On The Death Of Philosophy, In The Works Of Edgar Allen Poe

The 19~th-century American Romantic talent Edgar Allan Poe was famous for the peculiarity of both his character and works. Most of his writings deal with the theme of death, and the horrible death scenes in his short stories leave especially deep impressions on readers. This thesis is to analyze the theme of death in Poe' works, focusing on the contributing factors to his predilection for this theme, its concrete representations in his stories and its profound meanings.The first chapter of this thesis introduces Poe's life experience and the controversial criticism of his works. The miserable life shapes Poe's sensitive and fragile character, and inspires his research on the theme of death in his works. This theme was incompatible with the optimistic main stream of the American literature at that time. Therefore Poe was misunderstood by many people and became one of the most controversial writers in the history of American literature.The second chapter is devoted to a brief introduction to the theme of death in Poe's short stories, and his aesthetic principles. Death is pervasive in his works, and is closely relevant to his aesthetic principles. Poe insists that the impact on readers should be caused by the unity of effect of the story. Death is certainly a theme that can evoke readers' greatest responses and achieve the best effect. The "ugliness" of death can be an aesthetic object and the horror and cruelty of death is another kind of beauty, showing the other side of life and fascinating readers in a peculiar way.The third chapter makes a detailed analysis of the theme of death in some of Poe's short stories. The destructive force of death and the irresistible death instinct in people's hearts always harass Poe's characters: whatever they try, they cannot escape death, and the waiting of death is terribly torturing.The fourth chapter analyzes one prose poem and two colloquies of Poe's, pointing out that all human beings will die because all are from the Oneness of the universe, according to the scheme of God, and so will surely return to this unity, the nothingness, the original state of life — death. Death doesn't mean the end of life, butthe freedom of the soul, the beginning of being "born again". Society has lost its original beauty and only the life after death is the ideal Paradise. The suffering of awaiting death is the punishment on people for their destruction of the natural harmony and provides them with a necessary process to transcend the reality and bring the soul to the Pure Land.The fifth chapter is the conclusion of the thesis, summarizing the significance of the theme of death in Poe's works, and Poe' influence and contributions to the world literature.