The Poe-t.

Edgar Allen Poe is a staple in American Gothic writing, specifically in the masterful art of his poetry. After reading in class two excerpts and analyzing many more, you get to see the deeper meanings of Poe and his writings. Darkness. Despair. The poems of Edgar are a giant part of opening the eyes of his readers. He uses every single sense and more to get across the true themes of his writing. Loneliness is hell. Love is materialistic. Passion is savior to lost souls. Without Poe's poetry, American writing would be at a loss, and his readers would not have the outlook on life they have today.

Poe had loss in his family early on, and throughout life took all twelve rounds battering him into a metaphorical lump of loneliness. Many readers may attribute this to his "dark" sense of writing. Never does Poe set his stories in the dandelion fields or the children's playground. But this is not the reason. Poe used previous styles, long forgotten, and resurrected them to give readers a new type of story. No longer were the good guys beating the bad guys. No longer was the "happily ever after" tales of which we've learned to hate. It was a new sense of writing that did its job better than ever before; teach a lesson, get a metaphor across while keeping the reader entertained and on the edge of their seat.

This is Poe's greatest talent. The Raven, for example, classified as the greatest poem of all time, was a roller coaster ride that not only was the horror, but was also able to throw in the intricacies of a true story within every line. Poe was able to transform the face of poetry from happy meadows to dark castles, while keeping the influential principles within his story the same. That is the true beauty of the poet.