The Raven And The Tell-Tale Heart By Edgar Allan Poe

Critical Analysis Essay

For my critical analysis, I will be discussing the themes that took place in some of our readings over this semester. To start, I will discuss Edgar Allan Poe and his works, including “The Raven,” and the “Tell-Tale Heart.” Then I will discuss a few of the Washington Irving’s works along with some readings we had on Nathaniel Hawthorne and Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Edgar Allan Poe, one of the most gothic but influential writers of all time. He was born in 1809 and lived to the age of 40, dying in 1849. He was specifically known for his “dark” works such as “The Raven” and “The Tell-Tale Heart.” It is said that the themes Poe creates with his stories brought the modern detective story into existence. Poe was even nicknamed

His work is read world-wide and is taught in schools frequently, I believe that is because it allows students to connect to a darker side and helps you connect with the emotions of others including your own. Poe was overlooked throughout his entire life, never truly getting noticed for his works until a few years before his early death. He came from a hard life, not having either of his parents present at the age of 3, when his mother passed away. He went on to live with a tobacco merchant and his wife in Richmond, Virginia. This led to Poe almost being forced into the family business instead of chasing his dream of becoming an influential poet that we all know him as today. Soon he attended the University of Virginia, where he did extravagant in his classes, only to realize that he would not be helped with the cost of school, setting him back in his sought-out education. To add on to the dark life set out for Poe, when he came back from college, his neighbor and fiancée Sarah Elmira Royster was engaged to someone else. Just like it would do to anyone else, Poe became discouraged and raged with darkness, leaving his life in Virginia

The theme of the story would be sin and guilt, being that Hooper was trying to get across to the people of his town what the black veil stood for. Throughout the story is a gloomy and gothic tone, much like Poe’s stories. In the story, Hooper brings much misery to himself in an attempt to show the wrongs in talking of someone else’s sins. He tries to show the people the courage and self-discipline it takes to admit sinning, and how it is acceptable to show sin. People interpret the black veil in the wrong way however, and think there is something seriously wrong with Hooper. This ultimately leads to the death of Hooper, through his own misery and