1、Edgar Allen Poe 坡 (18091849),Important Points,1. Introduction to Poe 2. Poes literary characteristics 3. The Raven,Introduction,a miserable childhood,was adopted by John Allan,an unhappy relationship,entered the University but didnt finish went to West Point but was dismissed,at 27 he married his 13
2、-year-old cousin,her death in 1847 left him a bitterer life,died in mysterious circumstances, in 1849,Genres,Poes best known fiction works are Gothic, a genre he followed to appease the public taste. His most recurring themes deal with questions of death, including its physical signs, the effects of
3、 decomposition, concerns of premature burial, the reanimation of the dead, and mourning. Many of his works are generally considered part of the dark romanticism genre, a literary reaction to transcendentalism, which Poe strongly disliked. Poe wrote much of his work using themes aimed specifically at
4、 mass-market tastes. To that end, his fiction often included elements of popular pseudosciences such as phrenology(颅相学)and physiognomy(人相学),Themes,1. death predominant theme,2. horror,“Poe is not interested in anything alive. Everything in Poes writings is dead.”,3.negative thoughts of science,Liter
5、ary output: some seventy short stories and a dozen poemsA: Poems B: Short stories C: literary theory D: one full-length novel: The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym (1838) 亚瑟.戈登.皮姆的故事,a great writer of fiction, a poet of the first rank, and a critic of insight,Poes Major Works,Poes Major Literary Works
6、,1) “The Raven” 乌鸦,poems,2) “Annable Lee” 安娜贝尔李,3) “The Sleeper” 睡梦人,4) “A Dream Within a Dream” 梦中梦,5) “SonnetTo Science” 十四行诗致科学,6) “To Helen” 致海伦,7) “The City in the Sea” 海中的城市earlier entitled The Doomed City 衰败的城市,Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque 述异集,a collection of short stories,tales,two k
7、inds,Horror,Ratiocination（推理）,“The Murders in the Rue Morgue” 莫格街谋杀案,“The Gold Bug”金甲虫,“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”,“The Purloined Letter”被窃的信件,“The Mystery of Marie Roget” 玛丽罗杰谜案,works,The Philosophy of Composition 创作原理 The Poe
8、tic Principle 诗歌原则,Literary theory,Poes achievement,1. His aesthetics, his call for “the rhythmical creation of beauty“ have influenced French symbolists and the devotees of “art for arts sake.2. He is the father of psychoanalytic criticism (abnormal psychology).3. He is the father of the detective
9、story.,Introduction,Shaws evaluation of Poes achievement,a critic,a poet，a short story writer,“the greatest journalistic critic of his time“,his poetry is “exquisitely refined“(精致优雅),his tales are “complete works of art“,The Raven (1845),Left by Gustave DorRight by John Tenniel,Backgrounds of The Ra
10、ven,Virginia, Poes wife, died of tuberculosis at only 24. Poe wrote this poem during her illness of TB when he felt she would die someday because TB was a incurable disease at that time. Professor David Rein considered the beautiful Sarah Elmira Royster, Poes neighbor, was the prototype of the Lenor
11、e. They loved each other when Poe was young ,but Sarahs father opposed them, so they were pitifully taken apart. And thats the lost beauty. Maybe its the reason why Poe ghastly scared his friends or we can say his wife would leave.,Key points of The Raven,It took Poe four years to complete this poem
12、. It was first published in 1845 and revised several times in later editions. Poe cited this poem as an example in “The Philosophy of Composition” to show how a poem should be composed. This poem corresponds to Poes basic principles of poetry writing. It is an elegy, expressing the sorrow or grief o
13、ver somebodys sudden death.,Poes theory for poetry,poems,short but achieve maximum effect,produce a feeling of beauty in the reader,“pure“, not to moralize,He stresses rhythm,insists on an even metrical flow,真实能够满足人的理智,感情能够满足人的心灵, 而美则能激动人的灵魂,Poes aesthetics 1. Aesthetic writings: The Philosophy of C
