Poe: An Analysis of His Work

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The Portable Edgar Allen Poe, edited by J. Gerald Kennedy, is a phenomenal compilation of works from one of America's greatest writers of the nineteenth century. Published in 2006, the book contains short stories, poems, and letters, written by Edgar Allen Poe. Full of lies, hope, revenge, and guilt, the stories in this assemblage are suspenseful and convey powerful messages. Of all the amazing stories that comprise this anthology, “The Tell-Tale Heart”, “The Black Cat”, and “The Pit and the Pendulum” are the best three in the compendium. Written by Edgar Allen Poe, “The Tell-Tale Heart” is a thrilling story about a man who commits an atrocious deed. With an illness infecting his mind, the narrator plots and carries out the murder of his elderly neighbor and hides the body in the floorboards of the old man's bedroom. Later, when the police show up, the narrator persuades the cops that he is merely taking care of the house while the old man is away. Driven to insanity, convinced he can hear the old man's heart beating through the floorboards, and paranoid that the police can hear it as well, the narrator, ironically, gives himself up. Spine-tingling, gruesome, and with a surprise twist ending, “The Tell-Tale Heart” is a narrative that keeps the readers' eyes affixed to the page. Another extraordinary tale by Edgar Allen Poe is, “The Black Cat”. “The Black Cat” recounts the story of an unnamed narrator with a selfless character. Loving animals, he and his wife have several pets, one of which being a black cat. The narrator and the cat grow very close and life for the narrator seems complete, until he beings drinking. Intoxicated by alcohol, the narrator becomes irritable and abusive. One day, that narrator, infur... ... middle of paper ... ... Assignation” don't offer the same vividly described setting, or narrators that evoke the aforementioned feelings of pity from the readers as the other selections in the book provide. Poe's best works are suspenseful and provide twists to the plot that engage a wide variety of readers. The use of motifs to help create an intense sense of doom and foreboding are prominent in many stories and poems by Poe. The Portable Edgar Allen Poe contains not only the best of Poe's work, but also an introduction with a thorough biography and chronology of major events in the life of Edgar Allen Poe. Filled with suspense, adventure, and thrilling tales, The Portable Edgar Allen Poe is the right pick for all readers, young-adult and older. This collection of stories, poems, and letters, all written by Edgar Allen Poe, is definitely worth a trip to the library to check-out.

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