It is said that Edgar Allan Poe was both blessed and cursed by his genius. How could his genius be both a blessing and a curse?

-- Anonymous, February 17, 2003

Answers

Essay questions like this are only a curse, so it is hard to get enthusiasm up for even thinking about such a bland generalization. Read Baudelaire's sympathetic take on the curse side by side with Poe's "Alone". Poe denies his melancholy muse is a curse, except for his career defeats at the hands of lesser men AND the worry that people cannot appreciate him perhaps. Although popular he worries perhaps that, like Shakespeare, it is supeficial and by reputation. This perhaps makes him more relentless, despite hidden satire and teasing, in making the EFFECT of his works inescapable though few can appreciate the artistry and depths that create it. The main curse is the personal uniqueness. "The Lake" shows how it consumes and is more than all else outside the fortunes of life.

-- Anonymous, February 21, 2003