Sunday, May 25, 2008

Tormented Genius

Edgar Allan Poe is one of my favorite authors. Though his was filled with tragedy and torment, it did not take away his genius or his eye for description of surroundings. I wouldn't say that Poe flew under the radar in literary circles but he was an enigmatic person.

I have read his famous poem The Raven but he wrote many other poems. Hs stories are a great example of what makes a great author. In the story 'The Fall of the House of Usher', Poe's description of the acoustics inside the castle made me feel that I was his sidekick. I felt like we walked side by side in this strange and scary place. I read 'he Murders in the Rue Morgue, The Pit and the Pendulum (which was a movie in the early 1960's), The Mask of the Red Death, and The Cask of Amontillado. Poe showed his genius by the description of the surroundings, by the building of the story to its horrifying climax, and by the seeming casualness of the survivors.

Edgar Allan Poe did not live a long life (1809-1849) but he left an indelible mark in my mind as a literary icon.

No comments:

WORDS OF WISDOM

  The best advice I ever got was that knowledge is power and to keep reading. ~David Bailey