Edgar Allen Poe: An analysis

Edgar Allen Poe: An analysis Here is something to ponder: Edgar Allan Poe once expressed, Dream dreams that no one has ever dreamed before (Poe, The Raven). Even if a person is only a little familiar with the life of this prolific writer, he can immediately identify some irony in the former quotation. It is very ironic in the sense that a man who suffered such incredible losses in his life was still able to pursue his dreams. Edgar Allan Poe came from a life of poverty, but is now considered one of Americas most prolific writers. Indeed, the reality that Poe came from nothing makes his achievements, as both a writer and a person, even more awe-inspiring. Therefore, Poe is certainly right about his wise saying, as it reflects the story of his life. Perhaps he was so successful because he wrote about his own life and both his physical and mental experiences. All of the unfortunate events in his life serve as the framework for many of his famous pieces, including Annabel Lee, The Raven, and The Fall of the House of Usher. In fact, many of his themes delve into the things Poe experienced in his life, particularly death. The life of Edgar Allan Poe is characterized by various unfortunate events, which influence the themes of his writing: love, lust, and death. The first and most prominent is the presence of a deceased or dying woman. This is no surprise as all the women in Poes life died from tuberculosis. In Annabel lee, the title character happens to be the deceased woman. It is unclear to whom Poe addressed Annabel Lee as his mother, adoptive mother, and wife were all candidates (Peltak 91). Many believe the deceased character represents all the women he loved and lost (Peltak 91). Regardless of who she personifies, she is idealized as a youthful, beautiful lady. There is also a relation between decaying beauty and the physical signs of tuberculosis. The physical signs of tuberculosis include pale, luminous skin and red cheeks which corresponds to the victim in Annabel Lee as her beauty faded away (Peltak 15). Perhaps Poe is successful at raising the dead so believably because it was such a constant fact of his life (Peltak 15). Another aspect of Poes poetry that reflects his personal life is the element of the grieving man. Poe was left grief stricken after the death of his mother, adoptive mother, and wife. The feeling Poe experienced is similar to the torture and grief the man in Annabel Lee exhibits. In this circumstance, the speaker is a surviving husband or lover. The narrator laments his lost love, his beautiful Annabel Lee. The plot twist at the end of the poem is that the narrator ends up in the sepulcher by the sea. Such an action can be a sign of the narrators true love. The narrator almost seems obsessed with the love the two shared, which is analogous to his relationship with Virginia. A prominent theme is the love of beauty and the mourning of its passing into death (Otfinoski 6). The repetition of the name Annabel Lee proves how much this woman meant to the grieving man. Poe truly wants the reader to experience the same pain he felt after losing the loves of his life. The insanity of the narrator impacts the poem immensely. The narrator thinks Annabel Lee was taken away because people were envious. He believed her death was supernatural rather than an illness. After the death of Annabel Lee, the narrator is left in solitude, and thus becomes insane. Edgar Allan Poe was left in complete solitude various times in his life since he was abandoned by both father figures and all the women he loved died. Poe was also known as a depressed and morbid man, especially during the last few years of his life. The gothic themes of perversion, death, and insanity all reflect the pain in his life. More importantly, they contain a meaning throughout the work itself. Insanity is present as the narrator experiences a destruction of his mind, body, and soul. The plot is twisted because the reader discovers that the narrator may be in the tomb with Annabel Lee at the end of the poem. Death is important to the narrator as he ponders what happens before, during, and after passing away. All of the former themes have an underlying meaning that is related to Poes life. He experienced perversion, death, and insanity in his life and making them all of the major themes of his works is the way he conveys himself. Poes best known poem, The Raven, was published in 1845 and certainly made Poe famous. The poem became so famous that people referred to Poe as the raven' (Oakes 3). Similar to Annabel Lee, specific themes in The Raven correlate to Poes personal life. Some important themes to make note of include insanity, death, loneliness, and the element of supernatural. Each theme is relevant to Poes life in at least one perspective. The most obvious theme is the longing over a lost loved one. Specifically, the talking raven reminds the narrator about his dead love, Lenore. Although Poe mourned the deaths of various women in his life, many critics believe this poem was