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The Poetic Principle
Suspense, fear and the supernatural provide the center for this tale by the master prose writer.
30 pages, Paperback
First published August 8, 2000
6 people are currently reading
127 people want to read
About the author
Edgar Allan Poe
9,858 books28.8k followersThe name Poe brings to mind images of murderers and madmen, premature burials, and mysterious women who return from the dead. His works have been in print since 1827 and include such literary classics as The Tell-Tale Heart, The Raven, and The Fall of the House of Usher. This versatile writer’s oeuvre includes short stories, poetry, a novel, a textbook, a book of scientific theory, and hundreds of essays and book reviews. He is widely acknowledged as the inventor of the modern detective story and an innovator in the science fiction genre, but he made his living as America’s first great literary critic and theoretician. Poe’s reputation today rests primarily on his tales of terror as well as on his haunting lyric poetry.
Just as the bizarre characters in Poe’s stories have captured the public imagination so too has Poe himself. He is seen as a morbid, mysterious figure lurking in the shadows of moonlit cemeteries or crumbling castles. This is the Poe of legend. But much of what we know about Poe is wrong, the product of a biography written by one of his enemies in an attempt to defame the author’s name.
The real Poe was born to traveling actors in Boston on January 19, 1809. Edgar was the second of three children. His other brother William Henry Leonard Poe would also become a poet before his early death, and Poe’s sister Rosalie Poe would grow up to teach penmanship at a Richmond girls’ school. Within three years of Poe’s birth both of his parents had died, and he was taken in by the wealthy tobacco merchant John Allan and his wife Frances Valentine Allan in Richmond, Virginia while Poe’s siblings went to live with other families. Mr. Allan would rear Poe to be a businessman and a Virginia gentleman, but Poe had dreams of being a writer in emulation of his childhood hero the British poet Lord Byron. Early poetic verses found written in a young Poe’s handwriting on the backs of Allan’s ledger sheets reveal how little interest Poe had in the tobacco business.
For more information, please see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edgar_al...
Just as the bizarre characters in Poe’s stories have captured the public imagination so too has Poe himself. He is seen as a morbid, mysterious figure lurking in the shadows of moonlit cemeteries or crumbling castles. This is the Poe of legend. But much of what we know about Poe is wrong, the product of a biography written by one of his enemies in an attempt to defame the author’s name.
The real Poe was born to traveling actors in Boston on January 19, 1809. Edgar was the second of three children. His other brother William Henry Leonard Poe would also become a poet before his early death, and Poe’s sister Rosalie Poe would grow up to teach penmanship at a Richmond girls’ school. Within three years of Poe’s birth both of his parents had died, and he was taken in by the wealthy tobacco merchant John Allan and his wife Frances Valentine Allan in Richmond, Virginia while Poe’s siblings went to live with other families. Mr. Allan would rear Poe to be a businessman and a Virginia gentleman, but Poe had dreams of being a writer in emulation of his childhood hero the British poet Lord Byron. Early poetic verses found written in a young Poe’s handwriting on the backs of Allan’s ledger sheets reveal how little interest Poe had in the tobacco business.
For more information, please see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edgar_al...
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
February 15, 2014
Unlike Poe's chilling short stories and poems, his essays are very deductive and analytical. In his essay ' The Poetic Principle', Poe argues that although art should be created for art's sake and that the ultimate goal for art is aesthetic since it creates beauty, there are some criteria that should be met in order for the poem to maintain its artistic value. First, a poem should be short enough to be experienced_ and lived_ in one sitting. Second, a poem's job isn't to teach people how to live their lives. While teaching people the morals that they must live by, writers and poets fall in the trap of using an extremely simple -yet unemotional - language. Poetry, Poe believes, is exactly the opposite of didactic writing. It's an artistic, spiritual and emotional journey that take readers into the most forbidden or forgotten psychological realms. Just like what he said in his essay ' Philosophy of Composition' about beauty being the elevation of the soul and truth being but a mere satisfaction of the intellect, this idea is echoed once again in his essay ' The Poetic Principle'.
