i think he isn't as great as people say
2007-08-03 08:39:36 · 15 answers · asked by V 4 in Arts & Humanities ➔ Poetry
His poems are depressing and dark, but that doesn't mean that I don't like dark poems, his aren't so good. The only poem of his which is well known is the Raven, and none else. I bought a book of poetry which had his poems and short stories, but i didn't like it much. So your not alone. I'm not a big fan of his poetry either.
2007-08-03 08:44:57 · answer #1 · answered by nashpaty 3 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Well, I like Poe. I started reading his short stories years ago, in French first, in Charles Baudelaire's translations (beautiful, even if not always faithful) and then, when I learned English, I read them in the original, and loved them. What don't you like about Poe? He was and is greatly admired in France, by the surrealists especially, and even before that, the French poet Stéphane Mallarmé wrote a sonnet on his tomb. I don't think it is as beautiful in the translation though, but there you go:
The Tomb of Edgar Allan Poe
Such as at last eternity transforms into Himself,
The Poet rouses with two-edged naked sword,
His century terrified at having ignored
Death triumphant in so strange a voice!
They, like a spasm of the Hydra, hearing the angel
Once grant a purer sense to the words of the tribe,
Loudly proclaimed it a magic potion, imbibed
From some tidal brew black, and dishonourable.
From soil, and hostile cloud, O grief,
If our imagination can’t carve a bas-relief
With which to deck Poe’s dazzling sepulchre,
Calm block fallen here from some dark disaster,
Let your granite at least mark a boundary forever
To dark flights of Blasphemy scattered in the future.
Translation A. S. Kline.
2007-08-03 15:52:28 · answer #2 · answered by Lady Annabella-VInylist 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Well, Vincent, it's all personal. What we like and what we don't. If you feel you have given EAP a real chance, and you don't like his stuff, and you give reasons for it, good for you. There are well known writers I don't care much for either. Ezra Pound, for example. I have no clue. It ticked me off I had to read his schizo-meanderings in a college English class. And Poe had his own problems. Yes, darker than night. Drugged for sure. Only the Lord knows if this guy could have written without his opium and, if he could, how well. I can totally accept your dislike of Poe. Just curious why. Wish you had said. A contrary pov can be really stimulating. Maybe post it in your comments to the best answer? I'll watch for it.
2007-08-03 20:32:07 · answer #3 · answered by margot 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Whether you like him or not is simply a matter of personal taste; there have been enough great writers with enough different styles that no one will like everything.
That said, I love his work, and I would certainly rank him as a great writer. While "The Raven" is his best known poem (with "Annabelle Lee" perhaps a quasi-close second), I would rank "The Bells" as my favorite Poe poem - and near the top of any top 10 list I might be foolish enough to attempt to one day compile. I gained my first real appreciation for it when I heard it read aloud, and it still hits me hard when I read it.
His stories, too, are to me profound; you can read something like "The Tell-Tale Heart" or "The Cask of Amontillado" as being dark and weird, but I think they touch on aspects of humanity that have always existed, even if they are not usually expressed as the characters express them in those stories.
2007-08-03 21:13:12 · answer #4 · answered by Jeff R 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Poe was a little demented, but very talented. I especially liked "Tell-Tale Heart".
2007-08-07 15:33:25 · answer #5 · answered by Dondi 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Poe was a dark writer if you don't like dark stuff he isn't for you
2007-08-03 21:21:33 · answer #6 · answered by madd_man_98_99 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
His poetry and short stories are too dark for me, but he was the first person to write "fiction" as we know it now. And I think, given his circumstances, he can be forgiven the darkness, too. He was an alcoholic loner who was in love with his cousin, who died before they could marry (yes, it was legal under the circumstances).
2007-08-03 15:46:24 · answer #7 · answered by cross-stitch kelly 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
I love The Raven, but I like his prose better than his poetry. His style suits me.
2007-08-03 18:33:50 · answer #8 · answered by piratewench 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
he as written very dark poems i happen to love his works. not only are they dark but they can also 'fire up' your imagination but not everyone can like him. his work can be too dark for some personalities. but know this, he had a dark sad life and knew nothing else.
2007-08-03 18:12:38 · answer #9 · answered by Sarah K 1 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Wow, I don't know what's wrong with you... I'm a big fan of his work. I guess it's too dark for other people's taste.
2007-08-03 19:18:57 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