I was wondering if there were any specific events that effected the writing style of Edgar Allan Poe.

-- Anonymous, January 21, 2004

Answers

A few people have told me that Edgar Alan Poe's worst fear was being buried alive. Which was a real fear in that time period. I think this effected his writing. In two stories taht I have read, The Tell Tale Heart and The Cask of Amontillado, there are accounts of the narrator burrying someone. In the Tell Tale Heart, the narrator burys the old man in his floor. In the Cask of Amontillado, Montresor burys Fortunado in a opening in the vaults. He builds a brick wall around him while Fortunado is intoxicated. I definately believe this fear affected his writing.

-- Anonymous, January 21, 2004

I think that since so many of Poe's writing is about death and murder, that the losses of loved ones in his life affected his writing greatly. For example, "The Raven" is about a man who lost Lenore, the woman he loved. "The Bells" is also about death. The first verse decribes sledge bells to represent childhood, the second verse describes wedding bells to represent happiness and marraige, but the third verse describes alarm bells, and the fourth and final verse describes funeral bells. And, murders are apparent in so many of his stories.

-- Anonymous, January 25, 2004