Edgar Allan Poe: Rhetoric and Style - Research Paper Example

Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe is one the major literary whose worked has been analyzed and assessed critically, where some state he made little or no valuable contributions to the English Literature. There are many critics who add critical value to his work stating that understanding the deeper meaning of his literature is challenging. There can be a number of reasons which can be underlining factors of why Edgar Allan adopted a particular way of writing. He is known as the fine writer of the fiction genre and he belongs to the Age of Romanticism, who is often referred to as the mad genius or a tormented artist due to the personal difficulties or the tragedies he had to go through. ‘Although Poe’s critical esteem rises and falls , but there has been an unbroken fascination with his curious tormented life.’ (Quinn, Arthur H. Edgar Allan Poe, a Critical Biography.) Many relate the personal tragedies that Edgar had to go through for his unique style of writing , which had been recurring through out his life. In 1890, he was born in the city of Boston, he was the son of actor parents. The series of tragedies kicked off as soon as Edgar came in to the world, where his father left him with his mother and went away to live on his own, without acknowledging the birth of his son. Edgar was left with his sick mother who was suffering from consumption, which in today’s modern world is called tuberculosis. She left Edgar and two other siblings, William Henry and Rosalie, as orphans, when she left the world in the year 1811. Later , he was adopted by the rich merchant where he was raised in a wealthy household , awed by the stories of the servants and slaves of the secrets of the sea. What started to amaze the little Edgar more was the dead and the dying individuals, and this had an influence on his style of writing as well since he once said that crossing a local graveyard took him aback , where he stated he was being followed by the spirits. ‘Many of the poems of Edgar Allan Poe, particularly Annabel Lee and Raven, are marked by deep sadness over the loss of a loved one. It is sadness that began in Poe’s childhood with his father’s desertion and the death of his mother – a dark sadness that continued throughout his life.’ (Poe, Edgar A, Brod Bagert, and Carolynn Cobleigh. Edgar Allan Poe.) His teenage years brought to him the development of the bad feelings towards his father, who did not approve of Edgar’s plans of becoming a literary writer. Johan Allan’s convincing did not help in moving the unmovable decision that had already been made by Edgar, and therefore he thought the boy was nothing more than an ungrateful individual who did not seem to be thankful for whatever he did for him, consequently cutting him out of his will. However, Poe in 1826, still entered he newly established University of Virginia, and he was extremely cash strapped to pay off the dues. Therefore he began to gamble , thinking it will help him survive, however the financial conditions got even worse, when he lost two thousand dollar and eventually left the program. “ From childhood's hour I have not been, as others were; I have not seen ,as others saw; I could not bring my passions from a common spring. ” (Poe in 'Alone') Some analysts states that Edgar Allan use symbolism in his works where he presented a great del of his own life in order to depict the point of views he had on various issues encompassing life, such as love, death etc. He tried to mirror the tragedies of his own life in his poems and stories, making a very intelligent use of symbolism for a broad view of interpretation. ‘Poe’s personal image is closely associated with many of the characters and the imagery contained in his works ; dark, gloomy, half mad.’ (Bloom, Harold. Edgar Allan Poe's "the Tell-Tale Heart”) One of his most renowned works is that of ‘Raven’ a narrative poem where he talked about a man sitting is met by the bird where he began to share his troubles with the bird, who responded to the man’s tale of troubles by saying nevermore nevermore. He tries to get the bird out and finally looks ath the possibility of the bird being sent by God to deliver the message of death. He curses the birf and finally passes thinking about the sorrows of life and how he lost of the people he loved the most in his life. Many critics stated that the bird signifies Virginia since it was written after the death of the woman he loved the most, and the man was Edgar Allan Poe himself. The poem was one of his most famous works, and the poem signifies that Poe will never forget about his beloved Virginia, and that her death was mourned by the poet immensely. Coming towards another popular work of his which is Tamerlane , written in 1827 in the tender years of Edgar Allan. The poem revolves around the king , who fell in love with a peasant girl but his greed for power and wealth makes him forget about his promise to the girl , becoming a great warrior. When he returns, he is met by the news of the death of his love who passed away of a broken, bruised heart. Again the use of symbolism depicts his own situation of distress and misery. Many state that Tamerlane revolves around Sarah E Royster and his love towards her, depicting the story of his own life in the poem. Although it was one of his first works, but it was met by a lot of appreciation. Edgar allan Poe had sometimes let himself drench in the sea of depression and there is doubt that he underwent the unbelievable grievous times. When Sarah left him, he started to drink and though this would help ease his pain, and then when his beloved Virginia passes away, the binge of drinking and drugs worsened. There are a few who even state that when he was in one of his rage fits, he would also indulge himself in opium. He dealt his depression in a wrong manner and his chronic manic depression was only dealt with the drugs. “I was never really insane except upon occasions when my heart was touched. ” (~ Poe in a letter, 1849 ~) ‘Poe was an awful stylist, now lets move on to the move serious concerns of his themes an symbolism or to the sordid details of his gin soaked , opium-saturated , pathological life’ (Zimmerman, Brett. Edgar Allan Poe: Rhetoric and Style) Edgar Allan Poe underwent a series of tragic events which forced him to write the way he did, delivering the tome of melancholy. Orphaned at only the age of three, Edgar started losing his loved ones one by one. Although his foster father never nearly accepted him , he had a close attachment with his foster mother, but the time soon came when he decided to leave his foster family when Mr Allan disowned him from the will. He lost Sarah and then his secret engagement to Elmira who was also taken away from Poe. He impoverished and had a disastrous landing in military due to the cash strapped conditions, but that failed to bring him luck as well and he moved to his aunt’s residence and fell in love with his 13 year cousin , Virginia. The finally blow was her death ( as a result of tuberculosis) to Poe who found his life encompassed with tragedies and chose to adopt a unique way of writing which depicted grief and melancholy. Later on, he wrote some pieces of work on sci fiction as well but people say that most if his work, especially Annabel Lee which is one of his most famous poems, is in the remembrance of Virginia , who was very dear to her and he was unable to come to terms with her death. He died a mysterious death but many analysts state that it was because he had immersed himself in alcohol and drugs uncontrollably. ‘Poe’s life was short and painful. Who he was, what he sprang from , why and how he wrote , as well as the troubled life he led as one of the first American writers who try to make a living solely by their pen.’ (Meltzer, Milton. Edgar Allan Poe: A Biography) Works Cited Quinn, Arthur H. Edgar Allan Poe, a Critical Biography. New York: D. Appleton-Century Co, 1941. Print. Poe, Edgar A, Brod Bagert, and Carolynn Cobleigh. Edgar Allan Poe. Zimmerman, Brett. Edgar Allan Poe: Rhetoric and Style. Montreal Que.: McGill-Queen's University Press, 2005. Meltzer, Milton. Edgar Allan Poe: A Biography. Brookfield, Conn: Twenty-First Century Books, 2003. Print. Bloom, Harold. Edgar Allan Poe's "the Tell-Tale Heart" and Other Stories. New York: Bloom's Literary Criticism, 2009. Print Read More