Edgar Allan Poe For the CSET

If you are studying for the CSET English or the CSET Multiple Subjects then you need to know about Edgar Allan Poe.

Best known for his poems and short fiction, Edgar Allan Poe, born in Boston, Jan. 19, 1809, died Oct. 7, 1849 in Baltimore, deserves more credit than any other writer for the transformation of the short story from anecdote to art. He virtually created the detective story and perfected the psychological thriller. He also produced some of the most influential literary criticism of his time — important theoretical statements on poetry and the short story — and has had a worldwide influence on literature.

Poe’s source of happiness was writing poetry, but he also raised the short-story to an art form and was one of the first to write detective stories. His dark, gothic tales of mystery and imagination had heavy influence on the modern thriller. Among his most famous works in poetry are: Ulalume, The Bells, The City in the Sea, and The Raven. Among his many short stories, The Tell Tale Heart, and The Cask Of Amontillado, are two of his most popular works.

Poe developed a theory of composition that he applied to both his short stories and his poems. Its most basic principle was that insofar as short fiction and poetry were concerned, the writer should aim at creating a single and total psychological/spiritual effect upon the reader. The theme or plot of the piece is always subordinate to the author’s calculated construction of a single, intense mood in the reader’s or listener’s mind, be it melancholy, suspense, or horror. There are no extra elements in Poe, no subplots, no minor characters, and no digressions except those that show the madness of deranged first-person (”I”) narrators.

Read the Wikipedia article on Edgar Allan Poe and then return to this lesson:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edgar_Allan_Poe

Edgar Allen Poe Videos

The Raven- Edgar Allen Poe