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Name: Rinkal D. Jani
Roll No: 22
Batch: 2016-18
SEM: 3
Enrollment no: 2069108420170012
Paper No: 10- American Literature
Topic:
Submitted to: Dr Dillip Ba
Department of English,
Smt. S. B. Gardi
Maharaja Krshnkumarsinhji Bhavnagar Universit
Introduction: Edgar Allan Poe
Poe was orphaned at the age
of three and taken into the home of Scotish tobacco merchant John Allan. An
increasingly strained relationship with Allan lead to expulsion from both the
University of Virginia and West Point and, after a brief but distinguished
period in the army, Poe turned to journalism. Though he became well known both
as an journalist and a writer of fiction, his salary never matched his fame and
Poe spent most of his life in extreme poverty. In 1836 he married his then
thirteen year old cousin Virginia Clemm - a relationship into which much has
been read. After a period of increasing mental instability following the death
of Virginia, Poe died of 'delerium' in Baltimore in unexplained circumstances.
Poe is widely remembered as the master of Gothic Horror, but he also developed many of the conventions of Science Fiction and, with 'Rue Morgue', created the detective fiction genre. Poe had both a deep fascination with science and a suspicion of its dogmatism and materialism. This conflict of the rational and the imaginative, natural and supernatural and a desire to see it resolved lies at the heart of much of his work.
In 1838 Poe moves his family
to Philadelphia early in the year. Harper publishes the narrative of author.
Gordon Pym in July. In 1838 he becomes an editor of Burton’s Gentleman’s
Magazine to which he contributes most of its reviews and several tales
including the conversation of Eros and charm ion “The Fall of the House of
Usher”. In 1843 “The tell tale heart appears in the pioneer in January and the
installment of “The mystery of Marie Roget” Appears in the February ladies
companion. In 1843 The gold bug wins $100 prize in literary contents Dollar
newspaper.
E. A. Poe has written many short
stories and each and every story contains the different meaning. All of these
stories are dependable on Psychological facts and logical; thinking process.
1. The fall of the House of Usher.
2. The Purloined Letter.
3. The Gold Bug.
4. The Tell Tale Heart.
5. The Cask of Amontillado etc.
Key points Poe as a short story writer:
- Narrative technique
- Brevity of narration
- repetition of words and phrase
- singularity of effect
- poetic justice (evil should be punish and virtue should be rewarded)
- Brilliant use of psychology
- brilliant sense of understanding of psychology
Characteristics of Poe’s
Short story and Literary Writing Style of Edger Allan Poe.
"Brevity is the soul of the short story"
The Gothic Romantic
Movement combined elements of horror and romance – much like our thriller and
horror films today. By the time Poe came along, people weren’t writing as many
horror stories – the genre had fallen out of favor somewhat, but Poe was one of
the main writers who reinterpreted and refreshed the genre. The Romantics
focused on awe, trepidation, and terror and the Gothics focused on the
mysterious, such as hidden passageways, ghosts, screams, and magic. So when the
two are combined, such as Poe did, you end up with a whole lot of creepy.
Edgar Allan Poe, an important writer and a
poet, during the Victorian Gothic period is credited with producing many tales
of mystery, and terror. Poe’s first collection of short stories “Tales of
Grotesque and Arabesque” was published in 1839.Poe’s imaginative writings
within several different modes of discourse show how Poe both followed yet
departed from a variety of literary approaches and genres. In ‘Poe and Gothic
Tradition’, Benjamin Franklin Fisher begins by placing Poe among Anglo-American
Gothic novelists and then provides close readings of several of Poe’s Gothic
tales to show how he manipulated and challenged the conventions of gothic
fiction and horror. Also best known for his tales of mystery and macabre, Poe
was one of the earliest American practitioners of short story and is considered
the inventor of detective fiction genre.
Poe's statement not only furnishes a negative
basis for telling what a short story is not, but it
Also offers a positive foundation upon which
we can establish a definition of the short story which declares that a
short story is a brief tale which can be told or read at one sitting.
This definition requires two things of the
story: (1) that it shall be short and (2) that it shall possess coherence
sufficient to hold the reader's or listeners unflagging interest from beginning
to end.
