One would think Edgar Allan Poe would be the last to claim a moral for his tales or poems: he is well known in the annals of literary criticism for his dicta on the heresy of the didactic and other anti-moralistic strictures. But Poe comments that a moral undercurrent is not undesirable. In Ligeia Poe offers variations upon a theme, which cannot be called other than moral.
Best known for his poems and short fiction, Edgar Allan Poe, born in Boston, Jan. 19, 1809, died Oct. 7, 1849 in Baltimore, deserves more credit than any other writer for the transformation of the short story from anecdote to art. He virtually created the detective story and perfected the psychological thriller. He also produced some of the most influential literary criticism of his time important theoretical statements on poetry and the short story and has had a worldwide influence on literature.
Poe sought to establish himself as a force in literary journalism, but with only moderate success. He did succeed, however, in formulating influential literary theories and in demonstrating mastery of the forms he favored highly musical poems and short prose narratives. Both forms, he argued, should aim at a certain unique or single effect. His theory of short fiction is best exemplified in Ligeia; the tale Poe considered his finest.
There are those critics who maintain that Poe's Ligeia is the best of his short stories. If that is the case, then Ligeia should best illustrate Poe's own definition of the short story. Poe wrote this short story in 1838. Many critics have looked to Poe's relationship with women for understanding, combining biographical and feminist theory, while other critics use a variety of approaches, such as formalism and psychoanalysis, to develop their own understanding of what they believe to be an allegory. Ligeia, who seems so perfectly constructed, so delightfully real in force and power, is thus revealed as a construct of the narrator's mind.
This essay has the followings:
Total words: 1249
Total reference: 1
Total price: £ 19.95
Click here to Order this essay!
Get Professionally written Essays that are:
• Written According to your Exact Requirements
• 100% Original and Non-Plagiarized
• Written by Expert
UK Writers
• Delivered to you before your deadline
Amazingly Low Prices - £9.95/page
