| Edgar Allan Poe, 1809-1849, American poet, short-story writer, and critic, is one of the most celebrated of American storytellers. Allan Poe is brilliant and original not only as a writer, but also as a literary critic. His literary theory can be divided into two parts: the theory on poems composition and short story writing. The aesthetic theory on poetry is mainly represented in his"The Poetic Principle"; and that on short story is mainly included in his"The Philosophy of Composition","Letters to B--"and"The Review of Hawthorne's'Twice-Told Tales'". This thesis mainly focuses on his literary theory on short story writing.Poe's most famous literary theory is the"Unity of Effect". He believed that all good literature must create a unity of effect on the reader and this effect must reveal the truth or evoke emotions. He for the first tries to establish a kind of effect in his works, and then to write to seek this kind of effect. In his Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque, Poe declared that"These brief compositions are, in chief part, the results of matured purpose and very careful elaboration."Poe's writing reflects his literary theories, which he presented in his criticism and also in essays such as"The Poetic Principle". He believed that quality work should be brief and focus on a specific single effect. To that end, he believed that the writer should carefully calculate every sentiment and idea. Another part this thesis tries to explore is the death theme in Poe's works. The miserable life experience shapes Poe's sensitive and fragile character, and inspires his research on the theme of death in his works. Death is pervasive in his works, and is closely relevant to his aesthetic principles. He is obsessed in dealing with questions of death, including the physical signs, premature burial and so on. Meanwhile, Poe tries to explore the aesthetic implication of the"death theme"and show the varieties of the death world. For example, he felt that"the death of a beautiful woman was the most poetical topic in the world". This part and the follows is to analyze the theme of death in Poe'works.There is also one part that this thesis wants to explore is Poe's feminine ideal. Poe's vision of the feminine ideal appears throughout his work, in his poetry and short stories, and his critical essays. Critics have used biographical and psychological arguments to explain this preoccupation of Poe's. One important factor that influenced Poe is the death of his female relatives, including his mother, his young fiancée. He idealizes the vulnerability of woman. The most significant trait of his ideal, however, is her role as emotional catalyst for her partner, so they are always silent and have no need to tell their own story. For Poe, a dying woman who remains beautiful is to be adored as a poetic inspiration. And the most important thing for Poe is that their dying serves the poetic purpose of enhancing the male's experience of melancholy Beauty."The Fall of the House of Usher"is one of the most famous short stories of Poe's. It is considered the best example of Poe's"totality", where every element and detail is related and relevant. In this short story, Poe's adored themes all have their representations, such as the death theme, the ideal dying female, the premature burial. And this part pays attention to the application of Poe's aesthetic theory in his works. The author will focus on the text"The Fall of the House of Usher", mainly on its words, word choice, displacement and his writing techniques.
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