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Edgar allan poe influence on literature
Edgar Allan Poe biography
The legend of sleepy hollow 1000 words critical essay
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"From the first day that the United States won its independance, thoughtful Americans have attempted to define the new national identity" that decolonization invited. Becoming an independant political nation forced citizens to suddenly devise a "community and character" (Finkelman, 63) worthy of this newborn America. It was believed that, once free from Birtish fetters, a unique American character would emerge automatically. But this was not so, and it was left up to the artits, politictians, scientists, businessmen and women, and every other citizen to contrive the American identity. Those who were most accomplished at scrutinizing the American identity and what it was, were the many authors and writers of the 19th century.
One of the writers struggling to supply the "demand for American characters and American themes" (Milne, 145) was Edgar Allan Poe, born in 1809. Poe lived in many cities, including Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New York City. He is most famous for his detective and horror stories, and inside these prominent tales lay the elucidation of the American identity. In his stories, Poe pursues the clarification and communication of the transition from an European based society towards a unique American disposition by creating a double consiousness, one representing European values and the other American values. [journey showing from euro to transition to american readers acan clearly see the struggel in poes writings or hw he transitions from euro tp american voice]
Before and after independance, Americans relied heavily on the British and their influences. These influences, such as the values and morals of Victorian society, could be seen in the northern cities as well as the southern argicultural communities. Th...
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...an Era." The Victorian Period. University of Nevada, Las Vegas, n.d. Web. 13 Dec. 2013.
Milne, Ira Mark. "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow." Short Stories for Students. Vol. 8. Detroit: Gale Group, 2000. 139-164. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 21 Oct. 2013.
Moss, Joyce and George Wilson. "Daisy Miller." Literature and Its Times: Profiles of 300 Notable Literary Works and the Historical Events that Influenced Them. Vol. 2: Civil Wars to Frontier Societies (1800-1880s). Detroit: Gale, 1997. 105-110. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 24 Dec. 2013.
Peeples, Scott. "Double Vision and Single Effect: 1839-1844". Edgar Allan Poe Revisited. New York: Twayne Publishers, 1988. 74-105. Twayne's United States Authors Series 705. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 23 Dec. 2013.
Poe, Edgar Allan. The Tales of Edgar Allan Poe. Chicago: Kaplan Publishing, 2006. Print.
The colonists of the eighteenth century were caught between two cultures: the culture of their mother country (England), and a developing culture that would soon be labeled “American.” During the eighteenth century, the population of the Britain’s mainland colonies grew at unprecedented rates. However, few Americans chose to live in the cities. Despite the limited urban population, cities still profoundly influenced colonial culture. In cities, Americans were exposed to the latest English ideas. Wealthy colonists began to emulate the culture of the mother country, and women and men
The book is derived from the archives of both Britain and America and delivers a powerful drama with narrative robustness. It is generally a story of Americans from all walks of life working towards the same goal of independence. It is a story of the ...
The British Empire has had a long lasting and strong influence on the American colonies for over three centuries. From the 16th century all the way to the 18th century, the British empire has held power within the colonies in terms of legislature, economy, and social stature. The British’s rule has been both a positive and negative driving force
The United States was a recently forged nation state in the early 1800’s. Recently formed, this nation state was very fragile and relied on the loyalty of its citizens to all work collectively toward the establishment and advancement of the nation states. Many members of the nation state gave great sacrifices, often their lives, to see that the united states was a successful and democratic. However, the United States, was fundamentally a mixing pot of all foreign people (excluding marginalized Native Americans). This early 1800 's flow of new “Americans” continued as people sought new opportunities and escaped religious or political persecution and famine. One notable
Irving, Washington. "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow." The Heath Anthology of American Literature. 3rd ed. Vol. 1. Ed. Jayne M. Fargnoli. New York: Houghton, 1998. 1354-1373.
“Is there a single trait of resemblance between those few towns and a great and growing people spread over a vast quarter of the globe, separated by a mighty ocean?” This question posed by Edmund Burke was in the hearts of nearly every colonist before the colonies gained their independence from Britain. The colonists’ heritage was largely British, as was their outlook on a great array of subjects; however, the position and prejudices they held concerning their independence were comprised entirely from American ingenuity. This identity crisis of these “British Americans” played an enormous role in the colonists’ battle for independence, and paved the road to revolution.
Alan Trachtenberg, professor of American studies at Yale and author of The Incorporation of America, argues that the system of incorporation unhinged the idea of national identity that all American’s had previously shared. As a result, incorporation became the catalyst for the great debate about what it meant to actually be American, and who was capable of labeling themselves as such. Throughout his work Trachtenberg consistently tackles the ideas of cultural identity and how those ideas struggled against one another to be the supreme definition of Americanism. This work not only brings to life the issue of identity, but it attempts to synthesize various scholarly works into a cohesive work on the Gilded Age. It demonstrates that concepts developed during the incorporation of the time period have formed the basis for the American cultural, economic, and political superstructure.
Even though Edgar Poe is most often remembered for his short stories, he considered himself first and foremost a poet, and many of his poems have directly influenced American culture in many ways than he thought. “He claims that “The Raven,” his most enduring and well-known poem, is as complex as a math problem and analyzes how a poem’s meter, length, rhyme and subject matter all contribute to its effect. His terror-fueled tales can be credited with influencing everyone from H.P. Lovecraft to Stephen King, not to mention the host of horror movies that sprung from the genre” (Brozak). Moreover, “Annabel Lee,” the last poem Poe wrote, has been translated into songs performed by both Joan Baez and Stevie Nicks, and lines from his poems -- especially
Irving Washington. "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow." The Norton Anthology of American Literature. Ed. Nina Baym. 5th ed. Vol. 1. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1998. 948-69.
Works Cited Faulker, William. The. American Studies at The University of Virginia. 1 April 1997. Online.
The political structure of America changed dramatically as a consequence of the Revolution. When the colonists were divided by loyalty towards Britain and those who wished for separation, the amount of determination that Patriots had was reflected through powerful spokespeople and pieces of writing. The Pe...
Davidson, James West. The American Nation: Independence through 1914. Upper Saddle River. Prentice Hall. 2000.
Throughout the first half of the 19th century, and especially after the War of 1812, America has taken on yet another revolution. In this time period, the country saw a rapid expansion in territory and economics, as well as the extension of democratic politics; the spread of evangelical revivalism; the rise of the nation’s first labor and reform movements; the growth of cities and industrial ways of life; a rise in abolitionism and reduction in the power of slavery; and radical shifts in the roles and status of women.
Irving, Washington. "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow." Ed. Illustrated Arthur Rackham. United States: David McKay, 1928.
The American Romantic period was essentially a Renaissance of American literature. “It was a Renaissance in the sense of a flowering, excitement over human possibilities, and a high regard for individual ego” (English). American romantics were influenced by the literary eras that came before them, and their writings were a distinct reaction against the ideology of these previous eras. In this sense, American Romanticism grew from “. . . the rhetoric of salvation, guilt, and providential visions of Puritanism, the wilderness reaches of this continent, and the fiery rhetoric of freedom and equality . . .” as they eagerly developed their own unique style of writing (English). American romantic authors had a strong sense of national identity and