Edgar Allan Poe's Philosophy of Composition and 'The Raven'
Classified in English
Written at on English with a size of 2.97 KB.
Introduction
Generally, the essay introduces three of Poe's theories regarding literature. The author recounts this idealized process by which he says he wrote his most famous poem, 'The Raven' to illustrate the theory, which is in deliberate contrast to the 'spontaneous creation' explanation put forth, for example, by Coleridge as an explanation for his poem Kubla Khan. Poe's explanation of the process of writing is so rigidly logical, however, that some have suggested the essay was meant as a satire or hoax.
Poe's Philosophy of Composition
The three central elements of Poe's philosophy of composition are:
- Length: Poe believed that all literary works should be short. 'There is', he writes, 'a distinct limit... to all works of literary art - the