OK i need to know in what ways were Poe's life remarkable? Inwhat ways were Poe's life admirable? And in what ways were Poe's life despicable? Please help me!!!

-- Anonymous, November 06, 2002

Answers

Hey Stephie! I'm looking for that answer to for Ms. Johnston's class! HeeHee I can't believe that i just stumbled over this page! BYE BYE!

-ERKA

-- Anonymous, November 06, 2002

His life was "despicable" as any old life including yours I'm afraid. However his enemy Rufus Griswold enlarged a dark legend about Poe, mainly untrue, that sticks like a typical National Enquirer assassination, even to this day. He did this in an obituary after his death of course. It sold books and continues to do so, so the legend will continue. His Gothic stories and poems show some preoccupation with death and being unable(tyhough not totally unwilling) to get rid of his ghosts. Everyone likes scary stories. Poe actaully could be quite playfyul with the old genre. In fact, Poe took dark romanticism and the Gothic to a new level by combining it with rational analysis and debunking in creating the modern detective story. In a few stories and a few poems and in rocky careers at a few magazines Poe, without much monetary success or institutional recognition, pioneered several key aspects of American literature through sheer brilliance and popularity. His merciless criticism especially earned him enemies and it stirred the pot of complacent imtitative and low quality writers and ruffled the Northeastern establishments coming to birth.

You have to read a range of biographies to see the ambiguities, the controversies and the split judgments on Poe, who himself was rather split between the romantic poet and the ingenious rationalist. Some biographers dislike him for his popular medium and genres, his questionable loyalties, double standards, love life, etc. Those biographers cannot generally be trusted since they start out with a lack of appreciation for what Poe did accomplish and a personal dislike. The word despicable implies a negative tone from a teacher? That person had better do more impartial research as well.

-- Anonymous, November 06, 2002