preview

How Does Denotation Affect Poe's Poetry

Decent Essays

Coupled with an ingenious, artistic imagination and a strong command of language and stylistic technique, Poe’s poetry and short stories were a catalyst for Gothic fiction and transformed the future of American literature. Although his writing style was heavily criticized by notable 19th-century writers, his suspenseful tales of death/loss, beauty, and insanity made him one of the most influential modern writers. His poetry and prose evoke an intense psychological thrill ride that both frightens and enthralls readers of his genre. Repetition (alliteration, consonance, and assonance) and rhythm/meter (internal and external rhyme) are crucial linguistic elements that Poe experiments with in “The Raven;” these elements accentuate the haunting musicality that is conjured up when the poem is read out loud (Poetry Foundation). Diction, synonymy (denotation and connotation), modals, and intensifiers are also crucial elements that Poe experiments with in “The Tell-Tale Heart” and “The Black Cat;” these elements accentuate the recurring theme or idea of “madness.” In order to explore the impact of these linguistic elements in Poe’s works, it is important to first understand what they mean. Repetition—apart from reiteration/reappearance of an utterance—encompasses or refers to the repetition of consonants, vowels, and sounds/groups of sounds, as with consonance, assonance, and alliteration (Curzan and Adams 492, 489, 488). Meter and rhythm refer to …show more content…

How English Works: A Linguistic Introduction. 3rd ed. Boston: Pearson/Longman, 2012. Print.
“Intensifier.” Random House Dictionary. New York: Random House, Inc., 2016. Dictionary.com Unabridged. Web. 06 Apr. 2016.
Poetry Foundation. "Edgar Allan Poe." Poetry Foundation. Poetry Foundation, n.d. Web. 05 Apr. 2016.
Unrue, Darlene Harbour. “Edgar Allan Poe: The Romantic as Classicist”. International Journal of the Classical Tradition 1.4 (1995): 112–119. Web. 06 Apr.

Get Access