Edgar Allan Poe: Strange Dreamer Or True Genius?

Edgar Allan Poe has been seen by critics as either a poet who wrote nonsense about fantasy lands and lived to dream, or as one who's writing did have much deeper implications. The first opinion could be backed by the course of his life which contained much tragedy and hardship. Some say this factor contributed to him only wanting to write about ventures into a place far from reality. The second opinion claims that Poe, through use of his poetry, aimed to stir the imagination of man in order for an active realization to occur of a more intricate universe, ultimately obliterating material thoughts. Poe tended to expect more from human existence than just life on earth. He believed in the idea that the reality humans see in life is just a distraction from true reality. Poe redefined all existence and reality as the "Ideal" (Eddings 6), and denied the limitations of time and space. Poe creates a paradox by naming the physical world a dream while portraying the world of sleep as a glimpse of true reality (6). Also, by using literary tools such as images and figurative language, Poe represents how dreams unlock unconscious states of the mind (Ljungquist). As opposed to the first, the second opinion gives Poe much more credit as a writer. Although both can be supported with substantial proof, only one analysis of the poetry of Edgar Allan Poe makes more sense as to why he became obsessed with the world of sleep.

The tragic and depressing stages of the life of Edgar Allan Poe could have influenced him to think and write in a gothic or unrealistic state of mind. Born early in 1809, Poe was orphaned during his third year, along with his older brother and younger sister (Kent 12). His father had been an active drinker with an equally active temper, and left his wife and children unexpectedly (13). His mother died at a very young age, causing young Edgar to shift to the care of John Allan (Campbell). Good relations with his foster parents were never established for Edgar, as John Allan wrote, "The boy possesses not a spark of affection...not a particle of gratitude for all my care. . ." (Campbell). Taking into account all of Poe's ". . . unhappy love affairs . . ." (Campbell), the most distressing of his womanly woes was the death of his last wife, his beloved Virginia Clemm (Campbell). In summary, the course of Poe's life was stained with poverty, grief, and loneliness. Seen as explanations for the strangeness of Edgar Allan Poe, critics boldly accuse his poetry of being fantastical and unrealistic. Some even go as far as to call it purely the effects of opium use (Reece). Poe himself even said of his experience on earth: "I am full of dark forebodings, nothing cheers or comforts me. My life seems wasted - the future looks a dreary blank. . ." (Kent 109). Even though he encountered many obstacles while being alive, that doesn't necessarily mean Poe wanted travel through his poetry to escape only to meaningless dream lands. It seems more practical that Poe wanted to describe otherworldly locales as they were metaphorical to how there is more to existence than the present reality. He truly believed that there was more than what humans can see, and knowing this, he would "struggle on and 'hope against hope'" (109).

In order to further analyze Poe's poetical intentions, one must know the literary time period in which he wrote. A poet should not always be categorized by the era of their time, but in Edgar Allan Poe's case, it would not be an error. The period of Romanticism, during the late 1700's, was a time when poetry was commonly themed about individualism, physical and emotional passion, and attraction to the supernatural ("Brief Guide"). Poe definitely proved himself to be a romantic writer since he often wrote of revolutionary ideas, passion for lost loves, and ghosts. Most importantly, the Romantic era defined many poets as a "highly tortured and melancholy visionary" ("Brief Guide"), and as this visionary, Poe saw and named his own universe.

Understanding Poe's visions of reality in his poetry are summarized in his other works. It can be seen most directly through the text of his prose-poem "Eureka", written in 1848 ("Eureka"). This reality is understood to be divided into two parts of opposing natures. The "divine Unity" is the "Spiritual universe" which includes all of reality and was originally intended by the creator to be non-material. Poe defined the Spirit as "his [the Divine Being's] present expansive existence". From this universe, all things came and all things will return, which can be said for humans. From this Unity, formed the immediate reality that humans see on earth, which Poe calls the "Material universe". This physical universe is constantly in struggle between those who are materialistic and those who see and understand the Unity (Eddings 5). All who are enlightened by that knowledge are said to know the "Ideal", or perfect Unity between the universes, both in their time on earth and after death. The problem that exists with they who do not have that knowledge is that the common reasoning of man usually defeats his senses of the Ideal. This denies all meaning in their lives, and causes a turning towards want. Poe believed that the only way humans could gain a purpose in life was to use their imagination and not fall to the deceptive appearances of the physical world (Eddings 6). This entire theory was also seen in works of Plato, such as his well-known cave allegory (Trundle 94). This story is metaphorical to Plato's views of reality and knowledge (104). It begins in a cave, with chained men facing the cave's back wall, watching shadows from the fire that is lit behind them (97). The shadows are being caused by "exhibitors" (97), like those of a puppet show, who lie between the fire and the men. They manipulate these images while the men watch and make false claims about what they see. One of the prisoners tries to turn his head and see the fire, even though it causes him pain (98). He continues to move towards the fire and is dazzled by its light, until he sees the exit to the cave and ultimately exits to find the sun (99). The escaped prisoner decides to inform the others still imprisoned that they are being tricked, but when he does, they only ridicule him and eventually murder him (101). The story in its entirety can be directly related to Poe's theory. The prisoners are distracted from the Ideal, or the sun, by false images, or materialism. The prisoner who ventured out to see the Ideal attempted to share his knowledge with the others, but he was not believed, and it became his demise. Since other great minds shared Poe's visions and his other