December 9, 2018
I’m not the biggest fan of essays, but in my quest to read all of Poe I have found myself reading some. I’m sure some will enjoy The Poetic Principle, but for me it simply worked to show that not even Poe can make essays interesting.
I think, through reading so many journal articles in academia, essays for pleasure are never going to be my thing.
I think, through reading so many journal articles in academia, essays for pleasure are never going to be my thing.
June 26, 2024
2 STARS
I had been hoping for something a little different from this essay and it is not that helpful for my thesis. If I'm completely honest, this felt more like a 8-year-old being excited and showing off all their favorite poems. I know there was some talk in between about how poetry should be written for beauty's sake but I was distracted by the plethora of poems that were included in full and not really talked about all that much.
Unsure if I will use this in my BA, probably only in passing reference.
I had been hoping for something a little different from this essay and it is not that helpful for my thesis. If I'm completely honest, this felt more like a 8-year-old being excited and showing off all their favorite poems. I know there was some talk in between about how poetry should be written for beauty's sake but I was distracted by the plethora of poems that were included in full and not really talked about all that much.
Unsure if I will use this in my BA, probably only in passing reference.
February 25, 2013
The Poetic Principle is an essay written by Edgar Allan Poe. This text is very different from Poe's usual style, steering away from the gothic and going into the analytical. In this essay, Poe argues that poems should been written for beauty's sake. And he rails against the longer poems.
Being very different from Poe's usual works, it was not as exciting or creepy. However, it was a nice chance to see another side to Poe.
Being very different from Poe's usual works, it was not as exciting or creepy. However, it was a nice chance to see another side to Poe.
October 16, 2022
Đồng tính với Poe là một tác phẩm nghệ thuật thì mục đích tối cao của nó chỉ là cái đẹp. Bất kỳ tác phẩm nào sa vào giáo huấn thì lối đi của nó chỉ còn về quên lãng.
December 1, 2020
This is a very well written essay that states Poe's beliefs in the essence of what Poetry is and should be. He follows through by giving beautiful expert examples to showcase the meaning of his thoughts on what makes poetry truly "Poetry".
"Essay by Poe that first appeared in the December 1848 issue of the Southern Literary Messenger. The essay closely resembles, and is based on, Poe's lecture on the same topic, first delivered on December 20, 1848, in Providence, Rhode Island. Poe uses excerpts from 11 poems by such writers as William Cullen Bryant, George Gordon Lord Byron, Thomas Hood, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Percy Bysshe Shelley, and Alfred Lord Tennyson to provide examples to support his ideas. This essay combines with The Rationale of Verse to form the foundation of Poe's critical theory. Poe suggests that true poetry results from a combination of 'the simple elements which induce in the Poet himself the true poetical effect.' Despite his own sometimes lengthy poems, Poe states that 'A long poem does not exist.' Instead, the epic and other long poems are composed of 'a series of minor poems.' Some critics have seen this as Poe's own explanation for the unpopularity of Al Aaraaf and his failure to finish other long works. In the essay he also rejects didacticism and takes a stand against using poetry to convey moral principles or to teach. He argues that the sole reason for a poem's existence should be its aesthetic essence, and the poet should aim to create 'this poem which is a poem and nothing more-this poem written solely for 'the poem's sake.' He writes that the poet should be a creator and perfector of beauty, not the manufacturer of a tool that has a purpose to teach or preach. Poe suggests that poets may find truth in the simple elements that surround them, such as the 'volutes of the flower . . . and the clustering of low shrubberies . . . the waving of the grain-fields . . . the blue distance of the mountains . . . the grouping of the clouds . . . the twinkling of half-hidden brooks . . . the gleaming of silver rivers . . . the repose of sequestered lakes . . . the star-mirroring depths of lonely wells.' [Boy! is this guy a poet or what?] The poet may also perceive truth in 'all noble thoughts-in all unworldly motives,' as well as in a young woman's beauty and love." [let's not forget Poe's favorite a beautiful dying young woman]. Sova, Dawn B. (2001). Edgar Allan Poe, A to Z : the essential reference to his life and work. New York: Checkmark Books.(196) When Poe wrote critical reviews of other poets he often reiterated these elements in pointing out the defects in their work.
