美国文学Allon Poe.docVIP

Edgar Allen Poe 埃德加· 爱伦· 坡(1809 - 1849) Edgar Allen Poe (1809 - 1849) most controversial and most misunderstood literary figure in the history of American literature 1. Life He lived a short and tragic life. (1) His childhood was a miserable one. He lost both of his parents when he was very young and then he was adopted by a wealthy merchant, John Allan. Poe’s relation with the Allans was unhappy. (2) He entered University of Virginia and then West Point but did not finish.. (3) He worked as editor and writer most of his life and he was always poor. (4) At 27 he married his thirteen-year-old cousin, whose death in 1847 left him inconsolable, which leads to one of his major themes in his poetry: the death of a young and beautiful woman. 2. Evaluation of Poe Controversial in America at first. Today, his works are read with appreciation and understanding: a villain with no virtue an evil genius Emerson: “the jingle man” 叮当诗人/顺口溜作家 Whitman: “its narrow range and unhealthy, lurid quality” (不丰富的选材和不健康、可怕的质量) Poe enjoyed respect and welcome in Europe first. Swinburne, Bernard Shaw, D.H.Lawrence and W.H.Auden all spoke highly of Poe. a critic of acumen and insight a great writer of fiction, esp short stories a poet of the first rank a critic--the greatest journalistic critic of his time“ earned his living as a 搈agazinist,?not a fiction writer.nb He was an editor and reviewer for many major magazines wrote a great deal of literary criticism, literary theory, and book reviews a short story writer--his tales are complete works of art a poet--his poetry is “exquisitely refined“(精致优雅) Poe’s Major Literary Works 1) Short stories Horror :Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque ?述异集? The Black Cat《黑猫》 The Cask of Amontillado （红色死亡假面舞会） Ligeia《莉盖亚》 The Fall of the House of Usher 厄舍古屋的倒塌 Ratiocination（推理） : The Murders in the Rue Morgue 《莫格街谋杀案》 The Gold Bug《金甲虫》 The Purloined Letter《被窃的信件》 The Mystery of Marie Roget《玛丽罗杰谜案》 Poe’s achie