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American Literature: Romanticism research assignment Student Research Submissions 2016 |
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Liz
Davis
12
Nov. 2016
Society’s
Strange Obsession with Poe
Introduction
The world seems to have a
fascination with Edgar Allan Poe. Many movies,
televisions shows, graphic novels, and music have been inspired by the great
American author. They use his stories, characters and even the image of
Poe himself in their mediums year after year. TV shows such as
The Simpsons and
The Following both pay homage to Poe,
but in different ways. Both shows still add fuel to the fire of society’s Poe
obsession. All of Poe’s work is in the public
domain, so it is easily accessible for
everyone to use, but it seems that people have become overly obsessed with his
work. Why does society have an obsession with Poe?
Was his life and legacy
truly so
interesting that society cannot go on without Poe fanatics in the world?
The
Raven
(2012)
I
decided to start my research on society’s Poe obsession by watching the movie
The Raven. The 2012 movie,
The Raven, follows the last days of
Poe’s life, which are somewhat unknown. The
movie states that he was found on a park bench repeating the name
“Reynolds” over and over, which meant little significance to him (Montague 158).
Director James McTeigue took Poe’s last days and decided to romanticize them
into almost a new Poe detective story.
Set
in Baltimore, Maryland in 1949, The
Raven, takes the audience back to the time of Poe. John Cusack plays the
role of Edgar Allan Poe, and there is no one more fitting for this role than
him. Critics argued against his acting quality
and personal appearance, but I could not think of anyone better for the part.
The opening scene sets the tone of the whole
film. It opens on Poe in a bar, too poor to pay for his alcohol, quoting
lines from his own work. The bartender
calls him “po’ Poe,” and Poe is kicked
out for becoming too violent. Poe was a known drunk, brawler and his work
was not known until he was long gone.
When
the investigation of the gruesome murders begins, Poe is called in as a
consultant because all the crime scenes resemble his stories. The audience
follows along with Poe, and he becomes the Byronic hero of the story. With the
help of golden boy Detective Fields, he is on the path to catch the Poe-obsessed
serial killer and retrieve his love,
Emily. Since Poe is the father of the detective story, it is only fitting that
McTeigue has Poe follow along with a
detective on a case using his deductive
reasoning skills and scientific
knowledge.
Despite the film's continuity issues, it
was a fun watch for any Poe fan. It makes one attempt to connect the dots on
their own and try to make sense of the film using science and logic, much like
Poe’s stories. Poe’s stories leave so much room for
interpretation that it gives readers
a lot of material to
work with.
This might be why the murderer became
obsessed with Poe’s work and felt that he
could recreate and put his own spin on
Poe’s work.
When
Poe meets face to face with the killer, Poe does not seem impressed with his
work. When the murderer proudly notes that he interpreted one of Poe’s works and
cut out a man’s tongue, and asks if Poe saw his handiwork. Poe notes
he did see the
tongue but is not impressed.
He tells him his
interpretation is wrong, and the fanatic
has a look of insult on his face. If this were to happen today, a Poe fan come
face to face with the author, I am sure
he would tell all of them we were interpreting his work incorrectly.
After
watching this film, I learned that most people probably have a Poe obsession
because they want to try to interpret the work
for themselves and put the pieces of the puzzle together. Poe fans like to
unravel the mystery of his stories and Poe left many unsolved ones behind in his
work and in his death. He led an
unfortunate life, yet a not a very intriguing one. This film
lets the audience in on the unknown
ending of his life, a fictional time, and made a highly-Romanticized claim about
the possibility of his death, which is not likely true.
The Life of Edgar Allan Poe
Poe
did not lead an interesting life. He
led an
unfortunate life, but it was fairly
normal considering his circumstances. Edgar Poe was born in 1809. His
parents were both traveling actors. When he was around three years old, both of
his parents died, and he
moved in with friends of his parents, the Allans, who were tobacco farmers. He
lived with the Allans for quite some time and, though he butted heads with John
Allan, eventually learned to deal with the change. Poe began writing at a young
age and published his first book by eighteen. He went to boarding school, had a
stint in the Army, and went to West Point for a few years. Over the years, he
had many loves, but they all ended badly – death or heartbreak. It was not until
he met his young cousin, Virgina Clemm, that he found true love. She died of
tuberculosis in 1847. After her death, Poe fell for many women but did not
remarry. He died shortly after in 1849.