NARRATIVE
TECHNIQUE:
For any of the writer or poet the narrative technique is also the primary step towards the work. Narrative technique is the art which made any writer successful because only words don't have any effect but how one can arrange them is the main thing to create the scene. No matter is it a short story or a long novel but the treatment of words is always remain in the center of any work of art.
The short stories of the Poe are not always get conclusion in 1000 words but sometimes it takes more than 10000 words. So its not always the story but sometimes its the plot and his narrative technique that how he create the effect. For him no matter if the character is criminal or a politician or it is the puzzle of any hidden treasure h has given justification to all of them.
LANGUAGE:
"Short story is the garland of words and
the novel is treasure of the words."
"Short story is the garland of words and
the novel is treasure of the words."
Poe has used the
language of a Criminal, inspector, politician,mentally abnormal people etc
Just with the use of words poe has created such an criminal atmosphere.
CULTURE AND SETTING:
One person can
not escape from his culture
its may be consciuosly or unconsciously
appear in his work”
its may be consciuosly or unconsciously
appear in his work”
Poe has described
the manners of people, the way of living life even also very important that how
the problems solved by detective not Police which describe the concept of
detective in America comes earlier.
FORM OF ART:
“Short story have a
single plot which made
deep effect on the reader
deep effect on the reader
he Short Stories of the
Poe made the readers think about that. Its not much easy for reader to give any
kind of predicament about the plot. Poe has enough capacity to keep the interest of the
reader. Poe has started to write this kind of detective and
suspense stories it was like risky because there was no craze for this type of
stories but it goes very successful and also spread in the glob. It was highly
appreciated after than many writers were inspired by him and the rise of this
kind of story we find in the literature
According to Poe a short story should:
1. be able to be read in one sitting.
Poe defined this as being from one-half hour to one or two hours. Nowadays, with television, radio, playstations and Ipod for alternative entertainment, this may seem like a long time. But the one sitting rule is still a good one, even if that one sitting is five minutes.
2. strive for unity of effect.
Poe believed the aim of the short story was to create a mood, an ambience, or as he called it, an “effect.” The effect Poe himself often sought to create was terror or horror. While many writers today completely ignore this rule, you may notice in reading short stories a single effect--nostalgia, sadness, elation, whatever.
3. Singularity of effect
begin with the first sentence.Obviously.
But it means more than that. Poe insisted that the effect should be created from the very first line. His best short stories, such as “The Tell-tale Heart,” attempt to create this effect from line one: “True--nervous--very, very dreadfully nervous I had been and still am; but why will you say that I am mad? The disease had sharpened my senses, not dulled them. Above all was the sense of hearing acute. I heard all things in the heaven and in the earth. I heard many things in hell. How then, am I mad?” Well, this fella does seem to be one can short of a six-pack. And we know it from line one.
4. Brevity of Narration: Have nothing in it that detracts from the design. The story should lead directly and inevitably to the conclusion without excess or digressive material. Get to the point and stay there.
5. Aim for truth. Not truth, literally. That is, you can still include events that might not literally occur. Lord knows Poe did. He wrote all sorts of wild stories, and so can you. But he believed that the story should remain true to the way people really act in a given situation, true to the human heart.
6. stress imagination, invention, creation and originality.
It’s no secret that Poe’s emphasis on effect is no longer always the driving force in the short story. Contemporary writers have turned their rules every which way but loose. But don’t forget these concepts as you begin to read the great short stories in our unit.
Poe's contributions in short story:
Poe's short stories are read in popular as well as literary circles. His innovations and use of literary devices help him to earn a place in literature cannons. However, it's his entertainment value that earns hi m a place in the reader's heart. Through his desire to create an overall effect, he pulls the reader in from his first sentence. His stories deal with basic themes that have endured centuries, such as vengeance, fear of death, and beautiful women. Even his lack of detail helps us to more easily associate with the characters in the stories.
