Edgar Allan PoeAmerican Romantic

Life of Poe

American writer, poet, editor and literary critic, considered part of the American Romantic Movement

Born as Edgar Poe in Boston

Orphaned at a young age and unofficially adopted by John Allan of Richmond

Attended the University of Virginia briefly before briefly attending West Point

First published work, Tamerlane and Other Works came in 1827 credited to “a Bostonian”

Life of Poe

His work forced him to move between several cities, including Baltimore, Philadelphia, and NYC

Published The Raven in 1845 achieving instant success

While working on his own journal, The Penn Poe died October 7, 1849, at age 40

Cause of his death is unknown and has been variously attributed to alcohol, brain congestion, cholera, drugs, heart disease, rabies, suicide, tuberculosis, and other means

The Raven

Narrative poem first published in January 1845

Noted for its musicality, stylized language, and supernatural atmosphere

Details a raven’s mysterious visit to a distraught lover, tracing the man's slow descent into madness

Poe wrote the poem very logically and methodically, intending to create a poem that would appeal to both critical and popular tastes

Uses internal rhyme heavily as well as alliteration

Legacy made Poe widely

popular in his lifetime, though it did not bring him much financial success

Earned Poe the nickname “The Raven”

Produced many different parodies

Both praised and criticized by literary contemporaries

The Cask of Amontillado

Short story first published in November 1846

Details the deadly revenge taken by the narrator on a friend who has insulted him

Continues Poe’s fascination and the contemporary interest in being buried alive as is the fate of the narrator’s friend

Based on a personal rivalry between Poe and Thomas Dunn English

Legacy First published in

Godey’s Lady Book – which at the time was the most popular periodical in America

May have been inspired by the Washingtonian Movement – a temperance movement

One of Poe’s most well-recognized and often read short stories

American Romanticism

Artistic, literary, and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Europe

Considered in part a revolt against aristocratic social and political norms of the Age of Enlightenment

Validated strong emotion as an authentic source of aesthetic experience, placing new emphasis on such emotion as trepidation, horror and terror, and awe

Celebrated the ideals of a gifted, perhaps misunderstood loner, creatively following the dictates of his inspiration rather than the mores of contemporary society.

American Romanticism

Movement reached America in the early nineteenth century

Incorporated high level of moral enthusiasm, commitment to individualism and the unfolding of the self, an emphasis on intuitive perception, and the assumption that the natural world was inherently good, while human society was filled with corruption

Embraced the individual and rebelled against the confinement of neoclassicism and religious tradition

Created a new literary genre that continues to influence American writers

Romantic literature was personal, intense, and portrayed more emotion than ever seen in neoclassical literature