"Essay by Poe that first appeared in the December 1848 issue of the Southern Literary Messenger. The essay closely resembles, and is based on, Poe's lecture on the same topic, first delivered on December 20, 1848, in Providence, Rhode Island. Poe uses excerpts from 11 poems by such writers as William Cullen Bryant, George Gordon Lord Byron, Thomas Hood, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Percy Bysshe Shelley, and Alfred Lord Tennyson to provide examples to support his ideas. This essay combines with The Rationale of Verse to form the foundation of Poe's critical theory. Poe suggests that true poetry results from a combination of 'the simple elements which induce in the Poet himself the true poetical effect.' Despite his own sometimes lengthy poems, Poe states that 'A long poem does not exist.' Instead, the epic and other long poems are composed of 'a series of minor poems.' Some critics have seen this as Poe's own explanation for the unpopularity of Al Aaraaf and his failure to finish other long works. In the essay he also rejects didacticism and takes a stand against using poetry to convey moral principles or to teach. He argues that the sole reason for a poem's existence should be its aesthetic essence, and the poet should aim to create 'this poem which is a poem and nothing more-this poem written solely for 'the poem's sake.' He writes that the poet should be a creator and perfector of beauty, not the manufacturer of a tool that has a purpose to teach or preach. Poe suggests that poets may find truth in the simple elements that surround them, such as the 'volutes of the flower . . . and the clustering of low shrubberies . . . the waving of the grain-fields . . . the blue distance of the mountains . . . the grouping of the clouds . . . the twinkling of half-hidden brooks . . . the gleaming of silver rivers . . . the repose of sequestered lakes . . . the star-mirroring depths of lonely wells.' [Boy! is this guy a poet or what?] The poet may also perceive truth in 'all noble thoughts-in all unworldly motives,' as well as in a young woman's beauty and love." [let's not forget Poe's favorite a beautiful dying young woman]. Sova, Dawn B. (2001). Edgar Allan Poe, A to Z : the essential reference to his life and work. New York: Checkmark Books.(196) When Poe wrote critical reviews of other poets he often reiterated these elements in pointing out the defects in their work.
August 14, 2013
“The fact is, that perseverance is one thing and genius quite another”
I’ve been reading a lot of work regarding the nature of poetry lately. I agree with Poe’s statements in this work for the most part. One of the most interesting parts is TRUTH. There have been innumerable times where the concept of truth has been mentioned while explaining the poetic art. Poe states to write a poem for the poem’s sake rather than demonstrating an impeccable truth. I definitely agree: truth—as I’ve mentioned in other reviews on the nature of poetry—is irrelevant and does not define the worth of a poem.
I’ve been reading a lot of work regarding the nature of poetry lately. I agree with Poe’s statements in this work for the most part. One of the most interesting parts is TRUTH. There have been innumerable times where the concept of truth has been mentioned while explaining the poetic art. Poe states to write a poem for the poem’s sake rather than demonstrating an impeccable truth. I definitely agree: truth—as I’ve mentioned in other reviews on the nature of poetry—is irrelevant and does not define the worth of a poem.
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October 13, 2021O objetivo desse curto ensaio e manifesto pessoal é sugerir o princípio poético como aspiração à Beleza transcendental cuja manifestação no plano humano é uma elevação do entusiasmo da alma - um fenômeno diferente da paixão ou da Verdade, considerada como satisfação da Razão.
