Summary:
Discusses conflicting opinions about the works of Edgar Allen Poe. References his literary works as evidence for conclusions. Describes Poe as a genius for daring to explore the dark side of the human conscience.
Edgar Allan Poe is well known over the world for many of his literary works, though the opinions people hold for him differ drastically. To some, his works are famous, to some, infamous. Many people see him as a brilliant composer of words and expresser of feelings.
Others see him as perverse in his dissection of the dark conscience and motives humans have. Some even say he was in fact looking inside himself when he wrote the pieces.
Was Poe a genius or a madman"
Much of Edgar Allan Poe's life could be evidence of his insanity.
Soon after being born, Poe was without a father and nearly a year later his
mother died, making him an orphan.
He was taken in by John Allan, a wealthy Virginian merchant. Though Allan paid for much of Poe's education, he ended up dropping out of the University of Virginia and then was thrown out of the West Point Military Academy. This led to a broken relationship with his stepfather.
Though Poe published three volumes of poetry and was successful with several pieces of literature, he remained in poverty and soon he lost his wife in death.
Much of Poe's sorrowful life seems to have been the fuel for his dark and gloomy demeanor. Many of his stories and poems center on death and sorrow.
"The Raven" is his poem about a man dealing with the death of his lover and being tormented by a raven who refuses to leave the man alone. The main character's insanity could be interpreted as a reflection of Poe's own agony.
Also, consider "The Telltale Heart." Poe tells a tale of psychopathic man who murders an old man because he is blind in one eye. The man then proceeds to cover his tracks and boast silently at his so-called intelligence. His cunning does nothing for him in the end; he believes he can hear the deceased man's heartbeat. He is driven insane and finally confesses his crime.
Edgar Allan Poe was not a madman at all. He was perfectly sane. In fact, he had great intelligence and superior talent when it came to writing literature. Enduring the life Poe lived will make anyone dispirited and downcast; and this is how he comes across in his writings.
Poe had the ability to think deeper when he wrote his stories and poems. He picked apart the dark side of human feelings and conscience. There is a dark side to the human conscience; those who don't admit it are ignorant and blind. The dark side of ourselves is hidden to others, but is always ticking on inside us. When Poe discusses this in his literary works, people are made uncomfortable because they are used to hiding that facet of their psyche.
Few to this day have done what he did; to the degree that he did it. People who think he is deranged don't look past the way he presents his stories. Beyond the fear-inspiring look and feel of his words, Poe is a genius merely trying to express feelings and hidden truths about the human race.
This is the complete article, containing 516 words
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