Analysis of Allen Poe’s Death Theme in His Short Stories

Abstract

Edgar Allen Poe is a famous American author of the 19 th century. From his first short story Metzengerstein in 1832 to his death in 1849, he had written over 60 short stories, of which death is his constant focus. This paper, by studying his short stories comprehensively, explores the expression and reasons of death in his works. Death theme in the stories is the object of study, so this paper will study his short stories as a whole. Index Terms - Allen Poe, Death theme, Analysis of reasons 1. Allen Poe's Thanatopsis 1.1 Complicated Thanatopsis Allen Poe has pointed out in The Poetic Principle that Melancholy is thus the most legitimate of all the poetical tones. Of all the melancholy tones, death is the most melancholy, and death of beauties is the tightest combination of death and beauty. Therefore, some have regarded this as the sole starting point to interpret his stories, and believe that his huge descriptions of death are for the sake of such beauty; some believe that he's an author who's sickly obsessed with death. Allen Poe has denied in the preface of Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque published in the year 1840 that cannot be fairly inferred—at all events it is not truly inferred—that have for this species of writing, any inordinate, or indeed any peculiar taste or prepossession. Death in Allen Poe's short stories is not just a reveal of death's terror and therefore is much complicated. Readers can find traces of traditional gothic novels: gloomy old castles, strange plots, fantastic death. Allen Poe has admitted that such characters are more attracting to readers, so he's willing to retell human being's constant fear toward death, portray those who're caught in the maelstrom of fate and describe their struggles and pains when they face death. Allen Poe had joked in How to Write a Blackwood Article that There was 'The Dead Alive', a capital thing!—the record of a gentleman's sensations when entombed before the breath was out of his body—full of tastes, terror, sentiment, m etaphysics, and erudition. You would have sworn that the writer had been born and brought up in a coffin. 1.2 Changing Thanatopsis Greatly influenced by European gothic literature, death in Allen Poe's early stories is to create a horrific atmosphere. With the advent of time, death in his works is more about personal thinking and comprehension, which reveals his uniqueness. In his work Morella published in 1835, Allen Poe has made initial analysis of what human's nature is through characters in the play. In The Premature Burial published in 1841, the leading role had taken different actions from those in other works, and sentences I went abroad. took vigorous exercise. breathed the free air of Heaven. thought upon other subjects than Death. reveal that the leading role is not afraid of death and is prepared to embrace life. This work is a clear signal which can also be found in previous works, take The Pit and the Pendulum and A Descent into the Maelstrom for example; in the two works those who're brilliant and courageous are rewarded to regain survival rights. In his later writing periods, there's another noteworthy works, namely Mesmeric Revelation published in 1844, in which he regards imaginary hypnosis experiments as basis for an assumption. The assumption is that human have two forms in different periods, which is similar to caterpillar and butterfly, and death is just a change of forms, so our experiences throughout our life are preparations for glorious, infinite and immortal future. This work is not like a novel, but like a scientific experiment. In this short novel, he explores truth that goes beyond life and sense and considers things which may still be found after death. 2. Allen Poe's Expression of his Thanatopsis in Novels Descriptions of death are very common in Allen Poe's short stories, and vary in different works. Characters can be divided into two groups according to their final fates: those who're dying and those who go beyond death. This chapter mainly discusses the first group. Characters in the first group have beautiful life at the very beginning, but draw near death gradually and cannot escape from death even though they have made painful protest. Based on different forms of death, their death can be divided into murder, suicide and disease.