Terror Of The Soul

Edgar Allan Poe is one of the most misunderstood among America's major writers. More than a century and a half after his death, critics have not come to any settled opinion over the merits of his individual style, the worth of his subject matter, and his status in the world of letters. His bizarre tales are the major sources of controversy, calling forth extremes of appreciation, as in Paul Valery's assertion that Poe was "the only impeccable writer", and of depreciation, as in Henry James's judgment that "an enthusiasm for Poe is the mark of a decidedly primitive stage of reflection." This thesis sets out to explore the themes of Poe's Tales of Mystery and Imagination in terms of modern experience and reveal Poe's significance in modern literature.By analyzing the themes reflected in such tales as The Fall of the House of Usher, Ligeia, The Tell-Tale Heart, The Pit and the Pendulum, and The Man of the Crowd, etc., the thesis points out that Poe probes beneath the surface of normal existence and explores the subconscious condition of the mind with accuracy. His stories express the profound psychological concerns of a complex and compelling mind in an essentially meaningless, chaotic and hostile world. His ideas, images and themes later became the central concern of many modern writers.Based on a thorough and careful study, a comprehensive view is provided of Poe's influence on modern writers, especially on Baudelaire and Dostoevsky, todemonstrate Poe's significance to the development of modern world literature. Baudelaire was much influenced by Poe's obsession with the beauty in the morbid and the horrid. He absorbed many of Poe's ideas in his Les Fleurs du Mai (The Flowers of Evil). Dostoevsky appreciated the concern Poe had shown towards split personality and criminal psychology. His works The Double and Crime and Punishment bear the visible imprint of Poe's influence.The thesis is concluded by reaffirming that Poe has created, in his tales, a timeless record of the disintegration of modem man and the fragmented nature of modem experience. The modern sensitivity he has shown in his stories earns him a permanent place among the world's most serious writers and his investigation of abnormal psychology remains an endless topic that will engender further research in the future.