Similarities Between Hawthorne And Edgar Allan Poe

Poe and Hawthorne

Edgar Allan Poe and Nathaniel Hawthorne are considered two of the most influential writers in American history. ¨Although they never met face-to-face the two writers are inseparably linked because of the style of their works.¨(Velella) Their unique style was different then a lot of other writers which separated them from the rest. While Longfellow and many others wrote about happiness and spiritual connection with nature Poe and Hawthorne wrote about darkness and how they thought humanity was evil creation.

The authors personal life is very similar. “Hawthorne and Poe both have life experiences that explain what they wrote and why it's gothic.”(Loughridge) Edgar Allan Poe and Nathaniel Hawthorne father’s both died when

they were only 4 years old. Both of them had a depressing childhood that carried into their adulthood. Because of their rough childhood it made them some of the most successful authors in American history.
Along with similarities in their own personal lives they had similarities in their writings as well. Both Poe and Hawthorne use a great deal of symbolism in their stories. In Hawthorne's story The Minister's Black Veil the veil symbolizes darkness and confession of the ministers sins and grief. In Poe story the fall of the House of Usher the symbolism is very similar to that of Hawthornes in that it creates an image of darkness and grief almost as a gothic feeling in both stories.
Because of their unique gothic writing styles, many believe and say that Edgar Allan Poe and Nathaniel Hawthorne were crazy some may even say that they were psycho. But without their great works American literature would not be the same as it is today. Their works were the essential building blocks of American literature and the basis of today's education system.