what do critics have to say about edgar allan poe

-- Anonymous, June 03, 2001

Answers

Starting with his contemporaries you get a curious mix. Usually there is respect but quickly there comes a divide between those who detest the man and his popular subject matter(Poe- the overrated jingle writer of disturbed, erratic pulp fiction)and his adorers(the French symbolists) who admire the spirit and the innovative, artistry of a new, articluated theory of art. T.S. Eliot, though in a direct line from Poe's symbolic writing and literary criticism, is fairly harsh as iare many of the New England region(Emerson)where Poe aimed many of his savagely critical darts. After Griswold defamed Poe in his obituary the split has been very consistent among biographers. If they didn't like Poe they found fault with everything, if they pitied him they found some good defenses, if they saw a kindred spirit his works touched fire.

-- Anonymous, June 04, 2001