14、omposition / The Poetic Principle 2. Aesthetic ideas: A. Brevity: the poem should be short, readable at one sitting B. Beauty: the chief aim is beauty, namely to produce a feeling of beauty in the minds of the readerThe melancholy is the most legitimate of all poetic tones; the death of a beautiful
15、woman is the most poetic topic in the world. C. Purity: Poe is opposed to the heresy of the didactic and called for pure poetry. Besides, he stresses rhythm, defines true poetry as “the rhythmical creation of beauty” and declares that “music is the perfection of the soul, or ideas, of poetry.”,在创作的哲
16、学（The Philosophy of Composition）一文中，爱伦坡曾这样谈到乌鸦的创作： “我问自己：依照人类的共识，在所有悲郁的主题中，什么最为悲郁？答案显而易见死亡。于是我又问：那么这个悲郁的主题在什么时候最富有诗意？这答案又是一清二楚当其与美结合得最紧密的时候；所以美女之死无疑是天下最富诗意的主题，而且同样不可置疑的是，最适合讲述这个主题的人就是一个痛失佳人的多情男子。”,Topic of the poem,death:the death of a beautiful woman is unquestionably, the most poetic in the world
17、a sense of melancholy over the death of a beloved beautiful young woman,melancholic, sorrowful, even desperate -The repetition of the word “Nevermore” increases the speakers feelings of pain and loss. -This pattern of self-inflicted torture builds in intensity until the speaker breaks down emotional
18、ly and demands that the raven “Take thy beak from out my heart, and take thy form from off my door”.,Mood of the personal,Sound,It takes Poe 4 years to complete “The Raven” a marvel of regularity The poem is composed of 18 six-line stanzas, the first five lines being trochaic octameter, and the sixt
19、h line a trochaic tetrameter. Rhyme scheme: abcbbb Internal rhyme (dreary, weary; remember, December) Alliteration (flirt, flutter; stately, saintly) Assonance (dreary, weary; napping, tapping, rapping; morrow, borrow, sorrow, with the sound “o” to show ones sad, sorrow and grief mood; ) Sound and r
20、hythm make the poem musical and melodious. They contribute a lot to the mood and the theme of the writing at the same time.,Symbolism,Raven: disaster, misfortune, death. Raven, the large bird-like crow with black feathers, is an ominous fowl, a symbol of misfortune. Almost in silence except saying o
21、ne word: “nevermore”, seemed to be a grim ghost from the Nights Plutonian shore. The unlucky bird made the speaker scarcely worried that his friends would leave him again and his hopes would break. It also beguiled him into an illusion of forgetting pain ,but eventually the raven like a demon caused
22、 the speakers soul lifted-nevermore. Thus with the repetition of the “napping and tapping“ the poet was filled “with fantastic terrors never felt before.“,the soul of the radiant maiden, beauty and hopeAt the moment when the poet was in the darkness peering, wondering, expecting and whispering Lenor
23、e but was just responded with a “nothing more,“ the Raven, “with mien of lord or lady, perched above my chamber door.“ A conversation was held and the poet was so comforted with it. For twice, the poet felt the bird “beguiling my sad fancy into smiling.“,the “lost Lenore“ :,In the conversation the p
24、oet distinctly expressed his strong passion to Lenore. However, the only response from the Raven was “Nevermore.“ It seems what the poet had expressed is simply the view out of the “id“, while the Raven s words are rather restrictive and seem out of “ego.“ The poet was too affectionate to Lenore to
25、be restrictive, while the Raven was what warned him to be rational and that what had been lost would return “nevermore.“,The poets strong passion to Lenore: the sub-consciousness of the poet,The poets frustration: the modern reality The poet was of the firm belief that in modern society human beings
26、 are apathetic creatures. He was deeply resentful at the peoples indifference towards his mourning to Lenore; therefore, he turned to the Raven for comfort. But quite to his disappointment, he was merely responded with a cold “nevermore.“,Conclusions,All these images gave readers a sorrowful and melancholy tone. Poe pursued a perfect boundary and he thought the most profound theme of a poem was sadness over the death and the seeking of the lost beauty which are most beautifully described in this poem.,Thanks for your attention!,
