urgent! i need to know how edgar allen poe and O. Henry compared.

-- Anonymous, November 01, 2000

Answers

Laura,

Generally speaking, my knowledge of William Sydney Porter (O. Henry) is limited but if I recall correctly, he was best known for the surprise endings and his expansive use of irony in his short stories. One of his tales, "The Gift of the Magi", is a good example of this technique. I would speculate that the similarities with Poe would be limited to his use of irony and possibly Poe's predisposition toward revelations in the final paragraph.

Did you know that O. Henry was the founder of the original Rolling Stone magazine in the 1890s... : )

Regards,

-- Anonymous, November 03, 2000