Poe's Philosophy

Paper Summary:

The paper discusses Poe's beliefs regarding 'genius' and society. The paper compares Poe's treatment of death with that of Herman Melville and Nathaniel Hawthorne. The paper explores Poe's philosophy of life; what he felt about the lack of intelligence that he saw in the aristocracy of his time and in the common masses. The paper analyzes Poe's tales and demonstrates how he was clearly troubled by society and the evils that he saw in it. The paper discusses Darwinism and natural law that Poe would likely have believed in.

Outline:
Introduction
Intellectual Aristocraticism
Genius, Pseudo-genius, and the Common-Sensical/the Masses
Noble Aesthetics
Poe's Tales
Friedrich Nietzsche
Conclusion - Natural Law

From the Paper:

"For Edgar Allan Poe, one obsession appeared to be death. It was likely an escape, and an answer to the questions that plagued him all of his life. He wrote about death as often being grotesque and painful. One example is his work "The Cask of Amontillado," where Fortunato is bricked up inside a wall in the cellar to die a slow and painful death from suffocation, starvation, or possibly both (Scary, 2002). While death is not the central focus of Poe's work that needs to be discussed throughout this paper it will be addressed briefly in this introduction because there are some tie-ins with society and Poe's opinions."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Branca, Patricia. 1980. Silent Sisterhood. Middle Class Women in the Victorian Home. London: Croom Helm Ltd.
• Carlson, Eric W, ed. 1996. A Companion to Poe Studies. Westport, Connecticut, London: Greenwood Press.
• Davidson, Edward H. 1976. Poe. Cambridge, Massachusetts, and London: Harvard UP.
• Ernst, W. & Harris, B., eds. 1999. Race, science, and medicine, 1700-1960. London: Routledge.
• George, J.M. 2000. Emotions and leadership: The role of emotional intelligence. Human Relations, 53(8), 1027-1055.

More papers on Poe's Philosophy:

• Analytical Essay # 139737 : "Edgar Allan Poe's "Philosophy of Composition"
• Analytical Essay # 26536 : "Edgar Allan Poe"
• Analytical Essay # 2257 : "Poe and the Hunger for the Fatal Demon of Fear"

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