written for his wife, Virginia. When The Raven was published, Virginia had been wasting away from tuberculosis for three years (Peltak 13). It is strongly believed that The Raven was written in portrayal of the tragedy that existed for the two lovers (Oakes 2). Nevermore is the ravens repetitive message that is instantly recognizable even outside the context of the poem (Peltak 12). The effective repetition of this phrase gives the poem a dramatic intensity that carries the story and the reader to an ultimate realization (Otfinoski 5). The narrator, who is the mourning husband, finally realizes that his soul will Nevermore be freed from the shadow of his former love (Whiting 36). It is very possible the intensity and intricacy was intended as a mea ns to represent Poes complex life, especially regarding women. He lost one loved woman after another, and mourned each death more than the other. The repetition of the demonic message, Nevermore emphasizes Poe will no longer be reunited with his deceased mother, adoptive mother, and wife. Poe is extremely talented in his ability to intensify his prose and give his audience an alluring mix of accessibility and mystery (Peltak 12). Critics are convinced that it is a mystery and increase of anxiety that allows The Raven to resonate generation after generation. Yet, despite the element of horror and fantasy, The Raven is ultimately a Poem about remembering (Peltak 13). The steady reply of Nevermore haunts the narrator, who is unable to reconcile the loss of Lenore, and thus loses insanity (Peltak 13). The husband serves as a grieving man who goes insane by the end of the poem. The raven refuses to leave the door of the library, just like the pain from Lenores death will never fade. A few parallels between Poes life and literature can immediately be recognized. The grief-stricken narrator resembles Poe because both men will never be relieved from the death of a loved one. The maddened narrator reveals that the raven remains in the library and that he can never be free of its torment, just like Poe will never be free of the torment of his grief (Peltak 12). It is also clear that Poe correlates the death of a loved woman to the loss of beauty because Lenore is idealized as youthful, beautiful, and perfect (Peltak 16). This also implies the beauty he saw in the women he lost, which possibly sparked more despair. Poe stresses the concept of beauty like no other writer. Since Poe views beauty as perfection, and it is impossible to attain perfection, it is essentially impractical to maintain beauty. This statement is feasible because Poe lost all beauty in his life; nor was there anything beautiful about his life. The loss of beauty only deepens the torture the grieving narrator experiences. Poes emphasis on Lenores beauty greatly affects her husband and drives him insane. The themes of death, loneliness, and insanity are not only evident in The Raven, but also in Poes life. The supernatural element is the talking raven. Poe definitely believed in the supernatural because he thinks death is somewhat supernatural. For instance, in Annabel Lee, the narrator believed Annabels death was utterly supernatural. Because both Poe and the characters of his stories believed in the supernatural, they were often seen as insane. In The Raven, the narrators madness is sparked by the ravens taunting; he is convinced the raven will never leave. The financial anguish and Virginias death drove Poe to depression and self-destructive drinking (Peltak 37). Poes downfall is very similar to the destruction of the narrators mind, body, and soul. The narrator becomes depressed because he will Nevermore see his love again, thus his breakdown begins. He is lonely after the death of his wife, which is analogous to Poes loneliness after Virginias death. After her death it was nearl y impossible for Poe to find stable love and support. Like Annabel Lee and The Raven, the recurrent themes of death, perversion, and destruction of the mind, body, and soul are only a few of the numerous themes found throughout The Fall of the House of Usher. When first studying The Fall of the House of Usher, the reader will immediately note that Roderick Usher is mentally sick. Because of his mental illness, Roderick represents the mind, which evidently reflects the mental conflict Poe suffered in his life. Between his depression and the addictions, it is fair to say that Poes life gad been mentally rough. Roderick Usher characterizes all of Poes mental battles. Poe was certainly, attracted to ghost stories and the supernatural (Otfinoski 4). It is no wonder why he is fascinated by horror stories since his life was similar to one. Both are full of death and madness. Since the male represents the mind, it is logical that the female signifies the body. Rodericks sister Madeline is physically sick. Madelines illness essentially reflects the illness the women in Poes life had. The tortured or grieving man, dying or deceased woman, a supernatural element, a creepy or gloomy setting and various symbols