Considerado o princípio poético dessa forma, Poe começa estimando o custo/benefício do tamanho dos poemas. O entusiasmo, decaindo com o tempo, atua de forma pendular nos grandes poemas. Homero nomeadamente criou seus épicos a partir da compilação de poemas menores. Milton foi um mestre do uso pendular do entusiasmo. De resto, Poe já decreta a morte dos épicos e poemas didáticos.
Depois Poe comenta poemas particulares e de como o ritmo é fundamental em ativar esse Entusiamo da alma. Cito dois que me tocaram especialmente. O comum entre eles é que são todos norte americanos. O primeiro é Longfellow com o proêmio de "Waif" cujo metro é louvado por sua imaginação e delicadeza de expressão, bem como naturalidade (duramente consquistada) do estilo.
The day is done, and the darkness
Falls from the wings of Night,
As a feather is wafted downward
From an eagle in his flight.
I see the lights of the village
Gleam through the rain and the mist,
And a feeling of sadness comes o'er me
That my soul cannot resist:
A feeling of sadness and longing,
That is not akin to pain,
And resembles sorrow only
As the mist resembles the rain.
Come, read to me some poem,
Some simple and heartfelt lay,
That shall soothe this restless feeling,
And banish the thoughts of day.
Not from the grand old masters,
Not from the bards sublime,
Whose distant footsteps echo
Through the corridors of Time.
For, like strains of martial music,
Their mighty thoughts suggest
Life's endless toil and endeavor;
And to-night I long for rest.
Read from some humbler poet,
Whose songs gushed from his heart,
As showers from the clouds of summer,
Or tears from the eyelids start;
Who, through long days of labor,
And nights devoid of ease,
Still heard in his soul the music
Of wonderful melodies.
Such songs have power to quiet
The restless pulse of care,
And come like the benediction
That follows after prayer.
Then read from the treasured volume
The poem of thy choice,
And lend to the rhyme of the poet
The beauty of thy voice.
And the night shall be filled with music,
And the cares, that infest the day,
Shall fold their tents, like the Arabs,
And as silently steal away.
Outro poema louvado pelo seu fluir rítmico é "June" de WilliamCullen Bryant. Aqui Poe nota também a melodia e melancolia do estilo de Bryant.
There, through the long, long summer hours,
The golden light should lie,
And thick young herbs and groups of flowers
Stand in their beauty by.
The oriole should build and tell
His love-tale, close beside my cell;
The idle butterfly
Should rest him there, and there be heard
The housewife-bee and humming bird.
And what if cheerful shouts at noon,
Come, from the village sent,
Or songs of maids, beneath the moon,
With fairy laughter blent?
And what if, in the evening light,
Betrothed lovers walk in sight
Of my low monument?
I would the lovely scene around
Might know no sadder sight nor sound.
I know, I know I should not see
The season's glorious show,
Nor would its brightness shine for me;
Nor its wild music flow;
But if, around my place of sleep,
The friends I love should come to weep,
They might not haste to go.
Soft airs and song, and the light and bloom,
Should keep them lingering by my tomb.
These to their soften'd hearts should bear
The thoughts of what has been,
And speak of one who cannot share
The gladness of the scene;
Whose part in all the pomp that fills
The circuit of the summer hills,
Is- that his grave is green;
And deeply would their hearts rejoice
To hear again his living voice.
Notando uma espécie de melancolia em comum da própria seleção, uma "pleasurable sadness", Poe cita:
A feeling of sadness and longing
That is not akin to pain,
And resembles sorrow only
As the mist resembles the rain.
Como se um tipo de tristeza fosse conectada inseparavelmente com as manifestações mais altas da Beleza verdadeira.
Considerado o princípio poético dessa forma, Poe começa estimando o custo/benefício do tamanho dos poemas. O entusiasmo, decaindo com o tempo, atua de forma pendular nos grandes poemas. Homero nomeadamente criou seus épicos a partir da compilação de poemas menores. Milton foi um mestre do uso pendular do entusiasmo. De resto, Poe já decreta a morte dos épicos e poemas didáticos.
