P.S. I commented on Rachel's blog
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
That Guy
There always has to be that one guy that has to support what no one else is. I suppose that that guy tonight is me. Everyone talks about how but they hate or dislike Poe but I thoroughly enjoy reading him as much if not more than the other authors we've read this semester. Let's look at Poe for a second. He was found face down in a gutter in need of medical assistance and he later died in a hospital in Baltimore. There is no clear answer to how he died or why. He married his 13 year old cousin, Virginia Clemm. She later died at a young age. Edgar Allan Poe wrote about what he knew. What he knew was pain, suffering, battles with insanity, and depression. This may be strange to us after reading Wordsworth and his description of the area around Tintern Abbey. The area around Tintern Abbey is what Wordsworth knew. We need to take these things into account when we read Poe. Would a biologist write a dissertation on History? The obvious answer is no and Poe writing about happy things would be the same as the aforementioned biologist. I think that we all have a little Poe in us, Poe being dark, demented, slightly insane as a result of things that happened to us in the past and is currently molding our future. So next time you have a bad day, think it would be a good day in the life of one Mr. Edgar Allan Poe.
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Good word. I can definitely level with that.
ReplyDeleteI can see what you're saying for sure. If nothing else, Poe's writing is a reminder of the fear and pain that comes with sin and the decrepit state of humanity. His stories can serve as an example of the fright produced without a hope beyond this life, just as Dr. Mitchell noted in regards to cultures without a belief in life after death. Agony and death are not viewed as a temporary, passing occurrence in these cultures, but rather as bitter end that everyone tries to avoid.
ReplyDeleteHow many times have you contemplated how you would like to die, especially before you came to know Christ? Do you remember discussing it as a child when you first heard of someone dying? "I would want to die in my sleep so I don't feel it," or, "I would rather be shot than drown. Drowning is scary." The fear of prolonged suffering Poe expresses is definitely ingrained within each person, and certainly stems from the sinful state we're in. This trapped feeling, whether under water or in a tomb, is merely a foreshadowing of the hopelessness that sin brings after life if Christ is not in us. Thank God for the hope we have to escape that pit.
I like this. Good thought Lane
ReplyDeleteSo true--he wrote what he knew. I just don't dig the mystery thing or the calculated narrator stuff. I appreciate it, but I don't care for it. And while it is weird, I guess I can't completely deny that I can identify with Poe. Thankfully we don't have to live in the same fear as we did before we knew Christ.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what you're saying here. I think Poe's writings were direct reflections of the pain in his own life. Maybe it's just me, and maybe I'm a little insane, but finding a piece of Poe in my mind isn't very hard. Most of us have been wronged or hurt. Most of us have felt emotional pain, and that pain can cause us to act in ways we wouldn't necessarily act otherwise. Poe makes us remember that there is a dark side to humanity. No matter how hard we try to ignore it, there is a want for revenge, for others to feel the pain we feel. Fortunately, most of us also have the ability to feel guilt and understand right from wrong.
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