The Philosophy of Composition By Edgar Allan Poe Synopsis By Christoffer Hallqvist Edgar Allan Poe wrote an essay on the creation of "The Raven," entitled "The Philosophy of Composition." In the essay Poe describes the work of composing the poem as if it...
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The Philosophy of Composition By Edgar Allan Poe Synopsis By Christoffer Hallqvist Edgar Allan Poe wrote an essay on the creation of "The Raven," entitled "The Philosophy of Composition." In the essay Poe describes the work of composing the poem as if it were a mathematical problem, and derides the poets that claim that they compose "by a species of fine frenzy - an ecstatic intuition - and would positively shudder at letting the public take a peep behind the scenes." Whether Poe was as calculating as he claims when he wrote "The Raven" or not is a question that cannot be answered; it is, however, unlikely that he created it exactly like he described in his essay. The thoughts occurring in the essay might well have occurred to Poe while he was composing it. In "The Philosophy of Composition," Poe stresses the need to express a single effect when the literary work is to be read in one sitting. A poem should always be written short enough to be read in one sitting, and should, therefore,
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