and omens are all easily recognizable in The Fall of the House of Usher. The crumbling house with a crack provides the gloomy and creepy setting in The Fall of the House of Usher. It would be unreasonable to expect a man who has experienced a great amount of death and loneliness in his life to write about cheerful subjects. Madeline, the body, needs Roderick, the mind, to die. Both represent to halves of the whole which indicates an incestuous relationship. Edgars relationship with Virginia was indeed incestuous, since they were cousins. After Madeline and Roderick die, the house, representing the soul, splits and falls. Since Poe experienced all the elements within his story, it was probably relatively simple for him to include such great detail and intensity. It happens to be this personal intensity, more than any other literary characteristic, that makes Poes best tales so haunting and unforgettable (Otfinoski 4). In Poes literature, the same terrible themes occur in story after story (Otfinoski 4). Every theme and element is relevant and related. The enigmatic quality of the strange is evident in the gloomy setting and perverted plot twist. Madeline was alive all along, and eventually kills her brother causing the house to fall. There were many strange aspects of Poes life, particularly the fact that the three women he loved the most died of the same disease. The destruction of the mind, body, and soul exemplified through the downfall of Roderick, Madeline, and the crumpling house. The collapse of Poe and the people in his life can be easily seen through this ambiguous symbolism. Just like the rest of Poes literature, there is insanity, which is mostly epitomized by Roderick. It would take an infinite amount of pages to explain every correlation between Poes life and Annabel Lee, The Raven, and The Fall of the House of Usher. However, it is most essential to recognize that he expresses his emotions through the imperative themes of his literature. Every poem and story contains relatively the same elements: a grieving man, deceased women, the supernatural, insanity, love, and of course, death. The redundancy of these themes indicates the importance of these elements, and also how much they impacted Poes life. The tortured and grieving man concurs with Poes loneliness all throughout his lifetime. The deceased or dying women symbolizes the writers mother, adoptive mother, or wife who left him alone after death. Poes feelings toward love and death are very unique and are shaped by the events in his life. Poe loved all three women and venerated their beauty, even after they died. There is always a character that goes insane in Poes literature, which acts as a r eflection of Poe himself. Poe is a literary genius because he is successful at turning the unfortunate troubles of his life into the major themes of his stories. Life threw him terrible situation, but with them he created literature, both brilliant and expressive.

Influence of William Cecil Later Lord Burghley on Elizabeth and his Role in her Government

William Cecil’s influence touched on just about all aspects of policy that occurred during Elizabeth’s long reign. In the Royal Court he brought order and stability. Cecil was also highly influential in foreign policy. He saw France and Spain as threats to. It has also been argued that Cecil was not just the provider of advice and executor of the Queens wishes but also that he could have been the power behind the throne.Plenty of evidence has come to light that suggests that the Secretary regularly attempted to manipulate Elizabeth however it would be inaccurate to assume that all of Cecil’s personal agendas were fruitful, Elizabeth could make her own mind up and often did so. Although Cecil was a prominent figure during this time, Elizabeth was still the person who ruled the country and had her own ideas on how to run the country. Elizabeth was firmly in control of major policies and on many occasions obstinately ignored the Councils advice.The Council conscient iously carried out the Queens wishes even when it had advised otherwise. There is general agreement that, until its decline in the 1590s central government under Elizabeth was successful and that the Queen provided firm direction. According to Neale Parliament was another aspect that had influence over decision making in Elizabeth government He argues that the power of the House of Commons increased throughout Elizabeth’s reign.The number of conflicts Elizabeth had with individual MPs and the problems which the Stuarts experienced with Parliament are evidence for this. These developments were brought by the â€Å"Puritan Choir â€Å"who deliberately planned confrontations to force the issue of parliamentary privilege versus the royal prerogative. It is therefore necessary to investigate not only to what extent Cecil was involved in the decision making process but also the influence of the Parliament on Elizabeth and ultimately the decisions that were taken through this time of how many were Elizabeth’s own ideas.

