Great Short Works of Edgar Allan Poe: Poems Tales Criticism – America's Master of the Macabre: Classic Gothic Horror and Satire (Perennial Classics)

Great Short Works of Edgar Allan Poe: Poems Tales Criticism – America's Master of the Macabre: Classic Gothic Horror and Satire (Perennial Classics)

The classic poems and spine-tingling stories of an American gothic master collected in one volume Of all the American writers, Edgar Allan Poe staked out perhaps the most unique and vivid reputation as a master of the macabre. Even today, in the age of horror movies and high-tech haunted houses, Poe remains the first choice of entertainment for many who want a spine-chilling thrill. Born in Boston in 1809, and dead at the age of forty, Poe wrote across several fields during his life and was noted for his poetry and short stories as well as his criticism. The best of each of these is collected here, including the classic poem “The Raven,” and beloved stories like “The Tell-Tale Heart.” In his introduction to this volume, G. R. Thompson argues that Poe was a great satirist and comedic craftsman, as well as a formidable Gothic writer. “All of Poe’s fiction,” Thompson writes, “and the poems as well, can be seen as one coherent piece—as the work of one of the greatest ironists of world literature.” Great Short Works of Edgar Allen Poe includes some of these classics: The Raven - Annabel Lee - The Murders in the Rue Morgue - The Masque of the Red Death - The Pit and the Pendulum - The Tell-Tale Heart - The Purloined Letter - The Imp of the Perverse The classic poems and spine-tingling stories of a Gothic American master collected in one volume. Of all the American masters, Edgar Allan Poe staked out perhaps the most unique and vivid reputation, as a master of the macabre. Even today, in the age of horror movies and high-tech haunted houses, Poe is the first choice of entertainment for many who want a spine-chilling thrill. Born in Boston in 1809, and dead at the age of 40, Poe wrote across several fields during his life, noted for his poetry and short stories as well as his criticism. The best of each of these is collected here, including the classic poem The Raven , and timeless stories like The Tell-Tale Heart . In his introduction to this volume, G. R. Thompson argues that Poe was a great satirist and comedic craftsman, as well as a formidable Gothic writer. "All of Poe's fiction," Thompson writes, "and the poems as well, can be seen as one coherent piece—as the work of one of the greatest ironists of world literature." Edgar Allan Poe (1809–49) reigned unrivaled in his mastery of mystery during his lifetime and is now widely held to be a central figure of Romanticism and gothic horror in American literature. Born in Boston, Massachusetts, he was orphaned at age three, was expelled from West Point for gambling, and later became a well-regarded literary critic and editor. "The Raven," published in 1845, made Poe famous. He died in 1849 under what remain mysterious circumstances and is buried in Baltimore, Maryland. Great Short Works of Edgar Allan Poe Poems Tales Criticism By Poe, Edgar Allan Perennial ISBN: 0060727853 Chapter One Poems DREAMS Oh! that my young life were a lasting dream! My spirit not awak'ning till the beam Of an Eternity should bring the morrow: Yes! tho' that long dream were of hopeless sorrow, 'Twere better than the dull reality Of waking life to him whose heart shall be, And bath been ever, on the chilly earth, A chaos of deep passion from his birth! But should it be-that dream eternally Continuing-as dreams have been to me In my young boyhood--should it thus be given, 'Twere folly still to hope for higher Heaven! For I have revell'd, when the sun was bright In the summer sky; in dreamy fields of light, And left unbeedingly my very heart In climes of mine imagining--apart From mine own home, with beings that have been Of mine own thought--wbat more could I have seen? 'Twas once and only once and the wild hour From my remembrance shall not pass-some power Or spell had bound me-'twas the chilly wind Came o'er me in the night and left behind Its image on my spirit, or the moon Shone on my slumbers in her lofty noon Too coldly-or the stars-howe'er it was That dream was as that night wind-let it pass. I have been bappy--tbo' but in a dream. I have been happy--and I love the theme -- Dreams! in their vivid colouring of life- As in that fleeting, shadowy, misty strife Of semblance with reality which brings To the delirious eye more lovely things Of Paradise and Love-and all our own! Than young Hope in his sunniest hour hath known. [1827, 1828] SPIRITS OF THE DEAD I Thy soul shall find itself alone 'Mid dark thoughts of the gray tomb-stone-- Not one, of all the crowd, to pry Into thine hour of secrecy: II Be silent in that solitude, Which is not loneliness-for then The spirits of the dead who stood In life before thee are -again In death around thee-and their will Shall overshadow thee: be still. III The night-tho' clear--shall frown And the stars shall look not down, From their high thrones in the heaven, With light like Hope to mortals given But their red orbs, without beam, To thy weariness shall seem As a burning and a fever Which would