Poe in Context
Biographical Perspective
Poe’s Biography
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Born January 19, 1809, in Boston
After being orphaned at age two, he was taken into the home
of a childless couple–John Allan, a successful businessman in
Richmond, Va., and his wife.
– Allan was believed to be Poe’s godfather.
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At age six, Poe went to England with the Allans and was
enrolled in school.
After he returned with the Allans to the U.S. in 1820, he
studied at private schools, then attended the University of
Virginia and the U.S. Military Academy, but did not complete
studies at either school.
After beginning his literary career as a poet and prose writer,
he married his young cousin, Virginia Clemm.
He worked for several magazines and joined the staff of the
New York Mirror newspaper in 1844.
– All the while, he was battling a drinking problem.
Poe’s Biography
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After the Mirror published his poem “The Raven” in
January 1845, Poe achieved national and
international fame.
Besides pioneering the development of the short
story, Poe invented the format for the detective
story as we know it today.
He also was an outstanding literary critic.
Despite the acclaim he received, he was never really
happy because of his drinking and the deaths of
several people close to him, including his wife in
1847.
He frequently had trouble paying his debts.
It is believed that heavy drinking was a contributing
cause of his death in Baltimore on October 7, 1849.
Poe’s Definition of a Short
Story
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Poe defined a short story as a narrative
prose work that:
1. Short enough to be read in one sitting
2. Takes place in one location on a single day
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(or even in a few hours)
3. Centers on a single line of action
4. Maintains a single mood- Every word or phrase
should contribute to the theme and the mood.
Literary Elements
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Allusion
– A reference in a literary work to a person, place, or thing
in history or another work of literature.
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Allusions are often indirect or brief references to well-known
characters or events.
Symbolism
– A symbol is a word or object that stands for another word
or object.
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The object or word can be seen with the eye or not visible.
Anaphora
– Anaphora is a figure of speech in which a word or phrase
is repeated at the beginning of a clause or another group
of words.
Poe in Context
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Poe and Journalism
Poe and the Horror Story
Poe and the Detective Story
The Dimension of Style
Poe and Journalism
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Poe came to understand the audience who
read his work.
– He aimed his work, “not above the popular, not
below the critical taste.”
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Poe influenced Baudelaire and Dostoyevsky,
through his depictions of the human psyche.
Poe’s life was as tormented as the narrators’
from his stories.
Poe and the Horror Story
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Poe’s stories are more than merely
filled with terror.
– Poe’s stories are psychological studies of
guilt, obsession, and compulsion.
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The most horrifying aspects of Poe’s
stories are usually not the events, but
the bizarre behavior and thinking of
the narrators.
Poe and the Detective
Story
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Father of modern detective fiction
– His crime stories usually give primacy to
the solution, not the crime.
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Poe is interested in the motivations for
confession.
– His stories seem more focused on the
confession than the crime.
The Dimension of Style
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Sophisticated vocabulary
Complicated sentence structure
Repetitions of words and phrases
– Use of anaphora
– Creates/ develops intensity
– Builds suspense
“The Black Cat”
(Literary Elements)
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What allusion lies at the center of the
story? (Title character?)
– How symbolic?
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Identify uses of anaphora in the story.
Why is it used? What does it enhance
in the story?
“The Black Cat”
(Experience)
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Explain your response to the various
shocking revelations of the narrator
throughout the story, particularly the
treatment of the black cat and the murder
of his wife.
How do you respond to the narrator’s
paroxysms of rage, his violent outburst of
anger? To what extent, if at all, do you
sympathize with his behavior? To what
extent can you understand why he behaves
as he does?
“The Black Cat”
(Interpretation)
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Identify 2 ironic elements of the story
and explain their significance.
Identify two symbolic elements of the
story and explain their significance.
Explain why the narrator kills his wife
and why he appears to have no
remorse for doing so.
“The Black Cat”
(Interpretation)
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Do you accept the narrator’s blaming
of the cat for his actions and for his
fate? Why or why not?
Why and how does the narrator get
caught? What psychological
explanation might be offered for how
his actions come to light?
“The Black Cat”
(Evaluation)
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How well made, how successful a
story is “The Black Cat” as a horror
story and as a revelation of character?