Рое was born in Boston. His mother, itinerant actress, died in 1811, and the boy was adopted by John Allan, a wealthy merchant.

From 1815 to 1820 the Allans Jived in England, and the boy attended school there. When the family returned to Richmond, he went to the local academy.

By his seventeen Рое received the normal education of a young gentleman. In 1826 he went to the University of Virginia, but was removed from there in 1827.The same year he ran off to Boston where he published "Tamerlane and other poems". Then he enlisted in the army and in 1830 entered the Military Academy at West Point. In the meantime he had published his second volume of verse, "Al Aaraaf, Tamerlane and MinorPoems"(l829).

After being discharged from West Point in 1831, he went to Baltimore and spent there four years. Рое began writing short stories. After the success of "Ms Found in a Bottle"' (1833) he had editorial jobs in Baltimore, New York and Philadelphia, and was successfully engaged in writing articles and short stories for periodicals. While living in Philadelphia from 1838 to 1844 Foe wrote his best stories which were collected as "Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque"(1840). Further editorial troubles caused him once again to move to New York, where he published "The Raven and Other Poems" and "Tales", both in 1845. By the middle ofthe forties Рое was a well-known member of the New York literary circle. The last of his works was "Eureka: A Prose Poem", published in 1848. [64]

Рое was, perhaps, the strangest and most extreme figure in romantic tradition of American literature. Brought in a society of merchants, lawyers and almost feudal landowners, Рое had to live and work among the inheritors ofthe northern bourgeoise conscience. And he never was under illusion that the northern progress would lead to the establishment of harmony. He disliked the general antipoetic quality of American life, the prevailing commercial values that had taken over America.

Рое is a great literary figure whose contribution is outstanding both in the field of short fiction and in the field of poetry. As a short story writer he is considered the inventor ofthe detective story, particularly that of "ratiocination" (like "The Purloined Letter"); and he is as attractive in his stories of "ratiocination" as in his stories of horror like "The Fall of the House of Usher" and "The Black Cat".

As a critic Рое laid down rules for creating a successful work of art. The most important aspects of his theory of poetry he developed in his Philosophy of Composition.

As a poet he showed American readers that "Beauty is the sole legitimate province of poem" that "Melancholy poetical tones". But for the years his poetry was considered meretricious by English-speaking readers.

Nevertheless by the end ofthe XIX century Рое became a poet of European merit due to Mallarme's translation into French and Brusov's and Balmont's translations into Russian.

Answer the questions

1. When and where was Edgar Рое born?

2. Why and when was he adopted by John Allan?

3. Where did he get his education?

4. What did he publish in 1827?

5. When and where did he begin writing short stories? What are the most famous of them?

6. What kind of figure was Рое in romantic tradition of American lite­rature?

7. Why is Poe's contribution to the field of short fiction and in the field of poetry outstanding?

8. What did Edgar Рое do as a critic and as a poet? [65]