A Study in the Macabre: A Look at the Life of Edgar Allan Poe

By The Literary Compendium

Edgar Allan Poe is a name that seems known to all, yet remains just as shrouded in mystery as complete unknowns. For so long, Poe has been the subject of polarizing opinions and plenty of debates, even amongst scholars. There doesn't seem to be any true debate concerning his literary value. The same, however, cannot be said about his life and character, neither of which were spared from contradictions and controversy. Delve into this illustrated biography and learn about the man behind the art, his early life, inspirations, influences, relationship, enemies, death and legacy.

• Language: English
• Publisher: The Literary Compendium
• Release date: Sep 28, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223778059

Book preview

A Study in the Macabre. Who is Edgar Allan Poe?

Edgar Allan Poe is a name that seems known to all, yet it appears just as shrouded in mystery as complete unknowns, if not more so with the abundance of contradicting narratives of his life. Exaggeration of his every flaw to the point of criminalizing the entirety of his actions and blind devotion that depicts him as too good for this world have both long since followed Edgar Allan Poe, perhaps fittingly so. For so long, Poe has been the subject of polarizing opinions and plenty of debates, even amongst scholars. There doesn’t seem to be any true debate concerning his literary value. The same, however, cannot be said about his life and character, neither of which were spared from contradictions and controversy.

Poe’s Legacy, Contributions and Ongoing Influence

The true potential of Poe’s immense artistic merit didn’t reach its apex during his life, though he did get to see his fame rise to a global scale. It was after his death that his influence started truly blossoming to scales only few have been able to achieve. He now forever rests in the same temple where names of greats before him like Homer, Shakespeare and his own childhood hero Byron rest untouched, inspiring in the process many greats that have come after him as well as those who still do.

Poe’s influence on modern literature and American literature, in general, cannot be disputed but his effect is even more prominently obvious in Gothic literature in particular, which he along with Mary Shelly and Bram Stoker started the flame which, to this day, keeps it alive and vibrant.Perhaps interconnected with the previous point, Poe’s contributions to the horror genre are almost unparalleled, rivaled only by H. P who considered Poe his idol.

His contributions influenced the romantic era and its movement romanticism, an 18th-century literary movement which bases itself on the belief that creativity, imagination, feelings, and emotions are of greater merit than cold intellectualism and reasoning with a lot of the romantic work falling into the Gothic genre with which they share more than a few authors. Romanticism was in opposition to the Enlightenment movement and doesn’t have