Poetry is an art work which requires a lot of elements to compose. Poems are generally a representation of a poet's thoughts and feelings well expressed and documented in writing. Writing a quality poem requires good strategies; poets should consider length, tone, theme and target audience. In addition, is the effect of poems on readers; Edger Allan Poe presents some basic rules which he adheres to while writing poems. This is with the aim of making poems as interesting and communicative as possible. This essay, therefore, discusses Poe's claims using his two poems; "The Raven" and "The tell Tale Heart."
This is what we know about Poe's theories; first, originality and effect are the major elements in poetry. Themes in poems should not be so obvious and easily comprehendible to readers. This may cause lost interest in poems even before the actual reading process, originality is, therefore, very essential. Moreover, literary work should have considerable length and easily be read in a sitting. For readers to understand themes and feel effect of literary work, Poe advice's that poems should not be too long. Long poems are merely succession of brief ones and success in poetry is achieved only when poems can elevate the soul. He claims there are distinct limits regarding length in poetry, and extent of poems could reflect mathematical relation to its advantages. The duration taken by readers in analyzing poems influences the effects on them, therefore, Poe advocates for a poem of about one hundred lines as the proper one. In addition, poems should be universally appreciable, meaning they should create enough impression to all readers. Lastly is the claim that tones used in poems should be a good reflection of actual events represented, since this amounts to beauty in poetry.
[...] Lastly is the claim that tones used in poems should be a good reflection of actual events represented, since this amounts to beauty in poetry. Raven” demonstrates Poe's claims in the following ways; first is consideration he gives to a proper length. Raven” has one hundred and eight lines; this is one of the major claims by Poe about ideal poems. The rationale being, readers should not fail to feel the caused by too lengthy poems that confuses the mind. [...]
[...] In conclusion, Raven” is a true representation of Poe's claims on standard poetry as evidenced by various aspects including length, tone, emotional attachment and topic presented. This is how Poe's claims apply to the story Tell Tale Heart”; Beauty as an effect is demonstrated in this poem. For instance, it begins with an expression of how the pot feels followed by subsequent events that led to his actions. In achieving beauty, no action is repeated and each stanza presents a specific topic to readers. [...]
[...] In addition, the tone in this poem is melancholic too. It is a sad mood trying to recapture what he had done some time back and how he ends up being mad. This is further strengthened by his claim that such themes are better presented in first person point of view. For instance, he says fancy me mad, madmen know nothing” (E.A. Poe 1846). The use of first person narration enables reader understand that the poet is directly involved in the story hence no need for imaginations. [...]
[...] Moreover, he is consistent in determining length of poems and all his works are one hundred and eight lines. This is also a relief to readers who may get bored reading very lengthy poems. However, Poe is more concerned with beauty effect in poetry more than anything else. This he achieves by first presenting effects before systematically describing the causes. All in all, Poe's poems are shifted away from traditional concepts of poetry but still make a break-through in the world of poetry today. Works Cited From The Philosophy of Composition (E.A. [...]
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