Edgar Allan Poe Essay

The phrasing of Edgar Allan Poes works carry surely enhanced their literary value . Firstly, Poe was a believer in the law of liberty of diction, in the aesthetic tradition in art, in storytelling. Hence, the diction in al about all his literary works, be they poems, short stories or whatever carry a smell of freshness, of originality, of innate beauty. Again, as he was an iconoclast he could free the diction of the short stories from the hithersy of the didactic. He keeps an eye on details and hence a flexibility of diction was the need of the hour which he mastered.He has dovetailed poetry in prose as and when required in order to enhance the readability and appeal of the prose, in particular. For example, Conqueror Worm, as an individual poem has immense appeal as it can create a typical supernatural ambience. The lines have a dramatic ring, the diction is effective in weaving a credible prototype of life, though, an angel comes and sits amidst the audience to see/A play of hop es and fears where he found much of Madness and more of sin/And Horror the soul of the plot But, in the middle of the poem, the tone alters and the brilliant effect is brought forth by befitting diction. But see, amid the mimic rout/A crawling shape intrude /A blood-red thing that writhes from out/The scenic solitude /It writhes -it writhes -with mortal pangs/The mimes become its food,/And the seraphs sob at vermin fangs/In human gore imbued. The very lines from this poem, when unified into the famous short story Ligeia, it enhances the appeal of the latter.This story is primarily based on the theory of metempsychosis transmigration of souls, as Ligeia makes a return to her husband through the takeover of the corpse of the second wife of her husband. Poe gets torn between the two disintegrated parts of the storyone, the life and death of Ligeia and the opposite, the return of heroine Ligeia ,years after, to life. It was not a dance to harness the two threads to give rise to a unity of narrative. For this end in view, Poe has sensitivee use of a succession of highly implicative images and nomenclature that mentally prepares the readers for the heroines strange return to life from the land of the dead.Weaving of the weird atmosphere adroitly with chosen, appropriate, vibrant diction reminds us of the wild-eyed poet, S. T. Coleridge ,who with similar adept and facile pen used to make us willingly suspend our disbelief. For example, in the story Ligeia, the way in which the apocalypse occurs to Ligeias husband is really remarkable, The greater part of the fearful night had worn away ,and she who had been dead once again stirred and now more vigorously than hitherto, although arousing from a dissolution more appalling in its utter hopelessness than any..The corpse, I repeat, stirred, and now more vigorously than before. The hues of life reddened up with unwonted energy into the countenancethe limbs relaxedand, save that the eyelids were yet pressed heav ily together, and that the bandages and draperies of the grave still imparted their charnel character to the figure, I might have dreamed that Rowena had indeed shaken off, utterly, the fetters of Death. Through the turns of phrases, suggestive images, gothic expressions, meaningful caesura, hair-raising descriptions the writer dawns the ghastly truth upon Ligeias husband , at tenacious last, Here then, at least, I shrieked aloud, can I never be mistakenthese are the full, and the black ,and the wild eyesof my lost be intimateof the ladyof the Lady Ligeia. The Tell-Tale Heart is a significant story certifying Poes oeuvre. Use of maximum expletives is a characteristic feature of diction here.The very orifice is striking from the point of diction, True -nervous-very, very dreadfully nervous I had been and am but why will you say that I am mad? The disease had sharpened my senses not destroyednot dulled them. . How then am I mad? Hearken And observe how healthilyhow calmly I can t ell you the whole story. The colloquial intimacy of the narrative, the protagonists fear of the old mans vulture-like, pale blue eye, the unrighteous Eye , as he names it.After continuously assiduous attempts, he succeeds in killing the old man with the Evil Eye. But, he becomes dupe of divine retribution and the ticking of the old mans heart begins to throb in himself, abruptly, rather mysteriously and he admits the heinous deed. Poes diction is really apt in bringing forth the heart-rending finale of the story, Villains I shrieked, dissemble no more I admit the deed -tear up the planks -here, here -it is the beating of his hideous heart It has already been state that ,Poe believed that the tale should have unity of effect and that everything must be subservient to this unity. The Fall of the House of exhibit is a brilliant example of Poes craftsmanship as it is tightly structured, concentrated and possessing unity of effect, diction, design and atmosphere. At the very outset, an atmosphere of desolation and dissipation is woven deliberately by Poe . The use of his another poetical piece The Haunted Palace is also timely and appropriate and in unison with the consume of the narration.Especially, in the concluding stanza of the poem ,we find the real appeal of the story packed meticulously, And travelers now within that valley,/Through the red-litten windows see/Vast forms that move implausibly/To a discordant melody/While, like a rapid ghastly river,/Through the pale door,/A hideous throng rush out forever,/And anticbut smile no more. In the following lines, Poe is keen on justifying the germaneness of the poetical lines, as included.The tempestuous elements of nature ,the solemn movement of the prose, rising to a crescendo at the end and all the strands of the story converging to the single effect produce the grim phantasm, fear, which dominates the story. The strange appearance of the house, the weird actions of the mad indweller of the house, Ushe r, the strange burial and return to life of Madeline ,the death of Usher and the destruction of the house are incidents that contribute to the effect of horror. But there are other subtle factors too.One such factor is a series of weird identifications, for example, identification between the house and its inmates, between Usher and his sister and finally between the madness of Usher and the momentary madness of the narrator. Even, in the poems too Poe is at his innovative best ,so far as the use of diction is concerned. In the most popular poem,The Raven, the poet with his capturing diction runs to relate to the readers the grief of a bereaved lover for his lost love. The refrain nevermore expresses the intensity of sorrow of the lover for his never-to-return heartfeltIn another poem To Helen, Poe mingles theme and form adeptly. Poes complete mastery over the diction is seen in the poem The Bells, where the four different stanzas experience with striking effect the sound of four different bellssilver bells,golden bells, brass bells and iron bells. It has been rightly praised as one of the finest examples of onomatopoeia. In conclusion, it can , of course, be said in the words of Kirszner and Mandell , Using vivid imagery and evocative comparisons, writers of imaginative literature often stretch language to its limits.By relying on the multiple connotations of words and images, a work of imagination encourages readers to see the possibilities of language and to move beyond the factual details of an event. p-1Sources Books1. Kirszner, Laurie G. & Mandell, Stephen R. Literature Reading, Reacting, Writing, Heinle&Heinle,1999. 2. Davidson, Edward H. PoeA Critical Study ,Harvard University Press, USA. 3. Krutch, Joseph Wood Edgar Allan PoeA Study in Genius, N. Y. Knopf, USA Web Sources 1. www. poestories. com 2. www. poemuseum. org