Are Edgar Allan Poe's pathological characters to be identified with the authors own 'tortured psyche'?

Nonfiction, Entertainment, Drama, Anthologies
Cover of the book Are Edgar Allan Poe's pathological characters to be identified with the authors own 'tortured psyche'? by Sebastian Langner, GRIN Verlag
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Sebastian Langner ISBN: 9783656758372
Publisher: GRIN Verlag Publication: October 1, 2014
Imprint: GRIN Verlag Language: English
Author: Sebastian Langner
ISBN: 9783656758372
Publisher: GRIN Verlag
Publication: October 1, 2014
Imprint: GRIN Verlag
Language: English

Seminar paper from the year 2011 in the subject American Studies - Literature, grade: 1,0, University of Constance, course: American Literary and Cultural Theory - Leslie Fiedler, language: English, abstract: In 1960, Leslie A. Fiedler published his most influential and controversial book 'Love and Death in the American Novel'. Elaborating on a theory he had developed as early as 19481, Fiedler proclaimed his thesis of an 'innocent interracial homosexuality'and the generally dysfunctional treatment of American authors of the love between man and woman. In contrast to the New Criticism-school that had been prevailing until the 1940s, and saw the text alone as the sole basis for literary criticism, Fiedler tries to incorporate biographical information on the author and insights in his sociocultural environment into his analysis. Surprisingly, his examination of Edgar Allan Poe's oeuvre turns out as curtly as it is simplifying. He stylizes Poe as the dark side of the American dream, a depressed and depressing madman, incarnating his fantasies into stories of dubious merit. Being an ardent opponent of the New Criticism-school, Fiedler cannot help but relate the choice of Poe's themes and characters solely to the author himself, stating that 'in Poe the incest theme belongs to the private world of his own tortured psyche [...].' For Fiedler, 'The odd syndrome of child -love, necrophilia, and incest in Poe is too personal and pathological to shed much light on the general meaning of the latter theme in American literature and life.'4 Instead of treating Poe as a singularity worth further analysis, he dismisses the author's work as the questionable fancies of a mentally deranged. But the indisputable recurrence of the above-mentioned themes in Poe's work begs the question: Is Leslie Fiedler right? Are Poe's pathological characters to be identified with the author and his own 'tortured psyche'? To answer that question, and possibly to rebut Fiedler's theory will be the aim of this paper.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Seminar paper from the year 2011 in the subject American Studies - Literature, grade: 1,0, University of Constance, course: American Literary and Cultural Theory - Leslie Fiedler, language: English, abstract: In 1960, Leslie A. Fiedler published his most influential and controversial book 'Love and Death in the American Novel'. Elaborating on a theory he had developed as early as 19481, Fiedler proclaimed his thesis of an 'innocent interracial homosexuality'and the generally dysfunctional treatment of American authors of the love between man and woman. In contrast to the New Criticism-school that had been prevailing until the 1940s, and saw the text alone as the sole basis for literary criticism, Fiedler tries to incorporate biographical information on the author and insights in his sociocultural environment into his analysis. Surprisingly, his examination of Edgar Allan Poe's oeuvre turns out as curtly as it is simplifying. He stylizes Poe as the dark side of the American dream, a depressed and depressing madman, incarnating his fantasies into stories of dubious merit. Being an ardent opponent of the New Criticism-school, Fiedler cannot help but relate the choice of Poe's themes and characters solely to the author himself, stating that 'in Poe the incest theme belongs to the private world of his own tortured psyche [...].' For Fiedler, 'The odd syndrome of child -love, necrophilia, and incest in Poe is too personal and pathological to shed much light on the general meaning of the latter theme in American literature and life.'4 Instead of treating Poe as a singularity worth further analysis, he dismisses the author's work as the questionable fancies of a mentally deranged. But the indisputable recurrence of the above-mentioned themes in Poe's work begs the question: Is Leslie Fiedler right? Are Poe's pathological characters to be identified with the author and his own 'tortured psyche'? To answer that question, and possibly to rebut Fiedler's theory will be the aim of this paper.

More books from GRIN Verlag

Cover of the book Krisenkommunikation. Die Bedeutung für die Bewältigung von Krisen aus Unternehmenssicht by Sebastian Langner
Cover of the book Augustus Res Gestae 5 und 6 by Sebastian Langner
Cover of the book Die Gesetze des Jägers. Jagdrecht im Freistaat Sachsen by Sebastian Langner
Cover of the book Deutsche Privatbanken und die Internationalisierung der Finanzmärkte by Sebastian Langner
Cover of the book Employee motivation and incentives at Apple by Sebastian Langner
Cover of the book Qualitative Sozialforschung - Die Religionssoziologie unter Einbeziehung qualitativer Methoden by Sebastian Langner
Cover of the book Das Osmanische Reich und die Neuordnung in Europa by Sebastian Langner
Cover of the book Kritik am Subjekt by Sebastian Langner
Cover of the book Die Bauernfrage unter Katharina II. by Sebastian Langner
Cover of the book Aby Warburg - Italienische Kunst und internationale Astrologie im Palazzo Schifanoja zu Ferrara by Sebastian Langner
Cover of the book Marketing in der Arztpraxis. Methoden und Instrumente im Überblick by Sebastian Langner
Cover of the book Is data the new currency in information society? Limits to the commodification of personal data from Lawrence Lessing's theory of regulation by Sebastian Langner
Cover of the book Half-Life2 und der Container by Sebastian Langner
Cover of the book Führung- und Führungskontexte mit Blick auf die stationäre Jugend- und Heimerziehung by Sebastian Langner
Cover of the book Verfahren zur Erfassungen der Regulationserfordernisse in der Arbeitstätigkeit (VERA) by Sebastian Langner
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy