The Cambridge introduction to Edgar Allan Poe

147 Pages·2008·0.93 MB·English

by  Benjamin Franklin Fisher

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TheCambridgeIntroductionto
Edgar Allan Poe
MuchremainsuncertainaboutthelifeofEdgarAllanPoe,the
mysteriousauthorofoneofthebest-knownAmericanpoems,“The
Raven,”theGothicromance“TheFalloftheHouseofUsher,”andthe
firstdetectivefiction,“TheMurdersintheRueMorgue.”Thisbook
providesabalancedoverviewofPoe’scareerandwritings,resistingthe
tendencyofmanyscholarstosensationalizethemoreenigmaticaspects
ofhislife.BenjaminF.FisheroutlinesPoe’sexperimentswithawide
rangeofliteraryformsandgenres,andshowshowhisfictionevolved
fromGothicfantasytoplausible,sophisticatedpsychologicalfiction.
Fishermakesnewandfruitfulconnectionswithinthisdiversebodyof
work,andoffersanalysesofthemajorworks.Thecriticalafterlifeof
Poe’sworkischarted,andthebookincludesaguidetofurtherreading,
makingthisahandystarting-pointforstudentsandreadersnewtoPoe.
BenjaminF.FisherisProfessorofEnglishattheUniversityof
Mississippi.

The Cambridge Introduction to
Edgar Allan Poe
BENJAMIN F. FISHER
CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS
Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, São Paulo
Cambridge University Press
The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge CB2 8RU, UK
Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York
www.cambridge.org
Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9780521859677
© Benjamin F. Fisher 2008
This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the
provision of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part
may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press.
First published in print format 2008
ISBN-13 978-0-511-56889-3 eBook (Dawsonera)
ISBN-13 978-0-521-85967-7 hardback
ISBN-13 978-0-521-67691-5 paperback
Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy
of urls for external or third-party internet websites referred to in this publication,
and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain,
accurate or appropriate.
Contents
Preface pagevii
Listofabbreviations viii
Chapter 1 Life 1
Chapter 2 Contexts 12
Thehistoricalcontext 15
TheAmericancontext 16
Thecontextofslavery 18
Genderandsexuality 19
Thegraphiccontext 20
Theurbancontext 21
Themedical-scientificcontext 22
Thepsychologicalcontext 23
Theexistentialist-modernistcontext 24
Chapter 3 Works 27

Poetry 32
Thefiction:tales 48
ThenovelsandEureka 87
Thecriticism 100
Chapter 4 Reception 112
Notes 124
Aguidetofurtherreading 129
Index 131
v

Preface
Thisbookisaimedatadvancedhighschoolandlower-levelcollege/university
students.Itconsistsofchapter1,“Life,”inwhichthemythologies(oftenquite
negative) that have grown up around Poe the person are avoided in favor of
afactualaccount.Chapter2,“Works,”providescoverageofPoe’sworksand
their place in the literature of the world. After all, what initially gained Poe
widespreadattentionwashiscriticalwritings,anironysinceduringhisteens
andearlytwentiesheintenselywantedtoberegardedasapoet.Anadditional
irony is that Poe very deliberately turned to the writing of fiction, chiefly
shortstories,whichappearedinnewspapersandliterarymagazines,because
suchwareshadwidecirculationandusuallypaidsoonerandbetterthanthe
processofturningcopyintobookstendedtodo.Asscholarshavediscovered,
someofPoe’sworkswerecopiedfromtheiroriginalsourcesbynewspapersin
distantlocales,orwerepiratedbyBritishperiodicals.Poe’sfictionandsome
ofhispoemscontinuetoberead,tobesure,ashismostappealingimaginative
writings.Becausehiscriticalideasappearedmainlyinreviewsinsteadofina
single,extendedbook,theyhave,withfewexceptions,notattractedareadership
solargeasthatforthepoemsandtales.Greatcontroversiesenlivenbiographical
and critical approaches to Poe and his writings, as will be apparent in the
following pages. Chapter 2 treats “Contexts.” Chapter 4 focuses on “Critical

reception,”followedbya“Guidetofurtherreading.”
vii
Abbreviations
E&R EdgarAllanPoe:EssaysandReviews,ed.G.R.Thompson.NewYork:
LibraryofAmerica,1984.
H TheCompleteWorksofEdgarAllanPoe,ed.JamesA.Harrison.17vols.
NewYork:ThomasY.Crowell,1902;reprintedNewYork:AMSPress,
1965;reprinted(with“Introduction”byFloydStovall)NewYork:
AMSPress,1979.
M CollectedWorksofEdgarAllanPoe,ed.ThomasOlliveMabbott,with
theassistanceofEleanorD.KewerandMaureenCobbMabbott.3vols.
Cambridge,Mass.:BelknapPressofHarvardUniversityPress,
1968–78.
O TheLettersofEdgarAllanPoe,ed.JohnWardOstrom.rev.edn.New
York:GordianPress,1966.
P CollectedWritingsofEdgarAllanPoe,ed.BurtonR.Pollin.5vols.Vol.1
Boston:Twayne,1981;vols.2–5NewYork:GordianPress,1985–97.
P&T EdgarAllanPoe:PoetryandTales,ed.PatrickF.Quinn.NewYork:
LibraryofAmerica,1984.

viii