Edgar Allen Poe's Dark Literature - Research Paper Example

Edgar Allen Poe’s Dark Literature Edgar Allan Poe’s literary works were greatly influenced by his own life that was filled with many tragedies. Poe’s earlier works reveals how he missed the loved he had lost over the years as most of his works were dedicated or about them. However, as he progressed into adulthood Poe’s poems becomes darker and increasingly disturbing which might be attributed to his realisation of how cruel the world was. The poet’s horror stories are among the scariest in the literary history which has sparked continued speculation over what motivated him to use such themes that cut across his works. Critics both in history and literature have constructed a number of theories about his motivations to write as he did with some suspecting Poe’s unstable love life while others have noted substance abuse as the cause of his horror stories. To understand Poe’s literary works, it is important to be open to both theories but is evident the death of his loved ones in addition to being abused by his foster father are some of the factors that significantly influenced his works. Poe’s tragic life began when just before his third birthday, his mother died of tuberculosis living him his brother and sister orphans as their father had earlier on abandoned them (Moreno and Rigal-Aragón 128). At this point in life, Poe was very young to comprehend the implication of his mother’s death in his life but in later years especially during adulthood, his reflections led him to grieve for how much better his home life would have been with both his biological parents present. The death of his mother seems to have had a psychological effect on him given that as early as age six he was afraid of the dead or dying causing him to have panic attacks whenever he passed a cemetery fearing ghosts would come after him (Meyers 76). The death of William Henry Leonard Poe also due to tuberculosis infection was the second death of those Poe loved. Poe mourned the death of his brother regretting the lack of chance for them to interact. Although Poe had an unstable relationship with his foster father, Poe’s mental stability and work in general was greatly impacted. Therefore, the death of his mother, brother and foster father played an influential role in the in Poe’s dark literature. Given the painful experience Poe had due to the death of those close to him, it is only natural that he would feel death as the ultimate punishment. Death is the most effective means of separating people from each other as it did to those round him. Poe therefore through the character of Montresor implies killing Fortunato is the best form of revenge. Montresor claims “The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as best I could; but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge” (Poe 209). Therefore, by burying Fortunato behind the brick wall, Montresor believes he has achieved his payback time, as Fortunato will no longer be around to castigate him. Poe’s alcoholism and substance abuse might also be translated as an attempt to escape the reality of a cruel life that had taken away his love ones. It seems like every time the author had a tragedy in his life was coincided by alcoholism and substance abuse especially during his adult life. The death of his foster father led to Poe’s increased substance abuse was he stated using opium in addition to alcohol drinking while the poet also began writing more about sudden death (Anderson 123). Another aspect of his life that was also affected by these losses is Poe’s writing, after the death of his brother, Poe’s wrote among others The Raven which presents the sorrowful nature of life and in which comparisons can be drawn with his own continuous reflection of the deaths he had encountered in his young life. The theme of sorrow featured prominently in his work again during the period of his wife’s illness as seen from the poem The Conqueror Worm which describes how human body decays when feasted by maggots and worms. The impact of his wife’s death was apparent when during her burial Poe said "Deep in earth my love is lying and I must weep alone” (Howarth 342). Therefore, Poe’s works and personal life was intertwined where alcoholism, substance abuse and his embrace of dark literature were all an attempt to escape his tragedies. Poe’s quest to escape personal sad events can also be found in The Cask of Amontillado where his characters attempt to break away from their predicaments. In his analysis of the works of Poe, Hoffman highlights this trend that cuts across the authors literary works: “ I thought perhaps Poe, kept this reason out of sight in some subterranean chamber, entombed like so many of the victims in his tales, allowing it to work upon us only directly as he says allegory best operates” (Hoffman, p. 201). Hoffman shows his appreciation of the reason for this trend when he sheds light to how Poe depict certain characters in his works where Hoffman notes “His protagonists are all attempting to get out of the clotted condition of their own materiality, to cross a barrier between the perceptible sensual world and which lies beyond it” (Hoffman, p. 202). This assertion is true especially for some of the characters in The Cask of Amontillado for example Montressor’s motivation that leads him to devise a plan to revenge against Fortunato is not only to get back at Fortunato but to live in a world that does not include Fortunato. Montresor sees Fortunato as being the source of his misery and therefore his world will be better off without him. Montresor believes Fortunato was "responsible for his loss of status, happiness, love and respect"(Platizky 207). On the other hand, Fortunato after, Montresor seals the vault, is trying to escape a more physical barrier that threatens his existence. This is because through sealing of the vault "Fortunato is deprived of everything"(Gruesser 129). The sad events that Poe goes through in his life also underline the tone of his works. In The Cask of Amontillado, Poe continues with his dark and gloomy tone where the plans Montresor has for his enemy shows how far he is ready to go to exert his revenge (Howarth 342). Montresor plans to revenge but according to him, he must do so with impunity which shows his lack of pity for the fate of Fortunato. Through the events as he leads Fortunato to his death, it appears Montresor is enjoying himself and does not have any sort of remorse that would otherwise make him change his mind and spare Fortunato’s life. The story even becomes scarier towards the end with the most obvious impression being how strong Montresor’s hatred, negative emotions and feelings are toward Fortuanto. After sealing the vault, Montresor derives great satisfaction for the execution he had just committed sarcasm. This satisfaction is still evident fifty years later when Montresor recounts the events leading to the execution of Fortunato with his confession only detailing his obsession with revenge against Fortunato without any remorse. Therefore, negative emotions and hatred experienced by his characters might represent the acceptance that Poe decided to embrace his sadness and live with it. From the foregoing, it is clear that Poe’s work will continue to generate a lot of criticism into what motivated his preference of dark literature. As seen from the both his personal life and in the actions of characters in his literary works such as The Cask of Amontillado, there is a thin line that separates the authors personal life from those of his characters. The exploits of characters in his works which in most cases revolves around death and dark secretes points to his life that was plagued by misfortunes that started from his childhood years and followed him for the rest of his life. Many of his works that he wrote when he had lost his brother, foster father and mother or when he remembered about his biological mother were dark and sinister which goes further to prove this hypothesis. Consequently, it is accurate to state that Poe’s works had a direct relation to his personal life. Works Cited Anderson, Madelyn Klein. Edgar Allan Poe: A Mystery. New York: Justin Books, Ltd., 1993. Print. Gruesser, John. "Poes the Cask of Amontillado." The Explicator 56.3 (1998): 129-130. Howarth, William L. Twentieth century interpretations of Poes tales: a collection of critical essays. Vol. 838. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1971. Print. Hoffman, Daniel. Poe, Poe, Poe, Poe, Poe, Poe, Poe. Louisiana: LSU Press, 1998. Print. Meyers, Jeffrey. Edgar Allan Poe: His Life and Legacy. New York City: Cooper Square Press, 2000. Print. Moreno, Beatriz González, and Margarita Rigal-Aragón, eds. A Descent Into Edgar Allan Poe and His Works: The Bicentennial. Peter Lang, 2010. Print. Platizky, Roger. "Poes the Cask of Amontillado." The Explicator 57.4 (1999): 206-209. Poe, Edgar Allan. "A Cask of Amontillado." Kirszner, Laurie G., and Stephen R. Mandell, Ed. Literature: reading, reacting, writing. Stamford: Thomson/Heinle, 2004. Read More