01.09.23

Aufgaben

Research the author Edgar Allan Poe and the genre “Gothic Fiction”. Note down your most important findings in bullet points.

Born January 19th, 1809
Died October 7th, 1849
he had a difficult childhood
- his dad David abandoned the family when he was a baby
- his mother Eliza died when he was almost 3 years old
- tensions arising between him and his foster father
social class as a teenager: elite upper-class
published his first book of poetry „Tamerlane and Other Poems” (also known as „A Bostonian”) at the age of 17
went to army successfully
smart person
Poe (27 yo) and Virginia (13 yo) got married
created stories of true horror and mystery
cause of death as „phrenitis” (inflammation of the brain)
- was commonly used when the true cause of death was unknown
- even his death created a mystery because the true manner of his death is unknown (over 26 published theories)
Poe wrote “The Tell-Tale Heart,” the “Masque of the Red Death,” “The Black Cat,” “The Pit and the Pendulum,” “The Gold Bug,” “The Fall of the House of Usher,” “The Murders in the Rue Morgue,” and more.
He wrote detective stories (particularly „The Muders in the Rue Morgue” is important because it was the first modern detective story), science fiction, deep and intuitive horror (the genre that makes him famous today)
He often wrote stories where the true monster was the capacity for evil that is inside each person, and what happens when that evil is acted upon.

environment of fear, madness and obsession
atmosphere is claustrophobic
theme
- mental state of the characters is a central theme, with a focus on mental instability
- the theme of the present is haunted by the past
setting
- castles
- religious buildings
- ruins
the threat of supernatural events
- ghosts
- monsters
common plot elements
- vengeful persecution
- imprisonment
- murder