What are the main characteristics of the way Edgar Allan Poe wrote?

What Re the characteristic ways he expected everyone else to write?

Why was Poe so Peculiar?

-- Anonymous, November 21, 1999

Answers

well, he often used mirror images in his writing. for example in the fall of the house of usher, roderick and madeleine were twins (mirror images). in The Black Cat the two cats were split images except one had a white spot on it (they both had a missing eye). he used tons of symbolism. The house in the fall of the house of usher could symbolize many things. some say it his body. he describes it as now old and dirty, but it used to be young and clean, as a body becomes old and wrinkly. or the house could represent his career. he thinks he is failing. he can't write anymore (writer's block)--the house crashes at the end of the story as does his body while he weeps about his life. it's a sad story. he is also known for his complex and dark vocabulary. have a dictionary near by when you read his stories.

i think he would have wanted us to write about stories that relate to our lives. that is what he did. reading his work gives us an idea of what the times were like then. he was really into the human pschy. he wanted to know how everyone thought. most of his stories, if not all, included a narrator in which his thoughts were expressed (i.e. the fall of the house of usher, the black cat, the tell-tale heart, etc.). so this was a period of time where people began to analyze people's minds. what were they thinking when they did this? or that? that's what he was in to. so today, we, as college students or high school students, should write about getting drunk, partying, stressing out over exams, worrying about money, or whatever. i think i might write a book. well, after i get drunk, stress out over exams, and go to work.

Poe was peculiar for many different reasons. his stories were obviously peculiar. i mean the tell-tale heart! come-on! gee that guy wasn't psychotic. he could tell his story perfectly, so he must be sane. on the contrary, i would not want to meet him in a dark alley (well, unless i closed my eyes, then he wouldn't kill me). some say poe was strange or odd, because he was addicted to pot and drank too much. but you never know. also, he was an orphan and had a rough childhood. so it could be lots of stuff. i don't really know the details of his life. I was just online looking up stuff for a paper i have to write. i better get started on it. bye.

-- Anonymous, December 04, 1999