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Edgar Allan Poe

Posted by octobercountry on January 3, 2009 at 7:35 AM
I want to take a moment and talk about this great 19th century writer and some of his best works because I find them both deeply touching, aesthetically beautiful, complex, strange and interesting. The reason for this recommendation is that I have recently finished a major school project on two of his works, The Raven, and Ligeia, focusing on the connection between love, life and death. And he truly made that connection work. Ligeia contains the most beautiful descriptions of female beauty that have ever graced this planet and you cannot help but feel truly amazed when reading it. And still, there is something ominous about it, because the descriptions are so detailed that you begin to question if the narrator?s fascination with the lady Ligeia is completely ordinary, because delving that deeply into every detail of her features can seem a bit? voyeuristic or strange, the same way that a kid can have some sick fascination with blood and gore. But if you don?t overread it or overanalyze it and just enjoy the exquisite beauty of his prose, then none of this will matter. 

The Raven is a poem that needs no introduction, and should be read whether or not you are interested in poetry simply because of it?s musically and lightly flowing language, rhythm and rhyme. These are classic examples of romanticist writing and also contain elements of the gothic style that was very popular at Poe?s time. 

The stories of Dupin ought to be mentioned as well, the master detective, with whom Poe invented the modern detective story. These three stories are a study in the art of logic and rationalisation and figuring out a crime simply by applying a logical mind and being very aware of the clues given. 

Some other stories I have enjoyed include "Thou art the man," William Wilson, The Man of the Crowd and The Facts in the case of M. Valdemar. Some are tales of crime and punishment, some of guilt, some are psycological, some are just out right strange and disturbing, but all top quality.

Some of his most known works such as The Tell-Tale Heart, The Black Cat and The Fall of the House of Usher is also worth a look, and if you have read any of these, then you will know whether Poe is a writer who appeals to you ? because his style can be terribly heavy and drawn out, borderline boring, some might say, but if you can get used to the slow pace, he is a great writer. 

Poe did not write a whole lot of fiction in his short life time (just 40 years) a single novel which I have yet to read, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket, about 60-70 short stories and 40 poems, but he was still an incredibly gifted writer and one those great Americans who managed to reinvent and invent a lot of genres and styles. 

You can probably find most of his works online, and if you enjoy his style, The Complete Tales and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe at Amazon.co.uk are a must! 

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