Poe also "borrowed from the older supernatural tales to illustrate psychological complexities, as in 'The Fall of the House of Usher'." His favorite tale, "Ligeia," came to him through a dream. Having already imagined the end of "Ligeia", Poe was able to craft an elaborate prose poem in which we, the readers, are active participants. Every aspect of the story, down to the character names, were chosen to help attract us to Ligeia while being repulsed by Rowena.
CRITICS VIEWS ON SHORT STORY
Edgar Allan Poe poet, short story writer, and critic was a conversational figure in the publishing world of antebellum America. His ability to spark controversy stemmed not only from an image concocted by his contemporary detectors but from the sharp tone and pointed content of the critical articles he wrote during his life time he worked as an editor and contributor to magazines in several American publishing venues including Richmond Newyourk and Philadelphia.
The obituary notices following Poe’s death in 1849 struggled to make sense of what fellow authors felt was the central contradiction of his life that he was the one of the country’s preeminent literary “geniuses” yet he had lived a life of misery and privation. Overwhelmingly Poe’s contemporary’s where forced to conclude that his peculiar personality was responsible for his lace of professional success. The very organization of a mind such as that of Poe the very tension and tone of his exclusively strung nerves………utterly unfitted him for the rude jostling and fierce competitor ship of trade. Henry Beck first felt in was Poe’s refusal to join the critical status quo that made his failure inevitable: Poe was no time server and as critic he could not and would not lie. Poe disturbed soul responsible in this accounts for his alienation from a mainstream literary and social world remains powerful explanatory device in modern assessments of his professional life and works. Poe’s peculiarity had justified his absence from most twentieth century accounts of American literature.
POE AND GOTHIC TRADITION
Few would hazard to long standing opinion that Poe was a master of the gothic horror tale although many might not as readily be aware that he did not invent Gothic fiction. Such coverts as well as many offered over the course of century succeeding his death not withstanding Poe’s gothic tales are what have typically attracted greatest number of readers and that allurement is wholly understandable. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein for example drew repeatedly on landscapes to throw into high relief the emotional explosions that occur throughout the novel. American authors understandably had no castles abbeys or cloisters in the near proximity that European authors had and thus AMERICAN GOTHICS tented to foreground other varieties of tangibles. Hawthorne in The Scarlet Letter (1850) focused first on the forbidding jail so important to life in seventeenth century Boston shifted to the scaffold and then made landscapes reflect lights and shadows in human life and characters. Poe found in gothic tradition the very kinds of settings and characters that transformed in his imagination would contribute wonderful symbolism to psychologically plausible narratives of multiple outreach. The symbolism may also continue to touch readers own innermost emotional chords (fear of the dark fear to fortune and pain fear of starvation fear of unknown fear of death)and this factor may promote a recurrent fascination for such reading. Richard Wilbur started that for him Poe’s probing of psychic states “transitions between those states and the possible meanings and implications that such states might have “plus his employment of dream structures are long with his obviously well considered diction what constitute Poe’s greatness. This greatness is exemplified in his tales no matter how odd their language may initially seem. Doubtless Wilbur’s matches those of many other readers as to what is so compelling about Poe’s tale.
Two much admired tales “The black cat “and “The tell-tale heart “both appeal in terms of their Gothicism. In the former as in “Metzengerstein”animal and human characteristics are reversed as the narrator who, whatever his disclaimers, reveals bit by bit that he is indeed quite sadistic and maniacal or animalistic while the cats seem to become quite human. Alcohol complicates his nature although there is none of the comedy in this alcoholic story as there had been in the folio club narratives. “The black cat “may in its inclusion of masculine and feminine traits as parts of an integrated self (what Poe’s Duping in “The purloined letters” distinguishes in his distinguishing the mathematician from poet. “The fall of house of usher” one might say that in “The black cat” as in several of the others the narrator is bested by an avenging woman whom he has wronged. But this wife remains dead there no supernaturalism to thicken the plot and it is the very alive cat that brings about the denouement Here then is another Presque modification of Gothicism.
Some North American View about Short story:
Poe, in his criticism already quoted,
maintained that ir? order to produce a true short story an author must not only
make his tale short and to the point, but must also fashion it with deliberate
care so that it will produce a single effect; and this statement has been
accepted with more or less un questioning faith by practically every man who
has written authoritatively upon the short story since Poe's time.
