Transcript Edgar Allan Poe - Annapolis High School

Edgar Allan Poe
1809(?)-1849
His Family and Tragic Life
Born in Boston or Baltimore
Some question as to when
The son of traveling actors
His mother was adored by all
Tragic and unhappy life
Tragic and Unhappy Life
Supposedly watched his Mother die of
illness--Tuberculosis
Father deserted him at the age of
two—father died shortly after mother
adopted by Mr. and Mrs. John Allan
constant disagreements with his stepfather—usually about money/gambling
Step-mother adored him, but she died!
Education
Product of a formal education
Studied briefly at the University
of Virginia
Tendency to sabotage himself
Drinking and gambling difficulties
kept him from continuing at UVA
L I F E…
Received an appointment to
West Point, but provoked his own
dismissal, which means he was
kick out! (you can’t quit West
Point)
Caused a final separation
between himself and stepfather—was written out of his
step-father’s will
. . .continued
1826
he discovered his childhood
sweetheart got married, he
became depressed
First book is published in 1827
and sold for $0.50 a copy…he
barely sold any.
. . .continued
In
1836 married his 14 year old
cousin, Virginia
Moved many times—NY, Philly,
Baltimore, Richmond
Last 12 years of life worked as
journalist, editor, and creative
writer
. . . continued
Lived
in poverty stricken
conditions despite going from
job to job
In 1846 wife died after a long
illness—it is unclear exactly
what it was, but most believe it
was Tuberculosis
. . . continued
Died
in Baltimore after having
been found in the streets,
presumably drunk
His death is a mystery today—
rabies? Illness? No one knows
Died a poor man despite all his
work, but was widely read!
Addiction
Sometimes strange special
effects linked to his
addiction to laudanum
Laudanum is a highly
addictive, opium based
medicine, commonly used in
treatment of headaches and
stomach pains in 1800’s
May be false information—
Poe not an addict?
Poe’s Work
Known for:
Tales
of mystery
and terror stories
Introducing the
modern
detective story
Literary Term: Gothic Elements
Poe’s intentions were to blur
the distinction between
nightmare and reality.
Supernatural horrors and an
atmosphere of unknown
terror pervades the action
High emotion,
sentimentalism, but also
pronounced anger, surprise,
and especially terror
Literary Term: Gothic Elements
Use of words indicating fear, mystery,
etc.: apparition, devil, ghost, haunted,
terror, fright, fainting
Word choice is key in his writing—it’s all
about developing the mood and
atmosphere
Literary Term: Allusions
Reference to a famous historical
or literary figure or event
Best sources are literature,
history, Greek myth, and the Bible
Serves to explain or clarify or
enhance whatever subject
Literary Term: Irony
VERBAL
SITUATIONAL
DRAMATIC
words spoken by one
character mean
something different than
what that character
means
 situation is not what it
appears to be


what do we know that
the characters do not
know about something
Literary Term: Symbol
Something that is itself and yet also
represents something else
Universal symbols embodying
universally recognizable meanings
Invested symbols given symbolic
meaning by the way an author uses
them in a literary work
Poe and Gothic Tenets
Poe emphasized grotesque, desolate, mysterious,
horrible and an ultimate abject fear that can be
aroused in the reader.
 Remoteness/indefiniteness
 Single effect is eerie (an emphasis on physical
aspects.)

Poe and Gothic Tenets (cont.)
Poe creates a super sensitive hero who
would not/could not function in normal
society
 Predisposition with emotional needs
 Sort of psychic communication present
(usually between a member of living world
and a living corpse)

Poe and Gothic Tenets (cont.)
There exists the possibility of returning to
living world/to life after death (allows for
inhabitation of own corpse)
 There is life of the mind after death of the
body –superhuman strength to live – one
does not yield oneself to death except
through the weakness of the will

General belief
Poe: man feels and
senses BEFORE he
thinks and reasons.
 You must have
something to express
before you can
commit it to
expression.


Is this true in your
life?
Poe’s Characters
 Poe
shows men on the borderline of
sanity. They try to keep a foothold on
common sense and the material world.
 Poe’s narrators are important for
understanding the bizarre logic of some
men—sometimes the main character
 Poe’s women are doomed to premature
death, one way or another
 Constructs his tales to show characters’
limitations
CONFLICTS
 Poe’s
characters are pushed over the
border by events and some urgency
within themselves
 Internal conflicts are the driving force—
external conflicts usually serve to
emphasize the internal conflicts
 IE--Fear
of death is dealt with through
actual confrontation with the character of
Death
Poe’s settings
– Usually an unknown or obscure
setting at some distant time.
 Purpose: readers will not be
diverted from story, etc. by
contemporary references or ideas
 New worlds are created so there
may be a concentration wholly on
theme and atmosphere
 Characters can live by/through
emotion because of NO
time/setting constraints
Characterization

Often characters are not named or
are given a name that is deeply
rooted w/ contextual meaning.

Why would he leave some
characters unnamed?
THEMES in POE
 Poe’s
central theme involves some approach to
life.
 All his narrators, however demented, cling to
the world of logic and common sense.
 Themes involve that which we think, but never
dream to do.
 The darkest parts of men and women.
 The saddest parts of life.
MAJOR THEMES AND CONCEPTS
 Premature
Burial
 Love gone awry
 Man’s arrogance about everything
 Guilt and Self-fulfilling prophecy
 Man’s inhumanity to man
Vengeance
 Death is unavoidable and horrible
Subject Matter

Poe says “no” to common and
ordinary or mundane, there is an
emphasis on bizarre,
unexpected, unusual

Wanted to affect people in a
manner different than that which
they might encounter in ordinary
life.
Short Stories
Short Stories
The Tell-Tale Heart
Masque of the Red
Death
The Cask of
Amontillado
The Black Cat
The Pit and The
Pendulum
Poetry
Poems:
The Raven
Annabel Lee
To Helen
Lenore
Common
Theme—
Women and
Premature
Death or Lost
Love
Remember…
 Poe
is the author, and not the character
 Many
people assumed Poe to be mad due
to his characters and themes
 Only
natural considering what he suffered
in his lifetime
THE END!!