Poetic Effects Of Edgar Allan Poe-Poems-

Allan Poe, a unique American poet, short story writer, literary critic and theorist, is noted for both poems and short stories. His poetic and novelistic theories are systematic as well, among which The Philosophy of Composition and The Poetic Principle, well represented in his own writing, have been often read and referred to.The present thesis, by taking Poe’s own poetic theories, his "Poetic Effect" in particular, as the theoretical basis of the project, aims to explore the poetic effects from four aspects, including thematic effect, verbal effect, visual effect and imagery effect, to expound respectively in four chapters how Poe applies various techniques to attain the required and desired effect in Edgar Allan Poe-Poems-, a collection of his poems.Chapter One discusses the thematic effect in the poetic text. Poe contends that "Beauty is not a quality, but an effect". The combination of beauty and death achieves the greatest effect of all, thus dominating his poems. For Poe,"the death of beauty" is the most poetic theme, whose expression radiates stirring effects. Chapter Two discloses the verbal effect in the poetic text. In Poe’s opinion, poetic language is different from daily language. Onomatopoeia, the suggestive words and some rare and archaic words therefore become his favorites to attain the enigmatic atmosphere. Chapter Three focuses on the rhythmic effect in the text. Originality is largely reflected in musicality. By applying some special vowels and head, internal and end rhyme patterns, Poe emphasizes the refrain of his poems. Meanwhile, his employment of certain repetitive words and sentences enforces the rhyme and emotional expression in his poems. Chapter Four analyzes the visual effect of imagery in his poems. Poe acclaims that poetry is a beautiful painting rich in images. Of the static images, Poe applies symbolic objects, colors and female images, while dynamic ones endow his poems with soul-stirring power.The last part concludes that all these techniques contribute to the "Totality of Poetic Effects". To reach such a totality of effects, Poe exerts all efforts in all the intrinsic minuteness. Poe’s core theory is "Effect"; through detailed elaboration of the poetic text, this thesis intends to contribute to further comprehension of both Poe’s poetic theory and practice, appreciating the double artistic charm.