Edgar Allan Poe died over a century ago in poverty and despair. Yet, today his stories and poems are more popular then ever. Why is his work so enduring?

-- Anonymous, September 02, 2001

Answers

It is refreshing not to read someone's inept reparaphrasing of the homework question.

Qulaity, universality(for which he strove), simple poetic beauty and singular strength of effect. Something that I have slowly realized is that one reason for his enduring is actually his lack of specific details, especially in his poems. Almost, but definitely not, as spare as Yeats. The sound and rhythms paint as strong a picture as the stark nighttime colors. Concentrating on the power of effect with such skill and originality, always evidencing the inner workings of a powerful mind even in the simplest tales. His detective stories are exactly familar to the whole stream of stories in that genre right to the present, so much so we might not realize he invented most of the stock details and rationale of the whole.

His short works were made available to the popular magazines and The Raven has been the most successful poem in American literature for reaching people. Intelligence and passion burn in every work and that personal spark more than anything else keeps these creations alive.

-- Anonymous, September 06, 2001