EdgarAllanPoe坡(1809—1849)E.A.Poe(1809—1849)Poe’smotherEdgarAllanPoe(1809—1849)埃德加.爱伦.坡•PartI.LifeExperience•PartIILiteraryPosition•PartIII.MajorWorks•PartIV.PointofView•PartV.Style•PartVI.AppreciationThisdaguerreotypeofPoewastakenin1848whenhewas39,ayearbeforehisdeathLifeExperience•Amiserablechildhood:borninBoston,bothparentsdiedwithintwoyearsafterhisbirth,takenintothehomeofJohnAllaninVirginia,hadanunhappyrelationshipwithhisfosterfather•Anunhappyyouth:at17wenttotheUniversityofVirginiabutdidnotfinish,anappointmenttoWestPointbutwasdismissedlessthanayearlater•Astrugglinglife:in1833,becameaneditorofSouthernLiteraryMessengerinRichmond,lostthepositionbecauseofexcessivedrinkingandaninabilitytomeetdeadlines,managedtoregainthejobin1835,at27,marriedhis13year-oldcousin,VirginiaClemm,driftedforseveralyearsaseditorsindifferentmagazinesbutremainedpoorallhislifeEdgarAllanPoe(1809-1849)“我经常沉湎杯中物,但喝酒并没使我感到半点儿乐趣。我不惜生命和名声,不顾理智,一味喝酒,并非追求乐趣,而是竭力逃避令人痛苦的回忆,逃避无法忍受的孤寂,逃避迫在眼前的大限。”•Abitterandmysteriousdeath:in1847,wifediedoftuberculosis,in1849,diedinmysteriouscircumstancesLifeExperienceamiserablechildhoodwasadoptedbyJohnAllananunhappyrelationshipenteredtheUniversitybutdidn’tfinishwenttoWestPointbutwasdismissedat27hemarriedhis13-year-oldcousinherdeathin1847lefthimabittererlifediedinmysteriouscircumstances,in1849PartII.Poe’sliteraryposition–Forerunnerofwesterndecadentliterature–Forerunnerofaestheticliterature–Explorerofabnormalpsychology–Fatherofpsychoanalyticcriticism–Path-breakerofAmericandetectivenovel–FatherofmodernshortstoryHispositionPoe’spositioninworldliteratureissecure.Hisinfluenceisworld-wideinmodernliterature.Hisaestheticsandconsciouscraftsmanship,hisattackon“theheresyofthedidactic”andhiscallfor“therhythmicalcreationofbeauty”haveinfluencedFrenchsymbolismandthedevoteesof“artforart’ssake”.Poeisfatherofmanythings,oneofwhichispsychoanalyticcriticism,theotherbeingthedetectivestory.EdgarAllanPoe•Poe’sliterarycontribution–Aestheticism•Principleofbeauty•Principleofunityandconcentration•Carefulchoiceofdictionfordesiredeffect(themusicaleffectofwordsthemselves)•Negligenceofso-calledtruthandsocial,politicalandmoralsuggestions•“Purepoetry”or“pureart”•Unityofeffectandatmosphere;contentinserviceofartisticeffectCommentsonPoe•EdgarAllanPoeisthemostcontroversialandthemostmisunderstoodliteraryfigureinthehistoryofAmericanliterature.•“我不在乎我的作品是现在被人读还是由子孙后代来读。我可以花一个世纪来等待读者。”EdgarAllanPoe•Emersondismissedhiminthreewords“thejingleman”(打油诗人),MarkTwaindeclaredhisprosetobeunreadable.AndWhitmanwastheonlyfamousliteraryfigurepresentatthePoeMemorialCeremonyin1875.•NotacceptedbeforeFrenchsymbolistslikeCharlesPierreBaudelaire(1821-1867)andMallarmé.InAmerica•Emerson:“thejingleman”(noisy)•MarkTwain:Hisproseisunreadable.•HenryJames:“anenthusiasmforPoeisthemarkofadecidedlyprimitivestateofdevelopment”•Whitman:admitPoe’sgenius,butitwas“itsnarrowrangeandunhealthy,luridquality”(terrible)•T.S.Eliot:acriticofthefirstrank,butwith“slipshodwriting”(careless)ReasonsforMisunderstanding•1)Asaperceptivecritic,hewrotesomescathingcriticismsondistinguishedliteraryfigures.•2)Hisliteraryexecutorsulliedhisreputationafterhisdeath.InEurope•GeorgeBernardShaw:“thegreatestjournalisticcriticofhistime”•Hispoetryis“exquisitelyrefined”.•Histalesare“completeworksofart”.•Baudelaire:“EdgarPoe,whoisn’tmuchinAmerica,mustbecomeagreatmaninFrance.”•柯南道尔:“一名侦探小说家只能沿这条不宽的主道而行,所以他时时都会发现前方有坡的脚印。如果他偶尔能设法偏离主道,独辟蹊径,那他就可以感到心满意足了。”•凡尔纳:“他肯定会有模仿者,有人会试图超越他,有人会试图发展他的风格,但许多自以为已经超过他的人其实永远也不可能与他相提并论。”•肖伯纳:“它们不仅仅是一篇篇小说,而完全是一件件艺术品。”PoeenjoyedrespectandwelcomeinEuropeHisreputationwasfirstmadeinFranceToday,hisworksarereadwithappreciationandunderstanding.Poe'sinfluencewasconsiderableinSpain,Italy,GermanyandRussia.•PoewasthefirstAmericanwriterwhoformulizedthetechniqueoftheshortstory.•Inpursuitofthetotalityofeffectthroughcompression,immediacyandfinality,Poeinventedthegenreofthedetectivestoryanddevelopedanewfictionofpsychologicalanalysis.•Poehasthusoftenbeenconsideredasthefatherofthemodernshortstory.PartIII.MajorWorks•FamousAmericanpoet,short-storywriter,andliterarycritic•MostcontroversialandmisunderstoodinAmerica•WellreceivedinEurope,England,Spain,esp.inFrance•Literaryoutput:someseventyshortstoriesandadozenpoems•A:Poems•B:Shortstories•C:literarytheory•D:onefull-lengthnovel:TheNarrativeofArthurGordonPym(1838)《亚瑟.戈登.皮姆的故事》Shaw’sevaluationofPoe'sachievementacritic,apoet,ashortstorywriterthegreatestjournalisticcriticofhistimehispoetryis“exquisitelyrefined“(精致优雅)histalesarecompleteworksofartagreatwriteroffiction,apoetofthefirstrank,andacriticofinsighta.Ashortstorywriterstories:twokindsHorrorRatiocination(推理)“TheFalloftheHouseofUsher”“TheBlackCat”“TheCaskofAmontillado”“Ligeia”(莉盖亚)“ThePurloinedLetter”(被窃的信件)fiftypoemstypicallyRomanticinbothformandcontentPoe’spoetictheoriesPoetryshouldbeshortandreadableatonesitting,shouldappealonlyto“beauty”(aimingat“anelevatingexcitementofthesoul”)Truepoetryis“therhythmicalcreationofbeauty”“ThePhilosophyofComposition““ThePoeticPrinciple”b.Apoetc.AliterarycriticPoems1TheRaven(1844)《乌鸦》2Annabe