The only part of Poe’s life that can be found interesting is his death, which
the 2012 movie The Raven romanticizes.
Poe’s last days are unclear. A friend of his, Dr. Joseph Snodgrass, reported
that he was found drunk in a voting location after an election in “ragged
clothing obviously not his own” (Montague 157). He was taken to Washington
Hospital for alcoholism and continued to say the name “Reynolds” over and over
until he eventually died four days later. Doctors assumed he has hypoglycemia
from liver disease, which could explain his hallucinations and alcohol
intolerance.
Poe was known for being drunk and disorderly in his leisure time and while at
work. Throughout Poe’s life, he had ongoing arguments with other writers in
local newspapers and magazines. Poe’s writings were well known, though he was
penniless. Poe wrote criticisms on the side for money and critique. Poe spoke
his mind and was not shy to criticize other authors’ works. Though Poe himself
was sensitive, he was outwardly mean and insensitive to others. He was known for
being a fearless critic and even got into some fistfights over some words that
were exchanged between him and Thomas Dunn English. One of his most famous
opponents was Rufus Griswold, who was so upset over their quarrel that he wrote
a false obituary of Poe posthumously. In fact, the obituary was so great that it
made Poe’s work skyrocket and backfired on his plan.
Readers look to Poe’s life to find answers to the unanswered questions in his
texts, but they will not be able to find them there. The concept of the
biographical fallacy is the “belief that a work of fiction or poetry must
directly reflect events and people in the author's actual experience” (White).
Though Poe was driven mad by his wife’s unfortunate illness, and his narrators
resemble a madman, these are only similarities. They do not directly correlate
to the being of Edgar Allan Poe. The women in his stories are not his love
interests in his life; they are just characters in a story. He does not base his
characters or tales on his life. Poe may have drawn inspiration from particular
events, places or people in his life, but they do not mirror them. To discover
the true meaning of the tale, the reader must put the puzzle pieces together
with the clues they are given on the page, not in his biography.
The
Tale of Ligeia
The tale of Ligeia is one of
Poe’s most interesting pieces because it leaves many questions unanswered. Many
try to relate it back to his life, and Poe has made many comments on it as well.
The tale is a masterpiece of gothic fiction, and it has
been said that the piece is a satire on
gothic fiction. The piece not only showcases Poe’s skills as a writer but it
shows his ability to tell a captivating story.
In the tale of
Ligeia, the narrator falls madly in
love with the titular character. She is strange, intelligent, and dark. After
her death, he is distraught and driven mad. He becomes a recluse and buys a
large castle. He remarries to a woman who is a complete opposite of his first
love named Rowena. She also becomes ill
and dies of a similar illness. When she dies, she is “transformed” into Ligeia.
It is evident that
factors in his life influenced Poe in
writing this tale, but they do not
directly correlate to the tale. Many
women he fell in love with died young, but they were not these women named
Ligeia and Rowena. The narrator was constantly in
an opium-induced haze, due to his
miserable life. Poe was not an opium addict; he
was an alcoholic. Readers confuse the narrator with
Poe and this is
a common issue. Once you can separate the
two, the tale becomes a lot clearer.
Poe writes with a sense of
musicality and chooses his words carefully. His stories always manage to roll
off the tongue with ease as you read them aloud because of the rhythm of the
piece. Poe’s language is imaginative, and he
pulls you into his nightmarish world with his words. In the tale of
Ligeia, he talks about her eyes and
how they are “the most brilliant of
black” (Poe 257). The reader has an idea
of how deep and dark her eyes are, just like a black hole. He uses the sublime
often to convey the concept of greatness that is both pleasurable and painful at
the same time. He mentions her resistance to her illness and that “words are
impotent to convey any just idea of the fierceness of
resistance of which she wrestled with the
Shadow” (Poe 260). With this phrase, the audience understands just how great her
struggle with death is. Poe uses this type of language to pull the reader in and
attempt to explain an otherwise unexplainable thought with his Romantic
Rhetoric. The narrator of the tale is telling
the story, but the line between him and Poe are very thin.
The narrator is unreliable in this story because he is an opium addict.