"Even the Quarterlies have not instructed us to be so impressed by it. As yet, they have not insisted on our estimating Lamartine by the cubic foot, or Pollock by the pound- but what else are we to infer from their continual prating about "sustained effort"? If, by "sustained effort," any little gentleman has accomplished an epic, let us frankly commend him for the effort- if this indeed be a thing commendable- but let us forbear praising the epic on the effort's account. It is to be hoped that common sense, in the time to come, will prefer deciding upon a work of Art rather by the impression it makes- by the effect it produces- than by the time it took to impress the effect, or by the amount of "sustained effort" which had been found necessary in effecting the impression. The fact is, that perseverance is one thing and genius quite another- nor can all the Quarterlies in Christendom confound them."
Depois Poe comenta poemas particulares e de como o ritmo é fundamental em ativar esse Entusiamo da alma. Cito dois que me tocaram especialmente. O comum entre eles é que são todos norte americanos. O primeiro é Longfellow com o proêmio de "Waif" cujo metro é louvado por sua imaginação e delicadeza de expressão, bem como naturalidade (duramente consquistada) do estilo.
The day is done, and the darkness
Falls from the wings of Night,
As a feather is wafted downward
From an eagle in his flight.
I see the lights of the village
Gleam through the rain and the mist,
And a feeling of sadness comes o'er me
That my soul cannot resist:
A feeling of sadness and longing,
That is not akin to pain,
And resembles sorrow only
As the mist resembles the rain.
Come, read to me some poem,
Some simple and heartfelt lay,
That shall soothe this restless feeling,
And banish the thoughts of day.
Not from the grand old masters,
Not from the bards sublime,
Whose distant footsteps echo
Through the corridors of Time.
For, like strains of martial music,
Their mighty thoughts suggest
Life's endless toil and endeavor;
And to-night I long for rest.
Read from some humbler poet,
Whose songs gushed from his heart,
As showers from the clouds of summer,
Or tears from the eyelids start;
Who, through long days of labor,
And nights devoid of ease,
Still heard in his soul the music
Of wonderful melodies.
Such songs have power to quiet
The restless pulse of care,
And come like the benediction
That follows after prayer.
Then read from the treasured volume
The poem of thy choice,
And lend to the rhyme of the poet
The beauty of thy voice.
And the night shall be filled with music,
And the cares, that infest the day,
Shall fold their tents, like the Arabs,
And as silently steal away.
Outro poema louvado pelo seu fluir rítmico é "June" de WilliamCullen Bryant. Aqui Poe nota também a melodia e melancolia do estilo de Bryant.
There, through the long, long summer hours,
The golden light should lie,
And thick young herbs and groups of flowers
Stand in their beauty by.
The oriole should build and tell
His love-tale, close beside my cell;
The idle butterfly
Should rest him there, and there be heard
The housewife-bee and humming bird.
And what if cheerful shouts at noon,
Come, from the village sent,
Or songs of maids, beneath the moon,
With fairy laughter blent?
And what if, in the evening light,
Betrothed lovers walk in sight
Of my low monument?
I would the lovely scene around
Might know no sadder sight nor sound.
I know, I know I should not see
The season's glorious show,
Nor would its brightness shine for me;
Nor its wild music flow;
But if, around my place of sleep,
The friends I love should come to weep,
They might not haste to go.
Soft airs and song, and the light and bloom,
Should keep them lingering by my tomb.
These to their soften'd hearts should bear
The thoughts of what has been,
And speak of one who cannot share
The gladness of the scene;
Whose part in all the pomp that fills
The circuit of the summer hills,
Is- that his grave is green;
And deeply would their hearts rejoice
To hear again his living voice.
Notando uma espécie de melancolia em comum da própria seleção, uma "pleasurable sadness", Poe cita:
A feeling of sadness and longing
That is not akin to pain,
And resembles sorrow only
As the mist resembles the rain.
Como se um tipo de tristeza fosse conectada inseparavelmente com as manifestações mais altas da Beleza verdadeira.
