Honors English Project 2 Authors!

 

Edgar Allen Poe

 

Edgar was born in 1809 and he died in 1849. Poe was the first person in American literature to make the bad guys and the madmen the main characters and he also popularized the scary stories genre. Poe wrote sci-fi, mystery, poetry, and horror stories. His most notable works are "The Black Cat", "The Cask of Amontillado", and "The Masque of the Red Death". He contributed to the Romanticism era because he mostly worked through the Gothic Romanticism era. His stories contained notable features in them such as The All Seeing and Knowing Eye; crazy characters or a crazy narrator ("The Cask of Amontillado" features a crazy narrator who carefully kills one of his friends in his wine cellar which is extremely crazy), a premature burial of animals and kids ("The Black Cat" is an example because the owner of the house buries the black cat in the walls); illusions,  ghosts, voices etc.; and a big gloomy house or mansion.

 

 

Washington Irving

 

Washington was born in 1783 and died in 1859. He was considered one of America's first true literary artist and earliest "classic". He wrote "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow", a famous Halloween tale that tells us how Halloween was celebrated back in the day. His works set up a monument for humorous and romantic writing. which became important in American literature. His notable short stories are "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" and "Rip Van Winkle". Irving's story "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" has elements of Romanticism because it deals with emotional values (Ichabod chases after the hand of Katrina) and material values (Ichabod wants to marry Katrina just for her fathers farm and wealth).

 

 

Nathaniel Hawthorne

 

Nathaniel was born in 1804 and died in 1864. Hawthorne is a puritan and his works were mostly dealing with the puritans view of the world. His most notable work is the book "The Scarlet Letter", which deals with a lady named Hester Prynne who is forced to wear a scarlet "A" on herself for committing adultery. Hawthorne's other notable works are "The Minister's Black Veil" and "The House of Seven Gables". Hawthorne's books dealt with trying to find acceptance in the world (just like Hester Prynne) and trying to accept yourself in a world of people who judge others. His stories included someone who was trying to find a sense of place, darkness, mysterious and exotic people and places, as well as dark and gloomy settings.

 

 

Charles Baudelaire

 

Baudelaire was born in Paris, France in 1821 and he died in Paris, France in 1867. His early works were art criticisms, essays and reviews for various journals. His most famous work was "Les Fleurs du mal" (The Flowers of Evil). "Les Fleurs du mal" contained elements of sexual content and only helped contribute to him being seen as a "cursed poet" throughout France. Despite the content, "Les Fleurs du mal" dealt with themes of eroticism and decadence. The poem was criticized for depicting women who were lesbian and not many people could accept that. Baudelaire's stories were criticizing the human race and were showing the disgusting and disturbing sides.