We cannot trust his version of the story, ergo we have no clue what is real and
not real. This tale, in particular, has
many different theories on the ending, and part
of the mystery of the text is that it is open-ended. Some theories include:
Rowena transformed into Ligeia, both women are dead, Ligeia is a vampire, and
the narrator is dead. Part of what makes this story fun to keep re-reading is
that each time you read it, you find new “clues” to the story that you might
interpret differently. An example of this is the three drops of “ruby colored
fluid” that fall into the glass (Poe 265). This could be interpreted as wine,
vampire blood, blood from illness, opium or a number of other things. You look
deeper and deeper into the tale to try and put the pieces of the puzzle together
instead of taking it at face value. Many believe that
Ligeia is meant to be a satire of
Gothic fiction since the German Ligeia’s eyes represent nothingness and she is a
fan of “transcendentalists,” which Poe despised (Edgar Allan Poe Society). The
enormous castle with the ridiculous furniture adds to this theory as well. If
this is true, then Poe is probably laughing at all the critics picking apart the
story to find meaning when it is, in fact, a satire.
Poe was a fabulous writer and should be admired for his writing. A reader
can get lost in his words and can escape to new worlds with his writings. Though
these writings do not relate back to his personal life, it is better that way
because then all questions are answered. This leaves more to the reader's
imagination and allows the audience to interpret the work on their own without
the help of biographical information.
Gothic Subculture
Poe’s
influence on modern society resulted in a branch of subculture called “goth.”
This lifestyle began in the 1980s and greatly resembles the literary style of
Edgar Allan Poe. The website
www.whatisgoth.com explains “a Goth
[as] someone who finds beauty in things others consider dark” (What
is Goth). Though they dress in dark clothing and make-up, not all lead dark
lives. Some choose to find a poetic beauty in darkness while some decide to
embrace the dark, cynical side of life. There are various versions of the gothic
lifestyle but they all lead us back to the influence of Poe – they are all Poe’s
children.
The
gothic culture
emerged out of the 1980s punk genre. It began as a revolt against the disco
scene, which focused on bright colors and dance (Reddit). Goths of this time
wore the traditional clothing style of corsets, dark or red lipstick and had a
pale complexion. Some preferred to dress in the Victorian style and wore mainly
black. Some preferred a more modern goth look and dressed in solid black with
silver jewelry, usually bearing religious symbols. Various versions existed, but
the commonality was painted black nails, red lipstick, dyed black hair and the
“pancake” makeup. They listened to bands such as Depeche Mode, The Cure, and
Bauhaus. The influence of Poe is strong with this culture, and the depression
runs deep in the veins of these goths.
Since the style of goth stemmed from the punk culture of the ‘80s, the goth
scene branched into the pop-punk scene called “emo,” which died down as of a few
decades ago. The fashion was similar to the previous scenes, with dyed black
hair, dark eyeliner, but it introduced highlights and pops of neon colors in
makeup and hair. This scene was based highly off of the presence of the music
scene. Bands such as Hawthorne Heights, My Chemical Romance, and Senses Fail
brought this to light, and their influence came primarily from literature. With
songs such as The Used’s “Buried Myself Alive” and Finch’s “The Casket of
Roderick Usher,” the genre was heavily influenced by Poe. The lifestyle of emo
included a focus on hatred for the world, self-inflicted wounds, and
self-diagnosed depression. The obsession with darkness and heartbreak in lyrics
and life relates back to Poe’s life and work.
The modern goths that we know today are the groups that stayed true to their
musical groups and never played into the fads. They listen to bands such as HIM,
Marilyn Manson, and Nightwish. All of these have more metal and industrial
backgrounds instead of punk, yet somehow attract the same crowd. Much like the
other Gothic groups, they choose to dress in black and wear the religious
symbols such as a cross. Gothic is more of an inner lifestyle, not just an
outward appearance. On Whatisgoth.com, Rebecca Schraffenberger states from her
book Goth: Undead Subculture, “We’re
hard-core romantics, dreamy realists and cynical idealists. We find beauty in
the macabre, while seeking fairness and tenderness in our daily lives.” Since
there are various versions of the goth lifestyle, such as “mall goth” or
“vamps,” the modern Goths are the ones that take to the subreddits and troll the
internet to make fun of the posers.
The creators of South Park had their input on the topic of goth culture. They
created a group of “goth kids” who are present throughout the series. The kids
are known for keeping to themselves, smoking cigarettes, being obsessed with
Cthulhu, calling everyone else conformists, and dressing in all black. In one
episode, the main character Stan attempts to join and his name is “Raven,” which
is a direct reference to Poe’s famous poem. In another episode, “Goth
Kids 3: Dawn of the Posers,” the Goth
kids and Vamps AKA Twilight fanatics
are being abducted and turned into Emo kids. The two cliques team up and summon
the ghost of Edgar Allan Poe. As the group is arguing if Poe was the father of
goth, vamp, or emo, one member states that “all genres of gothic subculture are
derivative of Poe’s work” (Goth Kids 13:46-53). Oddly enough, when Poe is
summoned, Poe hates all of them and calls them all posers.