Brander Matthewsdeclares that " the
short story is the single effect."
Professor Bliss Perry, “while rejecting many
of Mr.Matthews's conclusions, agrees with him that the short storyof the
nineteenth century is set off from those that preceded it by the “new attitude
of the contemporary shortstory writer toward his material, in his conscious
effort toachieve under certain conditions a certain effect."
Professor
Canby says that“Poe succeeded in his work by fixing the attention
upon the climax of his story, so that the reader sees, feels, thinks of the
'unique effect 'of the story and of nothing else. If the modern short story has
a technique, here it is ; if it is an invention, Poeinvented it."
Here we saw that poe’s work is prominently as
a story writer but writing of story is different away from Hoarer or Climax
through talk story talking. Here I have put an image about how horror or
suspense thriller through to story represents their character as:
Allan Poe’s also very
famous for Gothic form of literature of many of story his was physiological to
explain. Poe was never coherent long enough to explain how he came to be in his
dire condition
Some sources say Poe's final words were
"Lord help my poor soul."
All medical records, including his death certificate, have been lost. Newspapers at the time reported Poe's death as "congestion of the brain" or "cerebral inflammation", common euphemisms for deaths from disreputable causes such as alcoholism.
The actual cause of death remains a mystery.
Poe’s greatest literary achievement was his renovation of terror tale to entertain by means of curdling the blood.
All medical records, including his death certificate, have been lost. Newspapers at the time reported Poe's death as "congestion of the brain" or "cerebral inflammation", common euphemisms for deaths from disreputable causes such as alcoholism.
The actual cause of death remains a mystery.
Poe’s greatest literary achievement was his renovation of terror tale to entertain by means of curdling the blood.
He realized at the outset of his career
that Horror was eminently compatible with psychological
plausibility in literature.
·
Here First Example of one story name was ‘The Fall Of House of
Usher
·
The House is full of Mysteries.
·
The House created the image of coolness,
where nobody can live.teries.
·
The description of the house, Madeline thumping
desperately
·
in the coffin, the storm, wall with hanging shield,
clamor of falling
·
shield, slow opening of the door etc.
·
Snow symbolizes death.
·
The real essence of the short story is in the
‘Effect’-the effect of Terror, Horror…hair raising experience.
·
Entombing of Madeline is full of Terror.
·
Also some observation like as a poe’s story:
Psychological
Dimension:
·
The story depicts the struggle within the
soul.
·
Roderick Usher, his sister Madeline, and the
house all shared one common soul.
·
Brilliant use of psychology
·
Brilliant sense of understanding of psychology
Next we discuss that Poe’s story
"The Tell-Tale Heart" first published in January 1843. It is a gothic
story which involved the psychology of man that how psychology operates and it
draws man to become devil. It is told by an unnamed narrator who endeavors to
convince the reader of his sense (sanity), while describing a murder he
committed.
“TRUE! --Nervous --very, very dreadfully
nervous I had been and am; but why will you say that I am mad? The disease had
sharpened my senses --not destroyed --not dulled them. Above all was the sense
of hearing acute. I heard all things in the heaven and in the earth. I heard
many things in hell. How, then, am I mad? Hearken! and observe how healthily
--how calmly I can tell you the whole story.” – This is the starting of
the story.
Throughout the reading of story, reader can
understand that there is a factor of Psychology, that how its operate and how
it inspires human to do some deed. Here reader can apply psychology of that
servant that the Vulture eye of Old man, leads him to do murder of an old
man. Let’s discuss some psychology aspect of narrator.
