What was Edgar Allen poes historical and modern significance?

-- Anonymous, May 24, 2004

Answers

he was the first one to write that way.

-- Anonymous, May 25, 2004

Too broad. Obviously the porfessor is fishing for anything you can possibly say on the subject. Poe was an innovator and establishing certain important American foundations in that fledgling nation's literature. Raised genre writing, magazine writing, literary criticism and poetry to new respect and heights. Created the modern detective story, which is to say refused the logical/rational with the romantic/intuitive the great antithesis of the Age of Enlightenment reacted against by the Romantic period. "The Raven" was the first legitimate poetic "hit" to go worldwide from America, just as Cooper's novels were the first to berecognized abroad.

Poe's modern significance is his impact on symbolic poetry and the short story as well as critical literary method and reviews. More and details on the above necessitates research, not someone giving small answers unbder the constrainst of these online boards.

More importantly, where is the teacher going with this? What does he consider "significance". At least it is simpler in that Poe was fairly a unique pioneer solely concentrating on the literary world with some essay interests in the discoveries and science of the day. His presentation of his deepest self as the paradigm or emotional reservoir in his fictional works and poetry is extremely important- but by no means autobiographical in concern.

-- Anonymous, May 31, 2004