July 31, 2018
I need scarcely observe that a poem deserves its title inasmuch as it excites, by elevating the soul.
Not gonna lie, I probably didn't give this as much attention as it deserved. I just couldn't give it the focus it needed. Poe was waxing on and on about what makes something a poem. He did have some interesting ideas to ponder on.
It is to be hoped that common sense, in the time to come, will prefer deciding upon a work of Art rather by the impression it makes - by the effect it produces - than by the time it took to impress the effect, or by the amount of "sustained effort" which had been found necessary in effecting the impression.
On that note, I was recently in the Dallas Art Museum and there were some less than appealing "works of art" - a long string of beads, an old breast guard or something that just looked like a weird waxy boob, junk mail all stacked and chopped - basically a bunch of, what I consider, junk. But, those weirdy art pieces and the couple of Monet paintings they had are what I remember the most from the museum. So according to Poe, they are what left an "impression" so does that make it "better" art? I don't know that I necessarily agree with that and I don't know if this is really the application Poe had in mind. Maybe he was just referring to poetry.
He does think that poems can be too short, that they short poems "never produces a profound or enduring effect." I would have to disagree with that assertion as some of the most memorably, influential poems I've read are quite short. (See Mary Oliver and Carol Pearson)
Poe thinks that too many people think Poetry should aspire to Truth. He asserts that poetry needs a freedom of language and efflorescence whereas Truth requires severity and simple language.
He believes in something called the "Poetic Sentiment" which can be seen in music, dance, sculpture and "very peculiarly, and with a wide field in the composition of the Landscape Garden." I rolled the biggest roll of eyes when I read that. I have read all of Poe's short stories now (this was one of my last two) and he is manically OBSESSED with landscape gardens. They pop up all over the place and are accompanied by dreadfully dull descriptions of their construction and appearance. Good lord, someone just give this man a freaking garden. I think it must have been his grandest dream to design one.
Instead of truth, poetry should be about the "contemplation of the Beautiful." That is what excites the soul. I do agree with this to some extent. I don't read poetry to learn facts, I read poetry because I want an uplifting, enriching experience.
Probably the best thing I got out of this was that Poe introduced me to a Longfellow poem I had never read before called "Waif." It's quite a lovely poem.
Poe quoted a LOT of poems in this essay. LONG poems. As usually, Poe just always takes his descriptions a bit too far. Don't try to read this essay when you want something short, it requires a more academic mindset. (One I wasn't particularly in.) Two stars because it's mostly boring with a couple interesting thoughts.
Not gonna lie, I probably didn't give this as much attention as it deserved. I just couldn't give it the focus it needed. Poe was waxing on and on about what makes something a poem. He did have some interesting ideas to ponder on.
It is to be hoped that common sense, in the time to come, will prefer deciding upon a work of Art rather by the impression it makes - by the effect it produces - than by the time it took to impress the effect, or by the amount of "sustained effort" which had been found necessary in effecting the impression.
On that note, I was recently in the Dallas Art Museum and there were some less than appealing "works of art" - a long string of beads, an old breast guard or something that just looked like a weird waxy boob, junk mail all stacked and chopped - basically a bunch of, what I consider, junk. But, those weirdy art pieces and the couple of Monet paintings they had are what I remember the most from the museum. So according to Poe, they are what left an "impression" so does that make it "better" art? I don't know that I necessarily agree with that and I don't know if this is really the application Poe had in mind. Maybe he was just referring to poetry.
He does think that poems can be too short, that they short poems "never produces a profound or enduring effect." I would have to disagree with that assertion as some of the most memorably, influential poems I've read are quite short. (See Mary Oliver and Carol Pearson)
Poe thinks that too many people think Poetry should aspire to Truth. He asserts that poetry needs a freedom of language and efflorescence whereas Truth requires severity and simple language.
