Edgar Allan Poe Introduction

Ok better late than never here's is the start to Edgar Allan Poe. There will be summaries posted on this blog along with short analyses of the stories. I have tried to keep the summaries fairly casual and give my own views on the stories and what I think that Poe was trying to achieve.

Poe is viewed as the godfather of gothic horror, particularly in America and this can be seen with so many references to his work in modern literature and media such as 'The Simpsons' along with many modern horror movies that pay homage to his work. He was also responsible for the development of detective fiction and 'The Murders in the Rue Morgue' can be seen as the first example of this type of fiction.

Some people view his work as cliched and stereotypical, such as the gothic mansions were so many of the stories take place, as well as the idea of gloomy and dark landscapes that help set the mood. I am sure we have all seen the start of horror movies with the ominous looking house that is surrounded by fog.

If you have already read some of the stories you would be aware that Poe spends a lot of time setting the mood of his stories and it can be quite often three or four pages into the story before the story really begins, this can be seen in 'The Fall of the House of Usher' as well as 'The Murders in the Rue Morgue' and 'The Premature Burial'. Poe may have done this in order to help build the mood of his stories and there is the constant reference to gloom and dull, dark and dreary, it is meant to put us into a certain frame of mind for the rest of the story. It does sometimes take some perseverance to plow through the start of these stories and I recommend reading the summaries first in order to get an overview of the story which will then help with your understanding.

Speaking of which here are some good links to summaries and information on Poe's short stories.

http://www.cummingsstudyguides.net/index.html#PoeStudy
http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/poestories/

Good luck and enjoy, remember if you have any questions you can post them here and I will get to them as soon as possible.

Cheers

Mr Hill