Shakespeares Hamlet - A Clear Revenge Tragedy Essay

Hamlet – a Revenge Tragedy? Most of the revenge-tragic aspect of the Shakespearean play Hamlet is explicitly presented. Some is disguised as straight tragedy, for example, Ophelia’s insanity and death; and some is implied tragedy found in the history of verbal allusions. In the essay â€Å"An Explication of the Player’s Speech,† Harry Levin discusses the implied tragic dimension of the â€Å"Hecuba† soliloquy: But the lyrical note can prevail no more than the epical, since Shakespeare’s form is basically tragic; and here his classical model is indicated when Polonius, introducing the Players, warns: â€Å"Seneca cannot be too heavy.† From â€Å"English Seneca read by candlelight,† according to Thomas Nashe, playwrights were†¦show more content†¦Yet Hamlet hardly recognizes Horatio at first, and speaks as if he himself lived at Elsinore (I refer to his bitter jest, ‘We’ll teach you to drink deep ere you depart’). Who would dream that Hamlet had himself just come from Wittenberg, if it were not for the previous words about his going back there? How can this be explained on the usual view? Only, I presume, by supposing that Hamlet is so sunk in melancholy that he really does almost ‘forget himself’ and forgets everything else, so that he actually is in doubt who Horatio is. (370) The ghost says that King Hamlet was murdered by Claudius, who had a relationship with Gertrude prior to the murder. Hamlet swears to carry out vengeance. Gunnar Boklund in â€Å"Judgment in Hamlet† sees the ghost as the character who introduces revenge into the play: An equally familiar and somewhat more plausible argument may also be adduced to explain the significance of the Ghost: Shakespeare, like his fellow dramatists, did not personally regard blood-revenge as justified but followed the so-called revenge convention of the Elizabethan theatre. 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The Significance of Masks in Art Speiglemans Maus

Masks have held countless uses and meanings throughout history. Masks have been used in plays, like those of Shakespeare, traditional dances, social gatherings, even as a form of casual or corporal punishment. Although masks have several different uses in different cultural situations, the meaning of the masks is generally the same. Masks are used to conceal an appearance and assume the identity of another. Metaphorically, masks can be used to hide feelings, to protect oneself, and to block out the outside world. Many of these examples are shown in Art Speigelman s Maus. During Maus, the illustration of masks is made very obvious. The features are pronounced and it is very clear that the characters are wearing masks. The illustration of†¦show more content†¦The media is portrayed as a money-hungry, pillaging, and unruly group of people. The members of the media put on masks to pretend they re interested, and pretend they care. Unlike Art for the most part, the masks are something they have no choice in wearing; they need them to do their jobs properly. Art feels as though he is trapped behind a mask involuntarily at times although too. The mask he wears during the second version of Maus is representational to the feelings he has of being trapped beneath the success of the first volume, the death of his father, his self-consciousness, and the Holocaust as a whole(Speigelman 41-46). He is being held prisoner to these thoughts, and the mask is a constant symbolic reminder of them to him. The mouse mask is a way to show that after the effects of all these elements, he does not truly feel like himself. The mask is also a reminder to his character in the book, which is provokes the guilt of his success, the guilt he feels of the Holocaust, and the guilt he feels of ridiculing his father s story. Art s psychiatrist, Pavel, is somewhat a prisoner of a mask of his own. Pavel s mask represents of his feelings of being embedded in his own past. Pavel does anything in his power to try to forget, and some could say pardon, the occurrence of the Holocaust in his life. He became a psychiatrist, to try and help people better understand and cope with problems of their own. He also fosters