He believes in something called the "Poetic Sentiment" which can be seen in music, dance, sculpture and "very peculiarly, and with a wide field in the composition of the Landscape Garden." I rolled the biggest roll of eyes when I read that. I have read all of Poe's short stories now (this was one of my last two) and he is manically OBSESSED with landscape gardens. They pop up all over the place and are accompanied by dreadfully dull descriptions of their construction and appearance. Good lord, someone just give this man a freaking garden. I think it must have been his grandest dream to design one.
Instead of truth, poetry should be about the "contemplation of the Beautiful." That is what excites the soul. I do agree with this to some extent. I don't read poetry to learn facts, I read poetry because I want an uplifting, enriching experience.
Probably the best thing I got out of this was that Poe introduced me to a Longfellow poem I had never read before called "Waif." It's quite a lovely poem.
Poe quoted a LOT of poems in this essay. LONG poems. As usually, Poe just always takes his descriptions a bit too far. Don't try to read this essay when you want something short, it requires a more academic mindset. (One I wasn't particularly in.) Two stars because it's mostly boring with a couple interesting thoughts.
January 6, 2024
Sometime during 1848, Poe went on to deliver a lecture which was later published under the heading "The Poetic Principle". In this essay, Poe directed a systematic criticism of the contemporary poets.
It is in this essay that he gave final form to his theory of ‘Pure Poetry’.
The following points provide a gist to the essay:
1) The poetic principle is stringently and merely the human desire for supernal beauty. The demonstration of this principle is always found in an heartening exhilaration of the soul, moderately autonomously of that passion which is the intoxication of the heart, and quite independently of that truth which is the source of gratification to the reason.
2) As for passion, its tendency is to vitiate the soul rather than to upraise it. The cleanest and realest of all poetical themes is not physical or sexual love but the divine love or the Uranian love.
3) And so far as truth is concerned, it may help us in discovering the harmony which is at the basis of poetry; but truth by itself is not indispensable to a poem. (By truth, of course, Poe means moral lessons, moral precepts, and moral exhortations).
Lastly, Poe tells us that the poet attains the true poetical effect through his interest in all the forms of beauty in the universe. The poet finds beauty in stars which shine in the sky, in the flowers which bloom in the woods, in the clouds which gather in the sky, in the twinkling of streams of water, in the gloss of the silvery rivers, in the repose of lakes, in the songs of birds, in the melody produced by the winds, in the voices which come from the forest, in the scent of the violet, in the perfume of the hyacinth, in all noble thoughts, in all self-sacrificing deeds.
And, obviously, the poet finds loveliness also in woman --- in the grace of her walk, in the brightness of her eye, in the melody of her voice, in her soft laughter, in her sigh, in the very rustling of her garments, and, above all, in the cleanliness and heavenly majesty of her love.
It is in this essay that he gave final form to his theory of ‘Pure Poetry’.
The following points provide a gist to the essay:
1) The poetic principle is stringently and merely the human desire for supernal beauty. The demonstration of this principle is always found in an heartening exhilaration of the soul, moderately autonomously of that passion which is the intoxication of the heart, and quite independently of that truth which is the source of gratification to the reason.
2) As for passion, its tendency is to vitiate the soul rather than to upraise it. The cleanest and realest of all poetical themes is not physical or sexual love but the divine love or the Uranian love.
3) And so far as truth is concerned, it may help us in discovering the harmony which is at the basis of poetry; but truth by itself is not indispensable to a poem. (By truth, of course, Poe means moral lessons, moral precepts, and moral exhortations).
Lastly, Poe tells us that the poet attains the true poetical effect through his interest in all the forms of beauty in the universe. The poet finds beauty in stars which shine in the sky, in the flowers which bloom in the woods, in the clouds which gather in the sky, in the twinkling of streams of water, in the gloss of the silvery rivers, in the repose of lakes, in the songs of birds, in the melody produced by the winds, in the voices which come from the forest, in the scent of the violet, in the perfume of the hyacinth, in all noble thoughts, in all self-sacrificing deeds.
