7 Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849)
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Gero Guttzeit
Abstract
Edgar Allan Poe’s literary and critical writings were crucial to establishing the short story as a genre and art form. Two tales by Poe published in 1839, the lesser-known “The Devil in the Belfry” and the famous “William Wilson,” exemplify, respectively, the comic and Gothic modes of the emerging antebellum short story. Responding on various levels to Washington Irving, both narratives also adapt European textual models and spaces, coalescing collective and intrapersonal conflicts in semantically rich monsters (devil and doppelganger). Reading them in the context of Poe’s seminal reviews of Nathaniel Hawthorne, this chapter demonstrates how Poe’s tales abound with metafictional elements, reflecting and shaping a major early phase in the evolution of the American short story.
Abstract
Edgar Allan Poe’s literary and critical writings were crucial to establishing the short story as a genre and art form. Two tales by Poe published in 1839, the lesser-known “The Devil in the Belfry” and the famous “William Wilson,” exemplify, respectively, the comic and Gothic modes of the emerging antebellum short story. Responding on various levels to Washington Irving, both narratives also adapt European textual models and spaces, coalescing collective and intrapersonal conflicts in semantically rich monsters (devil and doppelganger). Reading them in the context of Poe’s seminal reviews of Nathaniel Hawthorne, this chapter demonstrates how Poe’s tales abound with metafictional elements, reflecting and shaping a major early phase in the evolution of the American short story.
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Frontmatter I
- Editors’ Preface V
- Contents VII
- 0 Introduction: The American Short Story – Past and Present 1
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Part I: Systematic Questions
- 1 Of Sketches, Tales, and Stories: Theoretical Reflections on the Genre of the Short Story 19
- 2 Canon Formation and the American Short Story 39
- 3 Current Approaches to the American Short Story 55
- 4 Textual Materiality, Magazine Culture, and the American Short Story 73
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Part II: Close Readings
- 5 Washington Irving (1783–1859) 103
- 6 Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804–1864) 119
- 7 Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849) 133
- 8 Herman Melville (1819–1891) 153
- 9 Mark Twain (Samuel L. Clemens, 1835–1910) 171
- 10 Charles W. Chesnutt (1858–1932) 197
- 11 Kate Chopin (1850–1904) 209
- 12 Henry James (1843–1916) 227
- 13 Jack London (1876–1916) 249
- 14 Zitkala-Ša (1876–1938) 269
- 15 Sherwood Anderson (1876–1941) 289
- 16 Ernest Hemingway (1899–1961) 305
- 17 Zora Neale Hurston (1891–1960) 319
- 18 William Faulkner (1897–1962) 343
- 19 Flannery O’Connor (1925–1964) 361
- 20 James Baldwin (1924–1987) 385
- 21 Shirley Jackson (1916–1965) 403
- 22 Bernard Malamud (1914–1986) 425
- 23 Grace Paley (1922–2007) 445
- 24 Donald Barthelme (1931–1989) 461
- 25 Tim O’Brien (1946–) 477
- 26 Raymond Carver (1938–1988) 493
- 27 Alice Walker (1944–) 513
- 28 Leslie Marmon Silko (1948–) 533
- 29 Sandra Cisneros (1954–) 555
- 30 Louise Erdrich (1954–) 573
- 31 Lydia Davis (1947–) 593
- 32 George Saunders (1958–) 613
- 33 Junot Díaz (1968–) 627
- 34 Yiyun Li (1972–) 643
- 35 N.K. Jemisin (1972–) 661
- Index of Names 683
- Index of Subjects 691
- List of Contributors 699
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Frontmatter I
- Editors’ Preface V
- Contents VII
- 0 Introduction: The American Short Story – Past and Present 1
-
Part I: Systematic Questions
- 1 Of Sketches, Tales, and Stories: Theoretical Reflections on the Genre of the Short Story 19
- 2 Canon Formation and the American Short Story 39
- 3 Current Approaches to the American Short Story 55
- 4 Textual Materiality, Magazine Culture, and the American Short Story 73
-
Part II: Close Readings
- 5 Washington Irving (1783–1859) 103
- 6 Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804–1864) 119
- 7 Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849) 133
- 8 Herman Melville (1819–1891) 153
- 9 Mark Twain (Samuel L. Clemens, 1835–1910) 171
- 10 Charles W. Chesnutt (1858–1932) 197
- 11 Kate Chopin (1850–1904) 209
- 12 Henry James (1843–1916) 227
- 13 Jack London (1876–1916) 249
- 14 Zitkala-Ša (1876–1938) 269
- 15 Sherwood Anderson (1876–1941) 289
- 16 Ernest Hemingway (1899–1961) 305
- 17 Zora Neale Hurston (1891–1960) 319
- 18 William Faulkner (1897–1962) 343
- 19 Flannery O’Connor (1925–1964) 361
- 20 James Baldwin (1924–1987) 385
- 21 Shirley Jackson (1916–1965) 403
- 22 Bernard Malamud (1914–1986) 425
- 23 Grace Paley (1922–2007) 445
- 24 Donald Barthelme (1931–1989) 461
- 25 Tim O’Brien (1946–) 477
- 26 Raymond Carver (1938–1988) 493
- 27 Alice Walker (1944–) 513
- 28 Leslie Marmon Silko (1948–) 533
- 29 Sandra Cisneros (1954–) 555
- 30 Louise Erdrich (1954–) 573
- 31 Lydia Davis (1947–) 593
- 32 George Saunders (1958–) 613
- 33 Junot Díaz (1968–) 627
- 34 Yiyun Li (1972–) 643
- 35 N.K. Jemisin (1972–) 661
- Index of Names 683
- Index of Subjects 691
- List of Contributors 699