What is it about Poe that makes critics regard him as great? In my opinion he is very overated and not original in his ideas at all. If you research some of his tales, quite few of them spawned from other authors works. I don't mean to ruffle anyone's feathers but to me he was just an average writer with psycho tendencies. I would appreciate legitimete responses that would prove otherwise.

Homer

-- Anonymous, December 04, 2002

Answers

You answered your own question dumbass.

"In my opinion he is very overated"

-- Anonymous, December 05, 2002

If you are addicted to plot outlines(forgetting some of which Poe invented personally)and straight forward strangled and triangulated Hemingway stories, no. His greatest achievemnets are not in the typical Gothic tales(underrated when viewed in their untypical poetical power and often high artistry) and his restricted characterizations(even with the deep mind probings of first person narrators, many undescribed and unnamed). His synthesis of romantic poet, rationalist, new science, modern world and Gothic story into the modern detective genre CREATED that genre and gave some very repeated standards and plotlines. His sharp unsparing criticism changed that profession from mere hype(unfortunately much with us still)into real popular standards for literature in America. His poetry in such brief forms and such a small opus is hard to match in lyric power and quality anywhere and is unique even when in the Romantic school.

A great and unique mind with strong literary passion unless you want to focus on flaws, his limitations in a truncated American literary world at that time.

-- Anonymous, December 05, 2002

to h-- --

do all such questions only seem to be an average sort of thing?

-- Anonymous, December 07, 2002