And, obviously, the poet finds loveliness also in woman --- in the grace of her walk, in the brightness of her eye, in the melody of her voice, in her soft laughter, in her sigh, in the very rustling of her garments, and, above all, in the cleanliness and heavenly majesty of her love.
April 20, 2025
The Poetic Principle is a series of lectures given by Edgar Allen Poe. Text 01 was written before December 20, 1848
Text 02 was written before August 17, 1849 and Text 03 it appears was published September 1850 but this was after the author's death so it is controversial as to when it was actually written. It appears that only Griswold had access to the manuscript, Text 02 and thus his is the only official printing of an authorized version. This said and after careful consideration and after having spent the grater part of a year reading all of Poe's words I feel right is saying that of all of his writing he regarded his poetry more valuable than anything else. In reading over these lectures Poe says to write poetry one must be true to themselves. He goes on and give versus examples of poems that he admirers and the reasons why. This was I great way to end the final work of an Author whom I found so much of the time to be very boring and very hard to follow. But in reading Poe's poetry and after reading the series of lectures it's Abundantly clear ( at least to myself) that Poe really took his poetry seriously.
Text 02 was written before August 17, 1849 and Text 03 it appears was published September 1850 but this was after the author's death so it is controversial as to when it was actually written. It appears that only Griswold had access to the manuscript, Text 02 and thus his is the only official printing of an authorized version. This said and after careful consideration and after having spent the grater part of a year reading all of Poe's words I feel right is saying that of all of his writing he regarded his poetry more valuable than anything else. In reading over these lectures Poe says to write poetry one must be true to themselves. He goes on and give versus examples of poems that he admirers and the reasons why. This was I great way to end the final work of an Author whom I found so much of the time to be very boring and very hard to follow. But in reading Poe's poetry and after reading the series of lectures it's Abundantly clear ( at least to myself) that Poe really took his poetry seriously.
September 7, 2021
A lecture on poetry.
"Thus, although in a very cursory and imperfect manner, I have endeavored to convey to you my conception of the Poetic Principle. It has been my purpose to suggest that, while this principle itself is strictly and simply the Human Aspiration for Supernal Beauty, the manifestation of the Principle is always found in an elevating excitement of the soul, quite independent of that passion which is the intoxication of the Heart, or of that truth which is the satisfaction of the Reason."
I liked that he shared some of his favorite poetry.
"Thus, although in a very cursory and imperfect manner, I have endeavored to convey to you my conception of the Poetic Principle. It has been my purpose to suggest that, while this principle itself is strictly and simply the Human Aspiration for Supernal Beauty, the manifestation of the Principle is always found in an elevating excitement of the soul, quite independent of that passion which is the intoxication of the Heart, or of that truth which is the satisfaction of the Reason."
I liked that he shared some of his favorite poetry.
July 27, 2018
I hate Poe for being a slave apologist, but he gives decent writing advice.
January 26, 2022
A good introduction to poetry
December 11, 2024
It's great to be educate by a master poet!
December 19, 2025
It is obvious that Edgar Allan Poe had a passion for poetry.
May 1, 2020
I have arranged my takeaway thoughts into a haiku:
"Frame it how you like,
I know a raving fanboy
When I see one, son."
"Frame it how you like,
I know a raving fanboy
When I see one, son."
August 25, 2015
En este ensayo Poe subraya cómo los poemas de su época, o anterior a él (Byron, Shelley, etc.) logran "elevar el alma" y que ésta presencie lo "sublime hecho en versos". No hay que negar que Poe era un enamorado de la poesía y, como poeta, nos obsequió preciosos reflejos de su Alma. Un ensayo interesante con algunos poemas de otros autores. <3
January 1, 2015
*For college*
Interesting concept, the first thing I ever read about Edgar Allan Poe but still, very easy to read.
Interesting concept, the first thing I ever read about Edgar Allan Poe but still, very easy to read.
June 2, 2022
Essay about poetry. Interesting.
May 1, 2015
Read for College
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