As always, answer to one or more;
1. In "The Philosophy of Composition" (anthology, p. 143-139), E. Allan Poe purports to explain "step by step" how he wrote "The Raven". While at it, he inserts some comments on types of compostion and the difference between prose and poetry. Taking as example texts read in this class, would you agree with the distinction he makes in the following passage
"I designate Beauty as the province of the poem, merely because it is an obvious rule of Art that effects should be made to spring from direct causes — that objects should be attained through means best adapted for their attainment — no one as yet having been weak enough to deny that the peculiar elevation alluded to, is most readily attained in the poem. Now the object, Truth, or the satisfaction of the intellect, and the object Passion, or the excitement of the heart, are, although attainable, to a certain extent, in poetry, far more readily attainable in prose. Truth, in fact, demands a precision, and Passion, a homeliness (the truly passionate will comprehend me) which are absolutely antagonistic to that Beauty which, I maintain, is the excitement, or pleasurable elevation, of the soul. It by no means follows from any thing here said, that passion, or even truth, may not be introduced, and even profitably introduced, into a poem — for they may serve in elucidation, or aid the general effect, as do discords in music, by contrast — but the true artist will always contrive, first, to tone them into proper subservience to the predominant aim, and, secondly, to enveil them, as far as possible, in that Beauty which is the atmosphere and the essence of the poem." (anthology, p 145)
2. Another argument of "The Philosophy of Composition" is that "close circumscription of space is absolutely necessary to the effect of insulated accident -- it has the force of a frame to a picture" (anthology, p, 147). Comment on how Poe applied this constraint to "The Cask of Amontillado" (anthology, pp. 130-135), "The Raven" (pp. 140-142) and/or "The Oval Portrait" (pp.151-152)
3. Write a short creative piece where "the bust of Pallas" in the poem "The Raven" is brought to life - given that Pallas is Athena, the goddess of reason/science as well as of "warfare", you can have her address the incoherences of phantasy in at least two texts from our course.
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2. Poe argues that a confined, limited space, or „locale“ allows the main incident of the story to be more valuable and significant. In The Raven, Poe chooses the character’s chamber as the locale, acting as a concentrated, closed off space. The repetition of „my chamber“ highlights the importance of the locale and its effect on the insulated incident, the intrusion of the Raven. Additionally, the last verse of every paragraph before the Raven appears, ending in „nothing more,“ sets an emphasis on the isolation of the character in time and space. This circumscription of space does not let any impressions or distractions from the outside in except for the Raven, setting a focus on it‘s appearance and its effect on the character. The Raven intrudes the space through the window, upsetting the usual isolation of the chamber, creating an unsettling atmosphere. The combination of the limited space and the intrusion of the Raven create a feeling of not being able to escape the situation, by which Poe enhances this feeling of stress and discomfort.
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