Edgar Allan Poe Accomplishments

“To read Poe is to enter a realm of uncertainty. Little can be confidently decided, including—even on the most basic level—what his work is all about” (Amper). Born on January 19, 1809 in Boston, Massachusetts, Edgar Allan Poe was an iconic figure in the realm of American literature, and is often celebrated as one of the greatest and most influential writers of the 19th century. Poe's life was characterized by tragedy, but a relentless pursuit for artistic excellence, as he captivated readers with his unparalleled ability to craft eerie tales. As seen throughout his various literary works, Poe constructed narratives that immersed his readers into a realm of psychological unease and uncertainty, reflecting the loss and anguish he suffered throughout

Even today, his work is still highly regarded in popular culture, as they are often used in The Simpsons: Treehouse of Horror each year for Halloween, and are constantly being turned into movie remakes. In his short stories, Edgar Allan Poe creates atmospheres filled with suspense and tension by using imagery, symbolism, and irony, forever etching his name in literary history as the master of macabre.

First published in 1845, “The Raven” is among the most famous of Edgar Allan Poe’s works, and while he was most known for his short stories, “The Raven” took form as a narrative poem. The poem is told from the first-person perspective and follows an unnamed narrator, heavily associated with most of Poe’s other stories, who tells the story of a mysterious raven visiting him on a cold December night. Distraught from the passing of his lover, the lonely narrator lets the raven inside his bedroom, and soon the bird surprises him by talking. In “The Raven” specifically, Poe uses imagery to create and highlight images of death, grief, and pain. The specific and descriptive words used help to set the mood for the reader,

Published in 1843, it tells the story of yet another unnamed narrator as he tries to convince the reader of his sanity, while simultaneously describing the murder he had just committed. Poe uses irony throughout the story to further emphasize the message he is trying to convey. Foster writes, “Irony - sometimes comic, sometimes tragic, sometimes wry or perplexing - provides additional richness to the literary dish” (Foster 261). This is the reason Poe utilizes the device; to add more depth to his writing and more connections for the reader. In the story, he writes, “I loved the old man. He had never wronged me” (Poe). Though the narrator claims that he and the old man have no bad blood, and that he loves and cares for him, this is ironic since he goes on to murder him for seemingly no reason. It is clear that the narrator suffers from some sort of illness, citing it himself, and it being responsible when it comes to the old man’s murder; his eye having bothered the narrator so much it drove him to this point. Further into the story, when the police are investigating his home after receiving a notice from a neighbor, the narrator seems confident in their presence, “I smiled, -- for what had I to fear? I bade the gentlemen welcome” (Poe). However, his own paranoia starts to eat away at his psyche, as he starts to hear the beating