Name: Literary Theory and Criticism
Rating: 4.056338028169014 (71 reviews)
ISBN: 9780486401553

Leonard Cassuto

Edgar Allan Poe

Essential anthology of Poe's critical works reviews works by Dickens, Hawthorne, many others. Includes Theory of Poetry ("The Philosophy of Composition," "The Rationale of Verse," "The Poetic Principle"). Introduction.

Literary Theory and Criticism

The Gold Bug (Hesperus Classics)

Jeremy Anderberg

“The Gold-Bug” is a delightful cross between adventure and mystery.

It starts with the odd instance of a man being bitten by a pure gold, scarab-like bug. This fellow, Legrand, has captured the now-dead insect and recruits our unnamed narrator to help solve the mystery of its odd look and hefty weight.

The problem is that Legrand starts to go a little crazy, thinking that the bug is actually the first clue to the uncovering of a buried treasure. The narrator dutifully follows along, though, and starts to realize that Legrand may not be so crazy after all . . .

The beauty of the story is that the reader has no idea where the plot is going until the very end. It’s a classic adventure/mystery story in that regard, and Poe paves the way for centuries of plot twists and puzzle solving. We even get a cryptogram and some invisible ink! Honestly, it felt like this story just had to have an influence on the late Clive Cussler.

If you think you know Poe, think again. This story doesn’t read like him at all, which just fascinates me for some reason. If you want to have a look at the origins of the classic adventure tale, check out “The Gold-Bug.”

Since their first publication in the 1830s and 1840s, Edgar Allan Poe's extraordinary Gothic tales have established themselves as classics of horror fiction and have also created many of the conventions which still dominate the genre of detective fiction. As well as being highly enjoyable, Poe's tales are works of very real intellectual exploration. Attentive to the historical and political dimensions of these very American tales, this new selection places the most popular -- `The Fall of the House of Usher', `The Masque of the Red Death', `The Murders in the Rue Morgue; and `The Purloined Letter' -- alongside less well-known travel narratives, metaphysical essays and political satires.

Selected Tales

Simona

A collection of Poe's classic poetry that includes classic poems such as "To Helen" and "The Raven" alongside lesser-known poems such as "Alone."

The Complete Poetry of Edgar Allan Poe

Ida :)

sharkie

Complete Works of Edgar Allen Poe

Lesley McNeil

The life of American writer Edgar Allan Poe was characterized by a dramatic series of successes and failures, breakdowns and recoveries, personal gains and hopes dashed through, despite which he created some of the finest literature the world has ever known. Over time his works have influenced such major creative forces as the French poets Charles Baudelaire and Andre Gide, filmmaker D.W. Griffith and modern literary legend Allen Ginsberg. Best known for his poems and short fiction, Poe perfected the psychological thriller, invented the detective story, and rarely missed transporting the reader to his own supernatural realm. He has also been hailed posthumously as one of the finest literary critics of the nineteenth century. In Edgar Allan Poe: Complete Tales and Poems fans may indulge in all of Poe's most imaginative short-stories, including The Fall of the House of Usher, The Murders in Rue Morgue, The Tell-Tale Heart, Ligeia and Ms. In a Bottle. His complete early and miscellaneous poetic masterpieces are here also, including The Raven, Ulalume, Annabel Lee, Tamerlane, as well as select reviews and narratives.

Literary Theory and Criticism

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