The Dark Influence of Edgar Allan Poe

565 Words2 Pages

Have you ever met someone so creepy, yet so fascinating, that you just wanted to get to know him more? Edgar Allan Poe wrote many stories and poems that usually ended sadly. He drank excessively, was known as a dark man, and tended to write stories of horror. Poe is one of the greatest authors in all of history because of his love for gothic themes, his passion for romance, his influence on detective stories, and his interesting characteristics. To begin with, Poe was a great author of his time period because of his passion for romance.
Nina Baym states, “We should see him, instead, concerned with another and equally ‘romantic’ problem: investigating the nature of imagination itself” (Baym 22). Poe is concerned with the romantic problem imposing himself on an intractable reality. Poe’s stories are made with a lot of imagination. He was a dark poet who also added romance in his stories, while managing to be the captive of his stories and his fantasies too. In Poe’s stories, he began with the art of romance to truth, or just beauty. The drama of his story’s’ settings in the drama of a spectator because he greated and imagined that setting, but that isn’t all Poe could do.
Secondly, Edgar Allan Poe’s influence on detective stories made him one of the most amazing authors known today. Eliot proclaims, “As for the prose, it is recognized that Poe’s tales had great influence upon some types of popular fiction” (Eliot 24). The Incredible Adventure of Rider Hoggard was inspired by him. Detective fictions and just about everything else traces to Poe. The Brilliant and Eccentric Amateur originates from him. Poe’s influence, moved other authors to write great stories, yet that still isn’t the end of his greatness.
Also, Poe’s love for go...

... middle of paper ...

... Because of the type of person he was, this made his career interesting and worth-while. Edgar Allan Poe had a very challenging career because of the things he went through as a writer, but found many inspirations in the things he did do. In the end, Edgar Allan Poe was a very successful author, and is still a major influence today.

Works Cited

Baym, Nina. “Reality and Madness.” Edgar Allan Poe. Ed. Harold Bloom. Broomall, PA: Chelsea House Publishers, 1999. 21-23. Print.
Davidson, Edward H. “Poe’s Use of Horror.” Readings on Edgar Allan Poe. ED. Bonnie Szumski. San Diego, CA: David Bender, 1998. 128-137. Print.
Eliot, T.S. “Poe’s Influence.” Edgar Allan Poe. Ed. Harold Bloom. Broomall, PA: Chelsea House Publishers, 1999, 23-24. Print.
May, Charles E. “Edgar Allan Poe.” Critical Survey of Mystery and Detective Fiction, Revised Edition, 2008. Web. 17 March 2014.

Open Document