Vulture Eye
v Id, Ego, Superego,
v Mental Conflict
v Guilt and Innocence
v Sanity and
Insanity
v Fear and Terror
v Attempt of Crime
v Acceptance of
Crime
To begin to understand the motive of the
narrator in Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart,” it is necessary to first
analyze Poe’s life. Throughout his life, he lost nearly everyone that he loved,
whether it be by leaving (his father), their deaths (his mother and wife/first
cousin), or simply growing apart (his foster family). Due to all of these
incidents, it is very possible that Poe developed abandonment issues; Poe was
most likely very afraid of losing any more people that he cared about
unexpectedly.Poe’s stories often take place in dark, mysterious places. In
spite of focusing largely on horror and suspense, Poe writes about complex
matters like grief and love.Most of the stories that we read in today’s modern
world trace a great impact on our mind. But the question is how does the author
keep the reader excited and focused? The answer is “Suspense”. Suspense is the
type of writing skill that the authors use to give the readers, uncertainty
about the conclusion and it becomes interesting for the readers to wonder and
the want to read more. Here I share image this may be think helpful to
understand how the suspense create or development of reader mind. Also here
critical evaluate feature of Mystery,Horror, or Suspense.
The genre of Poe’s works, their plot
structure, type of narration, word choice, imagery, devices with the help of
Poe creates and heightens the effect of suspense and horror. Works such as “The
Black Cat” and “The Fall of the House of Usher” serve as
vivid examples of Poe’s effective horror creating technique.
When the story opens, we are confronted with
a gloomy atmosphere. When his eyes fall upon the House of Usher he says, “A sense of insufferable gloom pervaded my spirit”and he is further horrified by images he sees
of the house in the tarn. Here, Poe succeeds in creating a sense of fear and
suspense in our minds. There is also a use of colour imagery which creates an
impact on our senses and feelings made by the shades of light.Poe paints his
gloomy settings with four main colours: Black, Red, Grey and Yellow.
I
said to him -- "My dear Fortunato, you are luckily met. How
remarkably well you are looking to-day! But I have received a pipe of what
passes for Amontillado, and I have my doubts."- THE CASK OF AMONTILLADO
Ø In this story Unreliable
Narrator 1st person narrator that some reason tells an
incorrect vision of the story.
Ø Usually the reader trusts
that the narrator is giving ab accurate version of the story.
Ø With Unreliable narrator
the reader can’t trust the narrator.
Also many point of story about setting or background
of carnival. So that What happens during Carnival
Ø Carnival is a time of
EXCESS and INDULGENCE.
Ø Banging upon food and
alchol is common.
Ø Partying in the streets and
hidden are enjoyed.
Any time you deal with rules for the short
story, inevitably, you’ve got to consider Edgar Allan Poe. It was he who
in 1842 virtually invented the genre as we know it today, taking it from the
earlier form, “the tale,” and defining what makes a good story tick in his
review of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Twice-Told Tales. While experienced
writers break Poe’s rules as often as they do anyone else’s, knowledge of these
rules is fundamental to any beginning short story career.
There are Element of horror or gothic is much effect is darken with evil
thought represented. Here we first for when talk about Edger Allan Pow’s that I
have remember many writer of Gujarati or also Hindi language literature. I have
some observe like compare to work about Poe’s short story is same as Guajarati
language literature was name that H.N.Golibar.He was famous for
hoarer or suspense’s thriller story writer of Guajarati language. Some story
example regarded as:
The
Literary style of Edgar Allan:
• Best known fiction works
are Gothic
• Most recurring themes deal
with the questions of death and lost love
• Considered part of the dark
romanticism genre
• In his short Story, “The
Tell-Tale Heart” Poe writes about Murder, Insanity, Obsession and Guilt
Literary
Style and Themes
• In his poem, "The
Raven", he uses many different elements as symbols. A raven is usually the
symbol of something dark and sinister. A raven is also a sign of death. This
poem is a poem of losing hope, and his dealings with his dead love Lenore, and
how the raven torments him into insanity. Throughout the poem, the narrator is
tormented by his lost love, Lenore, who came back in the form of a raven.
• In The Raven, Poe starts
off the story with "Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak
and weary.”
• This sentence identifies
how he sets the setting for the story. This sentence makes you think of a dark
lonely night. This is a good example of how Poe's literary style is dark.
Conclusion:
Had Poe not given us his criticism, nor written his stories, literatue would not have evolved to its present-day form. He helped to pioneer the short story. By using existing and innovative elements, he revolutionized short literature, much like Lucas revolutionized action cinema with his Star Wars.
Work cited:
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