please help me with my charecter sketch ; I need to know whAT PEOPLE thinks about Poe It;s a big school grade please help Thank you

-- Anonymous, November 03, 2003

Answers

His own words and whole life are a start. Sometimes a few anecdotes reveal important aspects of character. Poe liked to boast about his swimming exploits and one where he saved a drowning schoolfriend. Poe liked cats and gardening, had an acute sense of satiric huimor but a crude and cruel side of hamhanded joking, teasing his more naive friends mercilkessly but disliking intensely any criticism of himself(Lowell's joke about Poe published in a poem). Poe inveighing against plagiarism but liberally using other sources without giving any credit. Very emotional and passionate, an intuitonal and strongly Romantic poet but a sharp critical thinker devoted to science progress practicality and the triumph of reason. A brillian conversationalist, somewhat afflicted as hgis father had been with stage fright. Very mannerly and idealistic with the ladies, very dismissive of his rivals and the pillars of culture. Enfant terrible, ambitious, creative, impractical, self-defeating.

ON and on with the so-called duality of Poe's nature(twin genius of analytical thought and profound poetic sense). You see you need to get as much as you can from the meager sources available(if reliable).

Etc

-- Anonymous, November 06, 2003