To say that the entire subculture of goth is built off of Poe’s work would be
incorrect, but it is highly influenced by it and constantly fueled by his
passion for darkness. People identify with Poe’s work and his narrators within
the work. They like to think of themselves as the “madman” or the beautiful
gothic woman in Ligeia. They surround their walls with Harry Clarke’s art
because they feel that they can relate to the characters he depicts of Poe’s
work. They want to insert themselves into the art and text because the theme of
the work is timeless. The point Poe
is trying to get across is that everyone has darkness in them. Some can find the
beauty in it, some hide from it, some suppress it. It is the ones who embrace it
and can live with it that can use it to their advantage. Everyone believes that
they have a little bit of Poe in them, whether it is the madman, the gothic
lady, or the crazed writer – you just have to figure out what to do with it.
Baltimore Culture
Though Poe is long gone, he is still alive in the culture of Baltimore,
Maryland. His legacy lives on in the town,
and the people of the city still maintain his legacy. Though Poe was born in
Boston and lived in Virginia, Baltimore is the
city that keeps the tradition of Poe alive.
Poe
frequented numerous bars during his lifetime, so it is only fitting to have
Poe-themed
bars in Baltimore. Currently, The Horse
You Came In On Saloon is the bar that Poe was
last seen at before his death in 1849. A bartender claims Poe’s ghost
haunts the bar by opening and closing the cash register. “She
believes it is Edgar Allan Poe’s ghost that resides in this pub. She believes
the spirit, which this employee lovingly refers to as “Edgar,”
is responsible for strange occurrences throughout the bar” (Dunkle). The Annabel
Lee Tavern in Baltimore encompasses the idea of Poe. Inside and out the walls
are painted with quotes by Poe, painted Ravens and portraits of Poe. The menu is
Poe-themed, and the cocktail menu has Poe-inspired drinks including the “William Wilson” and “The Masque of the Red Death”
(Hardley Square LLC.). Literature seems
to run deep in the culture of Baltimore, even in restaurants and bars.
Literature has had an influence even in the
sports world. The mascot for the NFL team for Baltimore is the Ravens,
named after Poe’s infamous poem.
The Raven is about “the torment and
anguish of fierce longing, something
Baltimore football fans know all too well” (“The Baltimore Ravens”). Their
suited Raven mascots on the field are named Edgar, Allan, and Poe – each with a
different personality respectively. They
recently acquired two live ravens named Rise and Conquer that live at The
Maryland Zoo. Poe
was known for being an athlete while at
both boarding school and West Point. At school
he was known for his interest in sports and could “jump
twenty feet in the long jump” (Montague 21). The town had a choice to pick the
mascot, and they chose the Ravens to keep
with the literary tradition of the city.
Westminster Hall and Burial Ground is a popular location for Poe fans because it
is the final resting place of Poe. The tradition of the “The Poe Toaster” kept
Poe’s memory alive for decades. On the anniversary of Poe’s birthday, a man in
all black, known as “The Poe Toaster” put a bottle of
cognac and three roses on Poe’s grave.
Spectators gathered around hoping to catch a
glimpse of the Toaster, but he was never spotted. The tradition was
passed on in 1993 to his “son.” The Toaster left notes regarding the passing of
the torch and various events making him a
well-known figure in Baltimore (Montague
9). This type of anonymous figure and tradition
is sure to draw a crowd and keep the tradition of Poe alive in the town of
Baltimore long after his passing.
The tradition ended in
2009 on the 100th anniversary of
Poe’s death, but the Maryland Historical Society chose a new Poe Toaster in 2016
to start the tradition up again. Traditions such as these keep fans interested
in the guessing game of the anonymity of the figure of the Toaster. Again, Poe
fans like puzzles and this tradition keeps the memory of Poe alive.
