Edgar Allan Poe Research Paper

Edgar Allan Poe is an extremely beloved author, constantly put on a pedestal as a dark, brooding, tragic person. His name is practically synonymous with macabre at this point. But what led to this reputation? Many people read his disturbing works and conclude he has had a horrible, painful life, but was his life really as tragic as it has been perceived to be? Yes, he dealt with deaths in his family, mediocre parenting, and substance abuse (alcohol and opium) but that was not something that was particularly outlandish. People read his stories like “The Masque of the Red Death” and “The Tell-Tale Heart” and automatically classify Poe as a horror writer and cannot look past that. They are completely oblivious to how complex and multi-faceted

This could be attributed to the fact that his most well-known stories are definitely his more gory works. His stories, like “The Tell-Tale Heart” and “The Black Cat” are psychological horrors which could indeed cause one to categorize Poe as just a horror writer.. There is something about Poe’s darker stories that attract the attention of readers everywhere. Not only did Poe have a copious amount of terrifying stories, but his stories are able to thoroughly disturb the reader, but also completely entice and engross them. Many writers could create beautiful, romantic poems and stories but not many could achieve what Poe has when it comes to the macabre. They are so disturbing that it is no surprise that people believe Poe to be a tragic or depressing person. This essay with further explore how Poe gained his reputation and the extent to which Poe’s less macabre writings are

It is Poe’s reputation that confines readers into just thinking that gore is the only thing Poe writes. This reputation grew as more and more of his pieces appeared in magazines. Much to Poe’s surprised his dark writing actually gained a significant audience. The reason many of his stories had a ghastly element is because it would sell the best. All of these works were essential to Poe’s career, and sky-rocketed his popularity, but it was also this fame that caused Poe to just be known as a morbid author. This reputation increased with his emergence in current popular culture. During Poe’s lifetime, people did not know every aspect of his life, nor have access to that sort of information, thus it was more difficult for his audience to connect his work to his life; this differs from today because people have access to not only all of his works but also his biography. It is much easier to compare events and experiences in Poe’s life to his works because of the accessibility of information. People looked into what inspired Poe and learned of what happened in his life and concluded that the darkness of his stories was linked with the tragedies in his life. Indeed, Poe is a prime example of how a writer’s life influenced his work. Death and tragedy were not only extremely prevalent in his life,