who is Marmaduke Hammerhead?greenspun.com : LUSENET : The Work of Edgar Allan Poe : One Thread |
who is this person. maybe describe his virtues and vices, and explain what brought him about.
-- Anonymous, December 04, 2003
Marmaduke Hammerhead was the satiric name for Poe that Dr. Thomas Dunn English used in "Eighteen Forty-Four", published in serial form in the New York Evening Mirror from 1844 through 1846. The character Marmaduke Hammerhead closely resembled Poe and was credited with writing "The Black Crow" and "The Humbug, and Other Tales." English's portrayal of Poe as a surly and arrogant writer who "Never gets drunk more than five days a week" resulted in a violent literary war between the two men. Poe sued English for libel and defamation of character. English when on to print material about his nemesis until Poe's death, then tarnished his reputation further by giving accounts of Poe's uncontrolled drinking and drug use.
-- Anonymous, December 04, 2003