Edgar Allan Poe

Edgar Allan Poe

Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849), was an American poet and author who created the genre of detective fiction and is well-known for his tales of horror and the macabre. Poe was born in Boston to traveling actors, both of whom died when he was young. He was sent to live with a wealthy family in Virginia. He attended the University of Virginia, but had not been given enough money to pay his expenses and resorted to burning his furniture in order to stay warm.

Poe married in 1836, but remained poor, despite writing for numerous magazines. His wife contracted tuberculosis in 1842, casting a further pall over his life. With the publication of “The Raven” in 1845, Poe finally found fame and began to earn better pay. However, a failed business venture and his wife’s death in 1847 gave Poe more hardship to bear. He was found unconscious in a bar room of a public voting house in 1849 and died at the age of 40 on October 7, 1849. He was broke and alone.

Poe believed the short story to be “unquestionably the fairest field for the exercise of the loftiest talent, which can be afforded by the wide domains of mere prose.”

(1) It should be able to read in a single sitting

• The plot, theme and protagonist should be arranged carefully and the story constructed in a precise order to create a “unity of effect.”

• The story should focus on only one incident or one central character.

• The subject matter should be “universally appreciable” and originality

“must be elaborately sought”.

Poe’s 4 characteristics of the short story

Poe’s 4 characteristics of the short story