LR1 [Literature Review #1]
02-02-2018
Today, the literature we are reviewing is, “The Philosophy of Composition” (1846) by Edgar Allan Poe. This literature explains the process Edgar Allen Poe uses to create a story or poem, such as ‘The Raven’.
At the beginning of the piece, the first thing Poe mentions is that a literary work should be short. “If any literary work is too long to be read at one sitting, we must be content to dispense with the immensely important effect derivable from unity of impression- for, if two sittings be required, the affairs of the world interfere, and everything like totality is at once destroyed” (10). In his opinion, he thinks that some literary works are merely combinations of short stories, it distracts from the main ideas and themes that are being
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Therefore, he says, “there is a distinct limit, as regards length, to all works of literary art- the limit of a single sitting” (11). This explains why Poe prefers writing short stories, because when compared with a novel, the short story is superior in that it can directly lead the readers to learn about the the cause and effects of the story.
Moreover, Poe points out that most authors like to use the “usual mode” to start to construct a story, but for him, he prefers to start with an effect first. Once he has chosen a leading principle of a story, he immediately moves to choose a vivid effect. After that, Poe suggests that the author should continue to decide on the other elements that can help with the constitution of the whole story, such as the tone, theme, setting, characters, conflict and