What is the philosophy of death and the philosophy of fear according to Poe? I'm interested in similarities between his philosophy and the philosophy of death and fear according to well-known philosophers.

-- Anonymous, December 12, 2004

Answers

he died from being a long term alchoholic because researchers found out that Poe did not have rabies and his cat didn't contract rabies either.

-- Anonymous, December 13, 2004

Put aside the Gothic awhile and read "Eureka" at www.eapoe.org. That is is his most developed philosophical synthesis of art and the big questions. he later became dissatisified with the rational pretensions and described it mose as a prose poem- in other words like "The Lake" just another art piece spinning off the mysterious Muse. Poe could not keep or leave the past, could not find solace in the afterlife or figure either one out pleasingly. Almost an existentialist of sorts except that the two ends, the dead past and dark unknown weighed on his present miseries terribly. Loss, dissatisfaction, and wavering hope seemed to harmonize darkly to his melancholy harp. he was authentic to the emotional state where he was when he wrote the poem- even more than to the memory he sometimes was using as a subject.

As for other philosophers, Poe knew many treatises well, so you'd have to take them and compare to Poe. I can't guess which ones you mean.

-- Anonymous, December 16, 2004