Fantasy and science fiction, too, owe a major debt to Poe's pioneering in those forms. As for his literary criticism, it chiefly took the form of book reviews, many of which in his time were deemed excessively caustic. Notorious among his contemporaries as a harsh critic, Poe's book reviews were mostly ephemeral. However, his review of Nathaniel Hawthorne's
Twice-Told Tales (1842), in which he set forth his theory of short fiction, and his review of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's
Ballads and Other Poems (1842), in which he advanced his theory of poetry, are still worth reading. In fact, textbooks on short-story writing quoted Poe approvingly well into the twentieth century. His theory of poetry has had few if any modern adherents.
Poe is important in the history of the short story because he helped give it a recognizable form, endowing it with an Aristotelian plot structure and conferring upon it unity of tone. On the other hand his theory of poetry, which virtually dispenses with all forms except the short lyric, has been too restrictive for most poets, and it is remembered today only in the classroom. Still Poe as a practicing critic had few peers in his time; none in America.
This is a free page. This page contains 200 words. This
biography contains 8,716 words (approx. 29 pages at 300
words per page).
Read the rest of this Biography with our Edgar Allan Poe Access Pass.
