Edgar Allan Poe

“Annabel Lee”

It was many and many a year ago, In a kingdom by the sea, That a maiden there lived whom you may know By the...

Edgar Allan Poe’s “Eldorado”

From a compositional and conceptual standpoint, "Eldorado" is arguably Edgar Allan Poe’s greatest poem. It is a perfect example of how a seemingly simple theme can be thoroughly developed using new rich metaphors, which allow human beings to communicate what is otherwise not possible with merely literal...

The House of Usher & the House of Poe

There is a notable nightmarish and intangible quality to “The Fall of the House of Usher,” as there is in many of Edgar Allan Poe’s gothic masterpieces—a vague sense of foreboding, a floating uneasiness, or shadowy moodiness that is beyond the power of words to express...

“To Helen”

Helen, thy beauty is to me Like those Nicean barks of yore That gently, o'er a perfumed sea, The weary, way-worn wanderer bore To his own native shore. On desperate seas long wont to roam, Thy hyacinth hair, thy classic face, Thy Naiad airs have brought...

“The Bells”

I. Hear the sledges with the bells— Silver bells! What a world of merriment their melody foretells! How they tinkle, tinkle, tinkle, In the icy air of night! While the stars that oversprinkle All the heavens, seem to twinkle With a crystalline delight; Keeping time, time, time, In a...

The Political Thought of Edgar Allan Poe

Edgar Allan Poe vigorously denounced the Jeffersonian ideal of democracy. He had no sympathy with abstract political notions such as those which had produced liberal republican theory in America and elsewhere. Like Edmund Burke, Poe was highly suspicious of the “well-constructed Republic”...

“Alone”

From childhood’s hour I have not been As others were—I have not seen As others saw—I could not bring My passions from a common spring— From the same source I have not taken My sorrow—I could not awaken My heart to joy at the same tone— And...

“Lines on Ale”

Fill with mingled cream and amber, I will drain that glass again. Such hilarious visions clamber Through the chamber of my brain — Quaintest thoughts — queerest fancies Come to life and fade away; What care I how time advances? I am drinking ale today.

Edgar Allan Poe’s Literary War

In his lifetime, Edgar Allan Poe’s renown lay primarily in his reputation as the foremost critic of the day. As a critic, he complained that four or five cliques controlled American literature by controlling the larger portion of the critical journals...

“Ligeia”

Editor's Note: The following film is a 13-minute adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe's short story, "Ligeia." As the creators of this film write: The short story, “Ligeia,” by Edgar Allan Poe, suggests that not only is life sustainable through the power of one's will, but a strong...

Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Black Cat”: The Fear of the Unknown

“The Black Cat” is a story that collapses in despair over the primal terror of mindless tragedy—which is precisely what makes it a devilishly good read... Even as nature falls asleep under the fiery spell of autumn,...

“The Raven”

  Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary, Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore— While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping, As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door. “’Tis some visitor,”...

“The City of Sin”

LO! Death hath rear'd himself a throne In a strange city, all alone, Far down within the dim west — Where the good, and the bad, and the worst, and the best, Have gone to their eternal rest. There shrines, and palaces, and...

“The Murders in the Rue Morgue” & Other Tales by Edgar Allan Poe

Edgar Allan Poe was missing. The year was 1849. There had been no trace of Mr. Poe for six days since he left Richmond, Virginia, on September 27th to...