Edgar Allan Poe Created The Genre Of Detective Fiction

Essay, Pages 3 (715 words)

Views

The gothic period came apparent from a style of writing with elements of death and horror. Edgar Allan Poe was one of the first writers to foster the genre of detective and horror. Poe’s writing had a crucial impingement on the Gothic Period. This can be perceived through the usage of punctuation, sentence structure, calculated word choice, tone, and usage of figurative language. Poe’s unique writing style can be seen throughout all of his poems, and a few poems that will be focused on entail, “The Black Cat,” “The Raven,” and “The Tell-Tale Heart.

Don't use plagiarized sources. Get your custom essay on

“ Edgar Allan Poe Created The Genre Of Detective Fiction ”

Get custom paper

NEW! smart matching with writer

” Through the usage of figurative language Poe was able to create a sense of melancholy, and suspense, which evokes the reader.

Edgar Allan Poe had a life full of pain, and suffering and went through a grave amount of loss in his lifetime. Poe was born on January 19, 1809, in Boston Massachusetts. He never knew who his parents were because they died before he was even three years old (Giordano Page).

His foster father, John who was an affluent tobacco exporter was able to send Poe to the best boarding school available. Poe attended the University of Virginia, and was an excellent student until he took up drinking and gambling (A&E Networks). It was after this that Poe was forced to leave college when he was unable to pay his gambling debt and his father refused to pay it. Despite these unfortunate events Poe was able to write his first book in 1827, titled Tamerlane and Other Poems (American Literature).

In 1828, Poe lost all of his money and made the decision to enlist in the United States Amy. Poe’s father was able to have him appointed at West Point, where eventually Poe soon was expelled due to lack of ambition. Poe’s disappointed father, ultimately lead to Poe leaving home (A&E Networks).

After getting expelled from West Point, Poe moved to Baltimore to live with his Aunt Maria Clemm and her daughter Virginia which Poe later married. To support himself, Poe wrote for the Southern Literary Messenger and his work became extremely popular. Virginia was Poe’s inspiration to write and years later they fell in love and were married in 1836. Virginia was thirteen years of age when she married in 1836 (A&E Networks).

Edgar Allan Poe first collection of short stories, “Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque.” Shortly after he published “The Murders in the Rue Morgue,” was first published in 1839 and turned out to be a groundbreaking like no one have ever read before (Giordano). In 1845, Poe was awarded a hundred dollar prize for his short story “The Gold Bug.” In 1847 his wife, Virginia passed away from tuberculosis at the age of twenty-four. The unfortunate circumstance helped open his eyes to the haunting tales in which he explores, and brought to life each time someone read his short stories and poems. In 1849, Poe died just days after collapsing on the streets in Baltimore (Giordano). Edgar Allan Poe, created the genre of detective fiction or “gothic style” and is most famous for his for his great short stories produced in this style including, “The Pit and the Pendulum,” “The Cask of Amontillado,” “The Tell-Tale Heart,” “The Black Cat,” “The Fall of the House of Usher,” and “The Purloined Letter” (A&E Networks).

The Gothic Period in literature occurred at the same time as the Romantic Period. Romanticism Period focused on love, and brought about the idea of endless imagination, individuality, and inspiration. It is through this freedom that allowed writers of this time to discover the threshold of the unknown. It was from this that the Gothic Era was born. Poe's writing had a major influence on the Gothic Period and is reflected in the following stories and show how Edgar Allan Poe had a great influence on American Literature; 'The Black Cat', 'The Raven', and 'The Tell-Tale Heart” by Poe is written in first person narrative and falls into the realm of Gothic Literature. They encompass the themes of insanity, fear, horror, and death.