An Analysis On Reincarnation Based On Poe's Fiction Of "Death Of Beauty"

Edgar Allan Poe is one of the most controversial literary figures in American history. In his literary career of about 20 years, Poe has achieved success in different fields including poetry, fiction and literary criticism. In his essay "The Philosophy of Composition", Poe proposes the idea of "Death of Beauty". He declares that the death of a beautiful woman is the most poetic topic in the world. In practice, Poe employs this theme in many of his works. In particular, it is noticeable that Poe weaves three stories about the reincarnation of a beauty. Given his relatively scant repertoire, more attention should be paid to the reincarnation aspect of Poe's fiction. However, few researchers have concentrated on the reincarnation of those dead beauties, making it worthwhile to analyze.This dissertation covers five chapters. Chapter One gives a general account of the life and works of Edgar Allan Poe, a survey of the study of Poe and the feasibility of the study of reincarnation based on Poe's fictional "Death of Beauty". Chapter Two represents the formation of the thoughts of reincarnation which involves three elements: the premise of reincarnation is the immortality of the soul, the thought basis of reincarnation is the perpetual human thirst for immortality, and the birth of mankind's cognition of death and reincarnation is hastened by people's original concept of circular time. Then the reincarnation of Poe's fiction in "Death of Beauty" is explored in an aesthetic dimension and the psychoanalysis of Poe's literary creation is continued. Chapter Three compares the reincarnation of Dark Tales, Poe's fiction and the western stories of vampires in diachronic and synchronic dimensions based on the development of human society and the relationship between matter and consciousness. Chapter Four concerns the analysis of the reincarnation in "Morella", "Ligeia" and "Eleonora" Chapter Five concludes with a discussion of Poe's emotional world, creative views and aesthetic principles as conveyed by the stories on the reincarnation of a beauty. This study is aimed at filling in the blanks by exploring the significance of reincarnation in Poe's stories of "Death of Beauty".