The Edgar Allan Poe Society is a nonprofit group established in 1923. Their goal
is to preserve the works and memory of Poe through history and culture. The
society is run by volunteers and they hope to educate the public of Poe’s work
and life. They erected a bronze statue of Poe that can currently be seen in the
plaza at the law school at the University of Baltimore. They also preserve
historical landmarks relevant to Poe, including houses and other buildings. They
run tours, help Poe scholars in need of research and maintain the website to
reach a broad audience. The site includes over 4,500 pages of information on Poe
and his work in electronic format. The Society created The Rose Memorial Fund to
sponsor a course at the University of Baltimore which focuses on the life and
works of Poe. Poe had devoted fans after his death, and this society helps
maintain his legacy and preserve his history.
Through the devoted Poe fans, historical societies, and literature nerds that
reside in Baltimore, Poe’s legacy manages to live on. There are museums and a
library that contain his belongings and writings, but it seems the true culture
is in the people and the streets of Baltimore. The city has a living tradition
of the author because the town breathes Poe, they are constantly absorbing him
into their lives. It is as if he is still a resident. He haunts their buildings.
His face is on a statue at the University. People attend regular meetings to
read his poetry. There are restaurants devoted to him. Everyone knows Poe’s life
story and work; he is the dead undesignated mayor of Baltimore.
Conclusion
It seems that society’s Poe obsession is
charged by the concept that Poe was an interesting man, when in fact, he was
not. His life was anything but extraordinary, and it should not be romanticized.
It is his work that is fascinating to people. Poe has a way with words and can
make even the most horrific and gruesome topics sound beautiful. Moreover,
society tends to identify with the narrators in Poe’s works as Poe himself when
this is false. This is a product of the biographical fallacy. Poe is not his
narrator; Poe is Poe and the narrator is the narrator. People strive to make
this connection because they want to connect these dots. They want to be the one
to solve this mystery and find answers in Poe’s life when, in fact, the answer
is not there. Poe has left answers on the page for the reader to find.
People also identify themselves with the narrator, or other characters, in Poe’s
tales and attempt to find answers in that form. Though the cynical Poe would
most likely not agree with this approach to his tales from a literature
perspective, he would probably agree with the approach as a life choice to deal
with darkness. The gothic subculture flocks to Poe as a means to soothe their
darkness and channel their inner Poe, and they use Poe as an outlet to embrace
the beauty in the dark.
Though Edgar Allan Poe led a simple yet unfortunate life, it was not intriguing
enough to acquire such obsessive fans. It is his writing that keeps his fans
devoted and engulfed in his tradition. Poe was a magnificent author and should
be remembered for his writing. He was a genius, but he did not lead a great
life. His legacy should live on through his style of writing, and Romantic
Rhetoric. People identify with Poe, but they more so relate to his writings.
Everyone feels that they have a little bit of Poe in them, but when they say
Poe, they mean the narrator.
Works
Cited
Dunkle, Randy. “The ghosts of Fells Point.”
Fells Point: Tales from Charm City,
2016,
http://www.baltimorestories.com/main.cfm?nid=2&tid=59.
Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore. The Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore.
1997,
http://www.eapoe.org/.
“Goth Kids 3: Dawn of the Posers.” South
Park, written by Trey Parker, directed by Trey Parker. Comedy Central, 2013.
Hardley Square LLC. Annabel Lee Tavern.
http://www.annabelleetavern.com/
Maryland Historical Society. The First
Appearance of the New “Poe Toaster.” Baltimore: Maryland Historical Society,
7 Jan. 2016.
http://www.mdhs.org/pressrelease/first-appearance-new-poe-toaster.
Montague, Charlotte. Edgar Allan Poe: The
Strange Man Standing Deep in the Shadows. Chartwell Books. 2015.
Poe, Edgar Allan.
Ligeia.
Barnes and Noble, 2015.
Reddit. Reddit. 2016.
https://www.reddit.com/r/goth/?count=50&after=t3_5bh30h.
“The Baltimore Ravens.” Knowing Poe,
Maryland Public Television.
http://knowingpoe.thinkport.org/library/news/ravens.asp.
Accessed 15 Nov 2016.
The Raven.
Directed by James McTeigue, performances by
John Cusack, Alice Eve, Brendan Gleeson, and Luke Evans, Relativity
Media, 2012.
What is Goth,
www.whatisgoth.com
White, Craig. “The Biographical Fallacy.”
Craig White’s Literature Courses.
http://coursesite.uhcl.edu/HSH/Whitec/terms/B/BiographFallacy.htm.
Wikipedia contributors. "Emo."
Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 2016,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emo.
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